“I own I prefer the study of the human being – to that of the human being’s requirements”

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The Yorkshire Post has an article on a letter written by Charlotte Brontë which is to be auctioned at Bonhams on June 12 as part of their auction Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs.

A letter from Charlotte Brontë hinting at her motivation to write is to go under the hammer.
The three-page letter, which is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 when it is auctioned at Bonhams book, maps, manuscripts and historical photographs sale in London on June 12.
The recipient of the letter, a Miss Holmes, lived for a while with the family of William Makepeace Thackeray and greatly irritated the author of Vanity Fair with her constant attempts to convert him to Catholicism.
Writing to Miss Holmes, who had sent her an – unidentified – book to read, Charlotte said: “I own I prefer the study of the human being – to that of the human being’s requirements.”
She also comments on the life of a governess – her own former occupation and that of the heroine of her best known novel Jane Eyre – saying: “I must feel a degree of interest in the details of a Governess-life.
“That life has on me the hold of actual experience; to all who live it – I cannot but incline with a certain sympathy; and any kind feeling they express for me – comes pleasantly and meets with grateful acceptance.”

Here's the press release from Bonhams. As usual we hope this item will go back home to Haworth.

Speaking of upcoming events. The British Library's new exhibition Writing Britain opens today. The Times features it in an article where Richard Morrison discusses why this is an exhibition worthy of your time and thought:

That’s where I think deeper, less news-driven surveys such as Writing Britain might help. Its ostensible aim is to show “how the landscapes of Britain permeate the nation’s great literary works". But perusing the 150 chosen exhibits, I am struck by how much the converse is also the case: how our finest literature actually shapes our attitude to our landscapes and our national character. That’s true not only in the superficial way we speak of “Brontë country” or “Dickensian streets”, but also at a more profound level.

The film Dark Shadows also opens today internationally. The Brontës were a source of inspiration for both the original series and Tim Burton's new take on it:

The blue-eyed, blond-haired Lara Parker arrived in New York City in the mid-1960s convinced she only would land ingenue roles. A week later she was cast to play one of the most famous witches in television history: Angelique on the daytime drama "Dark Shadows." [...]
She points out the series drew from classic literature, ranging from "Jane Eyre" to "The Portrait of Dorian Gray." (Rick Bentley in the Fresno Bee)

In 1966, creator Dan Curtis conceived of a show that was Gothic but nonsupernatural, like Jane Eyre. (David Edelstein on 90.9wbur)

So, it’s no wonder that a high priest of pop culture like director Burton would be intrigued enough to craft an update. But fans of the series may be disappointed. While the show was often inadvertently humorous, the intent — in its story of the rich but haunted and trouble-plagued Collins family — was to be some blend of “Dracula” and “Wuthering Heights.” (Cary Darling in the Times Leader)

"Dark Shadows" — the gothic TV soap opera that was part "Jane Eyre,"part "Dracula," part cheesy production values — focused on the travails of the wealthy, mysterious Collins family and their vampire cousin, 200-year-old Barnabas.  (Richard Knight Jr in the Chicago Tribune)

Still on the screen, the New Zealand Herald recommends Wuthering Heights 2009:

Before actor Tom Hardy had a film career leading to his role as the villain Bane in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, he starred as the brooding tormented Heathcliff in this two-part miniseries.
His Heathcliffe [sic] certainly is a menacing and obsessive sort when he first makes an appearance in this stylish gothic retelling of Emily Brontë's classic novel of doomed love, betrayal, and family feuding.
As with past screen adaptations, this one takes some liberties with Brontë's narrative, starting on the anniversary of the death of Cathy, Heathcliff's one true love, before flashing back to when Heathcliff was rescued from the streets of Liverpool by Cathy's father then taken to the Moors.

Also, St Louis Today's Yakkin' with the Sherpa picks Judi Dench's top 10 films:

I'm giving honorable mentions to "Jane Eyre, "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Importance of Being Earnest." Dench is superb in these classic works of literature, but I had a hard time figuring out how to rank them. That's the tricky part when ranking the work of an actor who doesn't seem to give a bad performance. (Joe Holleman)

The Khaleej Times begins an article on Scottish castles open to tourists as follows:

From Pride and Prejudice to Wuthering Heights and the hugely popular TV series Downton Abbey, there’s no doubting the popularity of period dramas. So next time you’re in Scotland, why not star in your own by checking into one of these historic abodes? (Andrew Marshall)

Never mind that none of those has anything to do with the other two and none is set in Scotland but yeah, whatever, big houses and people in weird clothes are all the same.

Now for a couple of Brontëites. Actress Susannah Harker picks her 'six best books' for Express:

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
I first read this as a teenager at a convent school when I was young and easily influenced. It really chimed with where I was: we were both young women caught up in very intense situations. Later in my 20s I read Jean Rhys’ prequel Wide Sargasso Sea which was also a big fascination. I identified with Jane as an outsider caught up in an intense romantic situation. The Victorian integrity of the book appealed.

The New York Times asks Mary Higgins Clark about her favourite books as a child.

What were your favorite books as a child? Did you have a favorite character or hero? “The Good Earth,” “A Girl of the Limberlost,” “The Secret Garden,” “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” Favorite character was Jane Eyre after I saw the first movie and before I read the book.

Quite intriguing - did she stop liking Jane after reading the book then?

The Philippine Star features Morrisey and his relationship with his fans is described as follows:

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.” Those words are taken from playwright Alan Bennett’s The History Boys and it captures brilliantly Morrissey’s appeal and why the relationship he has to many of his fans cannot be described purely in popular music terms but rather to authors such as Oscar Wilde, Emily Brontë and even Bennett himself (who incidentally is a friend and former neighbor of the singer’s.) (Erwin Romulo)

The New York Times reviews the exhibition Picasso and Françoise Gilot.

What was life with Picasso really like? That is not a question that this show answers. But one of two landscapes by him here is suggestive. In the wildly animated scene of “Paysage d’Hiver” (1950), each of two gnarly, leafless trees in the foreground reaches a branch toward the other, almost touching, as if with index fingers. Rolling, striped green fields in the middle distance lead to a couple of ramshackle farm buildings standing on the horizon line under a gloomy, gray sky that threatens stormy weather.
It could be an illustration for “Wuthering Heights,” if that Gothic romance had been set in Spain, and it might be a truer portrait of the spiritual marriage of Pablo and Françoise than anything else in the exhibition. (Ken Johnson)

The Guardian wonders whether a fictional character can 'take you over':

Good lord above! If this is really true then I dread to think what havoc is wreaked by people who've just finished reading A Clockwork Orange; what unrealistic expectations of romance are held by fans of Jane Austen; what heights of passion are reached by Wuthering Heights aficionados on a daily basis. Because, according to a new study from researchers at Ohio State University, "when you 'lose yourself' inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behaviour and thoughts to match that of the character". (Alison Flood)

And finally the London Evening Standard mentions the most famous plain-looking fictional character of all:

Jane Eyre, perhaps our most treasured plain-looking girl, would have been ideally suited to this task — neither too daunting to be selected for your enquiry, nor too indecisive-looking to be of much help, but someone who seems approachable and guileless, unreserved and straightforward. (Charles Saatchi)

The Brontë Weather Project posts briefly about Branwell Brontë. A Year with Mom and Dad is giving away a copy of Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre.