Mrs Hudson found

Several news outlets focus on the miniature of Mrs Hudson by Charlotte Brontë newly acquired by the Brontë Society such as The Telegraph and Argus.

A prized miniature portrait painted by Charlotte Brontë and described as a “little gem” was snapped up by the Brontë Society for £30,000 before it could be auctioned and possibly gone to a foreign buyer.
The Society bought the 2.5ins tall painting shortly before a scheduled public sale by London art dealers Christie’s, with the help of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Art Fund.
The distinctive sitter for the portrait is Mrs Hudson, of Easton Farm, Bridlington, referred to by Charlotte in a letter to her friend Ellen Nussey in 1839.
The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family, being passed on first to Mrs Hudson’s niece, Fanny Whipp, who, in turn, left it to her son. In 1895 the tiny painting went missing, and nothing more was heard of it for more than 100 years.
It was feared lost until it appeared in a sale in 2001 where it was acquired by the late Mrs T. S. Eliot, a major collector of miniatures.
It will now return to Haworth to go on public display for the first time at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, the family’s home. (Chris Tate)

The news is also on Culture 24 and briefly in The Telegraph.

Also in The Telegraph, Cristina Odono discusses Guy Fawkes and the tradition he unwittingly began.

Frankly, how could I, or any Catholic, forget. Today is the day when Britons still burn an effigy of the Pope - and do so, joyously, in public.
I first came to Britain in 1979, and promptly fell in love.  Wide-eyed and enthusiastic as only a 17 year old can be, raised on the Brontës, Dickens and Austen, I found romance in every corner of this green and pleasant land. The architecture, the rolling countryside, and oh, those wonderful traditions! Like a needy girlfriend, I desperately wanted to fit in, and worried that my mid-Atlantic accent (a mixture of Italian convent school and American high school) and my preppy clothes would single me out as foreign.
I was wrong. What distinguished me from the great majority of Britons I met was my faith. Being a Catholic marked me out as the "odd one" (my rather obvious nickname at college). I couldn't believe the prejudice I encountered.

A teenager wonders in the News Shopper what - if anything - distinguishes books from soap operas.

There are books about everything, fantasy, real life, crime, horror, mystery, science-fiction. There are lots of young adult books that aren’t challenging to read but are interesting, tell amazing, memorable stories and have many loveable characters to take you through them. The most popular books among teens are the ‘Harry Potter’ series by JK Rowling and the ‘Twilight’ series by Stephanie Meyer rather than ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë that were favourites in previous generations, it is better than not reading at all. Having read all these books, if I were asked to put them in order of preference I would put ‘Harry Potter’ first, then ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, ‘Twilight’ and lastly ‘Wuthering heights’. This could be an example of a typical teen and would make me seem hypocritical. However, the fact that I’ve actually read these is more than most the teens I know.

Der Bund (Switzerland) reviews TC Boyle's San Miguel.

Das gelingt erst der nächsten Frauengeneration, in den 30er-Jahren, als Radio, Funkgeräte und Flugzeuge das abgelegene Eiland schon näher an die Zivilisation heranrücken. Für die kultivierte, verwöhnte Elise Lester ist San Miguel zunächst eine herbe Enttäuschung: Als Leserin von «Wuthering Heights» und «Jane Eyre» erhoffte sie traute Einsamkeit und romantische Abenteuer, aber sie findet nur Nebel, Regen und Kälte, klamme Betten, harte Arbeit und täglich Hammeleintopf. Im Lauf der Zeit freundet sich Elise mit ihrem Schicksal an, und die Geburt zweier Töchter macht das Idyll perfekt: Raum und Seelenfrieden ist in der kleinsten Hütte, wenn Mann, Frau und Kinder sich lieben. (Martin Halter) (Translation)

The Brontë Parsonage Facebook page shows some of the drawings submitted to their Big Draw event.