Still among the best novels

The Times Literary Supplement proves that those best novels list are products of their time by printing an 1898 list. Luckily though, some things never change:

Sometime editor of the Illustrated London News, an authority on the Brontës and Napoleon, Clement K. Shorter was in the middle of a flourishing career when this list appeared in the monthly journal called The Bookman. He doesn't explain what exactly makes a book one of the "best", only that he has deliberately limited himself to one novel per novelist. [...]
60. Jane Eyre - 1847 - Charlotte Brontë
61. Wuthering Heights - 1847 - Emily Brontë (Michael Caines)

Indeed, anyone acquainted with Brontë history will immediately recognise C.K. Shorter.

Halloween tonight and local ghost Alice Flagg tells her story (via a ghostwriter) to Myrtle Beach online.

Ne’er once had one read the literature of the day. I could understand that Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” might not have captured their attention, though I quite idolized her spirit and loyalty. But they hadn’t even read any of Charles Dickens’ wonderful tales.
Then everything changed.
One day, mama and I went on a shopping trip. While she looked at various fabric and buttons for a new ball frock, I wandered outside to enjoy the warm breeze and sunshine. And even though I had been warned over and over about the dangers of freckles that could appear if I exposed by face to the sun, I could not resist.
As I stood with my head back and eyes closed, I soaked in warmth that made me think of Jane Eyre by the fire with her Rochester and it made me smile to myself. At least I thought I was smiling to myself.
“What thought has made you look so happy?” a male voice asked playfully.
I snapped my eyes open to face a somewhat rough-hewn young man smiling down at me. The sun glinted off his dark curls and I could see his kind brown eyes crinkling in a good-natured grin.
“Why,” I stammered, too stunned to be coy, “I was enjoying the warmth and thinking of Jane Eyre.”
“Ah,” he replied. “Now I understand. She is my sister’s favorite heroine.”
“You’ve read ‘Jane Eyre?’” I replied in blunt astonishment.
“Well, yes,” he said. “I had to read it to my younger sister. She’s been blind since birth.”
I was stunned into silence by this revelation, stunned that he could read and by his kindness toward his sister.

James Tully's The Crimes of Charlotte Brontë belongs to the Halloween spirit as well. Ziarul de Iaşi (Romania) has an article on it today.

The Dallas Relationships Examiner reviews the novel Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago and claims that,

Never before had I read a novel where the main character could simultaneously be both the antagonist and protagonist through the entirety of the story. Ana should be studied, dissected, and analyzed in the likes of Jane Eyre, Juliet and Tess of the d’Urbervilles for years and centuries to come. (Franchesca Guzman)

While this columnist from the Wetzel Chronicle doesn't seem to think much of e-book readers.

If you were reading an e-book and laid it aside it would be much different when you found it later.
As you turned it on to begin reading, the screen may glow brightly and then begin to fade. The last words you read, "Low Battery". The slick electronic device goes dark and cold in your hands. A book will never fade to darkness or grow cold as long as Tom Sawyer, Jessie Stone, or Jane Eyre await your return within the words of a book somewhere Through the Lens. (Chuck Clegg)

This Fraser Coast Chronicle (Australia) columnist has a theory on Victorian bonnets:

After the French revolution bonnets came into fashion. If you watch any of the BBC TV shows like Jane Eyre you will remember the women's face seemed to have be buried somewhere in the back of their bonnets. Perhaps this was to force the men folk to approach them directly from the front to show their intentions were serious. (Fred Archer)

Still in Australia, The Herald Sun has an article on this year's VCE exams.

English students had to analyse language use and complete essays on two texts.
They included Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I and the poignant David Malouf novel Ransom. (Wes Hosking and Nathan Hewitt)

Here's one of the things that The Huffington Post thinks that 'Every First-Time Homeowner Should Know'.

Quirks Have Costs
Say you fall in love with the newly constructed condo with the huge-enormous windows. I know, you see yourself enjoying your morning coffee and newspaper bathed in streaming sunshine! Only on that first morning (the blazing light searing your eyeballs) do you realize that huge-enormous windows mean huge-enormous drapes. And only once you start to shop for huge-enormous drapes do you learn how shockingly expensive and hard-to-find large window coverings in unconventional dimensions can be. In other words, you must take the long view. If you adore the unique detail of fireplaces in every room, make sure you also adore stacking firewood and checking flues and befriending chimney sweeps. Know that romantic, crumbling cottages like something out of Wuthering Heights come with leaky windows and wispy insulation, so ask yourself if the fairytale aesthetic is worth it. (Amy Shearn)

Classics adapted for babies and toddlers are discussed by The Washington Times and The Hindu. The Brussels Brontë Blog posts on a recent talk on the Brontës by Dr. Sandie Byrne. Wuthering Hikes shares a few pictures of 'Autumn at the Brontë Parsonage, Haworth' on Facebook. The Brontë Parsonage Museum Facebook page posts about Emily's ghost.