19th-century Kardashians

Little White Lies interviews Kaya Scodelario:

LWLies: Have you seen the film yet? What did you think?
Scodelario: I really liked it! It was weird because I never received a full script, we were given the lines the day before shooting. So watching the film was the first time I knew what was going on in the rest of the film! So it was really cool to watch. I took some friends as well, who I know would never have gone to see it if I wasn’t in it. They’d think, ‘That’s not my thing,’ and they really enjoyed it. It was nice to know that a younger generation enjoyed it.

It’s not your average period romp is it?
No, not at all. I like to think that Andrea’s kind of created this new genre, where it feels very modern, it’s not stuck to the rules. Everyone thought period drama had to be done a certain way and that’s the only way it can be done, people have to walk very slowly and speak properly, there has to be lots of sunshine and flowers. Andrea’s just turned that on its head completely and I love that she’s done that. It was wicked.

It felt like it could almost be modern day…
Yeah, exactly, that’s what was cool – it was kind of timeless.

Why did you only get your lines the day before filming?
It was a lot to do with helping the younger kids, obviously this was their first job so Andrea didn’t want to overwhelm them with a whole script. And I think she just likes things to be very fresh, and you to go into it very open. She asked me not to read the book or see any of the adaptations, so I think she just likes people to not know what they’re doing, go into it completely open-minded. Which is what I want people to do with the film, to go into it completely fresh not thinking about anyone else in it. It was a good way of working, it was different. It’s nice to push yourself and do thinks in a different way.

Was it difficult to learn your lines that quickly?
No, there’s not a lot of dialogue in the film which helps! Surprisingly, I thought I would, but it kind of worked out okay in the end, thank god. (read more) (Josh Winning)

The Yorker features Wuthering Heights, the novel:

It is difficult to compare Wuthering Heights to any other book, even of the same period, since it does not fit neatly either into the category of romance or of gothic fiction. It is a work that stands alone, drawing the reader into a dark and demonic world of brutality, revenge, and a love which is stronger than death.

X Media Online reviews Jane Eyre 2011 giving it 2.5 stars out of 5:

Jane Eyre relies heavily on its excellent cast. Wasikowska captures Jane’s wit and sharpness perfectly whilst Fassbender’s Rochester has just the right combination of cold haughty outer shell and true touching affection for Jane. The two have excellent chemistry together. However, Judi Dench in her role as housekeeper is somewhat underused. Fassbender and Dench also break the tension and serious tone at times with witty humorous lines that prevent the film from becoming too heavy.
This film may not be the most detailed or successful adaptation I have seen but it is an enjoyable watch and a good introduction to the story of Jane Eyre. (Rebecca Anderson)

And the Salisbury Post mentions the novel:

It turns out I have three copies of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” I also have three different versions of Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre.”
Apparently, when I like a book I feel the need to hoard several copies. [...]
I fell in love with “Jane Eyre” while reading it for my Women in Literature class in college.
I really like the character of Jane because she isn’t a “woe is me” type lady, she’s a “I will survive” kind of woman. Despite the challenges Jane faces, she remains unbroken.
Both of these books are a good example of why required reading is good for students.
It gets them to step outside their element and try different titles, authors and genres. (Sarah Campbell)

The Public Reviews gives 4 stars out of 5 to We Are Three Sisters:

This play succeeds in bringing the Brontë sisters off the page and in to our imagination and understanding. It is attractively staged, well acted, engaging and, not least of all, funny. If you enjoy the work of the Brontë sisters, whether you are familiar with the Chekhovian parallel or not, this is a play worth seeing. (Jane Pink)

Both The Faster Times and A.V. Club comment on Jeffrey Eugenides's allusion to the Brontës in his newest novel, The Marriage Plot.

The New York Times reviews the book Mrs Nixon. A Novelist Imagines a Life by Ann Beattie and thinks that,

This book could have been a “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” Tom Stoppard’s play from the viewpoint of two extras in “Hamlet,” or a “Wide Sargasso Sea,” Jean Rhys’s “Jane Eyre” prequel (two books Beattie mentions). But Pat Nixon is ultimately too weak a character to consistently divert our focus from her endlessly fascinating husband. (David Greenberg)

Finally, something we sincerely hope does happen, as seen in the Campus Times:

Any material covered in lab will be so ingrained into your head by that point that the next time you read anything by Charlotte, Emily or Anne Brontë, you won’t think about how Comedy Central said that the Brontë sisters were like the Kardashians of the 19th century. Instead, you’ll be more likely to recall that they were all independent young ladies with minds of their own. (Nirlipta Panda)

Abigail's Ateliers wonders who would make the perfect Heathcliff (Boris Karloff?). Wuthering Heights 2011 is reviewed by emilywright23, Capsule in Space, The Curse & The Cure, Every Film in 2011, McQueen is my Morphine and Weaver of Grass. Glasgow Book Groups are giving away a copy of the book to the first person who send them a review of the film. ultracrepidarian and Litcritique post about Jane Eyre while The Wilder Things shows pictures of an 'annotated' copy of the novel. Splash of our Worlds reviews Jane Eyre 2011. The Redhead Reader writes about Justine Picardie's Daphne. And An American in London shares pictures of a recent trip to Haworth.