Pretty in an ordinary way

As reported by the Hebden Bridge Times,

Another round of public consultation has begun into plans for making Haworth part of Calderdale.
The Boundary Commission for England is looking at moving the Brontë capital into the Calder Valley parliamentary constituency and moving Hipperholme and Lightliffe into Halifax.
Fundraisers still need about £37,000 to fix the roof of the ageing church and are calling for people to support the weekend festival. [...]
The former Mayor of Bradford, Peter Hill, who is also a member of Haworth Parish Council, said he was amazed by the proposal. [...]
The first phase of formal public consultation ran until December and this week the boundary commission is publising all the responses on line, giving people another four weeks to say which they agree with.
The commission will then consider whether to revise any of its initial proposals for constituencies. (Michael Peel)

The Salt Lake Tribune describes Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre by Jennifer Adams:

From Shakespeare to Jane Austen, and now Charlotte Brontë and Lewis Carroll, Utah author Jennifer Adams has a wonderful knack for turning classic literature into children’s books with just the right amount of charm and reverence.
With her newest books, Little Master Carroll Alice in Wonderland and Little Miss Brontë Jane Eyre, Adams has gone another step beyond. The first is a colors primer for children, the second a “series of board books for brilliant babies.” Paired with illustrations and designs by Alison Oliver, both books make a vibrant addition to any nursery library, or parent out to raise their tots on good literature early in the reading game. (Ben Fulton)

NPR features the novel Coral Glynn by Peter Cameron:

At first blush, Peter Cameron's Coral Glynn is a curio — an atmospheric period piece. In its simplicity, it seems a throwback to mid-20th-century domestic novels, but with echoes of Jane Eyre — a sort of Gothic lite. However, its concerns with repressed homosexuality, lies of omission and whether it's preferable to settle for "a quiet, decent life" or hold out for greater fulfillment are timeless.
The title character is a naive young nurse in perpetually damp, 1950s England. Like Jane Eyre, she's pretty in an ordinary way, and very much on her own. No family at all: her parents dead, her brother killed in the war. (Heller McAlpin)

Is 'pretty in an ordinary way' the 21st-century phrase for 'plain'?

Move's The Maneater recently wrote a controversial column about Jane Eyre and yesterday she commented further on it. The Information Daily posts about Jean Rhys's brand-new blue plaque in London. Austenonly posts about Haworth Parsonage and discusses Charlotte Brontë's opinion of Jane Austen. Living, Loving and Writing writes about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Anoveladdiction posts briefly about Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.