Never truly answered

The Independent interviews TV producer John Yorke about screenwriting.

You can break the rules, but do you want to? The volume of stories that end in union and/or marriage suggests that stories provide a template for healthy procreation. From the earliest folk tales to modern rom-coms the same message proliferates – only on achieving harmony as an individual will one be rewarded with sexual congress. From ET to When Harry Met Sally – the same story skeleton in which boys learn to become men is apparent. From The Taming of the Shrew to Jane Eyre the same process is visible for girls, as they slough off their juvenile flaws and grow into women.

David Adams Richards discusses reading and writing on CBC Books. Apparently reading Emily Brontë in the 1890s is not the equivalent of reading Emily Brontë in the 2010s.

He doesn't believe that novels are any less popular today than in earlier time periods. In the 1890s, he pointed out, some people read penny dreadfuls, while "a lot of people read tabloid stuff now. That's fine, it's great, and a lot of it's entertaining." Others read Emily Brontë back then, and nowadays read Alice Munro or Alistair MacLeod. "That's great, too."

The University Daily Kansan reports on the recent lecture Do Men Really Write Differently? by Sigrid Nieberle, visiting professor of Germanic languages.

“Women writers are underrepresented in literary history,” Nieberle said. “Scholars have less of a desire to follow women.
Today, popular culture shows a greater desire to follow women writers and that’s why we’ve seen an increase in these biopics in Hollywood. I’m not sure why this is, but it’s something that I’m investigating.”
With short clips from famous flicks that outline the lives of authors from Mark Twain to the Brontë sisters, Nieberle concluded that “how these women are able to write is a question always asked but is never truly answered.” (Reid Eggleston)

Racked features the Etsy team:

Emily Bidwell, Merchandising Specialist: I usually start with vintage pieces for inspiration. My newly made clothes act as supporting roles in the story I've crafted about my look. The clothes I wear are an expression of the worlds I want to inhabit. I have always favored Greek mythology, Jane Eyre and the English moors, preppie hostess uniforms, and classic French boating stripes and ribbons. (Kerry Folan)

Lose Yourself in a Book writes in Czech about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Finally, an alert for those visiting Haworth with children in the coming days. From The Telegraph and Argus:

Victorian hygiene campaigner Benjamin Babbage has come to Haworth for the Easter holidays.
Benjamin – played by David Broadley – is showing visitors the awful truth about how dirty and disease-ridden the village was in the olden days.
He has begun a series of walks in the style of the popular Horrible Histories children's books. He will continue the walks today, and next Tuesday and Thursday.
The real Babbage was invited to Haworth in 1850 by the Rev Patrick Brontë, father of the Brontë sisters, following concern at the high rate of early mortality.
Babbage was horrified by the insanitary conditions in Haworth, and his report on the town's water supply and lack of sewerage system resulted in improvements.
The walks are free with admission to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, and begin at 11am and 2pm by the museum shop.