The Leeds Student recommends a trip to Haworth. Didn't you find the story of Emily dying on the sofa dramatic enough? Don't worry, they have changed it to add the drama it lacked:
The Brontë’s former home acts as a museum and archive of the life and works of Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their drunken brother Branwell.
Notable features of the museum include the very sofa where Charlotte, pregnant at the time, died; their handwritten letters: and a large number of their poems and paintings. Next to their house lies the church with its overcrowded graveyard, a testament to the typhus outbreaks in the town throughout the 19th century. The Brontë’s are buried in the church’s crypt and the village’s sense of pride is evident in the elaborate stained glass window which features the famous family.
If, after visiting the Parsonage, you’re still craving all things Brontë, there are a number of fairly long walks from the village to see the inspirations for Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Wellies are a must as they involve tramping across boggy marshland – very Heathcliff – and are around 12km long, although shorter routes are available from the Tourist Information Office in the village.
The rest of the village largely consists of pubs, tea rooms, book and sweet shops. It’s a haven for anyone interested in the kitsch and cutesy. Most of the pubs offer a decent Sunday lunch, always a win if you’re craving home comforts, but The Old White Lion and Haworth Old Hall are highly recommended. (Ellie Cosgrave)
And poor, poor Branwell.
And speaking of blunders. From
The Morung Express:
Charlotte Brontë writes, “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves,” and above all, “Be the heroine of your life and not the victim”. (Ketshunuo)
Yeah, so Mary Wollstonecraft and Norah Ephron (respectively) called and said they wanted their words back.
Londonist considers
Bryony J. Thompson's adaptation of Jane Eyre 'A Jane Eyre That Rocks'.
Bryony J Thompson’s sensitive adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic about a young woman’s treacherous path to true love puts new vigour into an old classic. Jane Eyre, as dimly remembered from GCSE videos, was a dreary character with a Victorian centre parting and dumpy dress sense. In this simple and lovingly adapted stage version, she is restored to her rightful passionate, interesting and determined self.
Hannah Maddison, shining here in her professional debut, combines savvy humour and a believable pragmatism and propriety in the title role as hardened orphan Jane. Her twinkling eyes when she rejects Mr Rochester’s strange serenadings makes her admirable and spirited rather than prudish. Rob Pomfret as Rochester uses his wild and chiselled good looks to suggest a half-way-to-mad behaviour — dressing up as an old crone to goad the object of his affections — that rivals the mad wife he keeps locked in the attic.
Thompson adapted the book herself because she couldn’t find a stage version that did it justice, and her dedication shows. This really is a very romantic novel and it is just right that watching the play should be to some degree a literary experience in itself, with the power largely in the romantic expressions and words. It is also however, in the subtle chemistry of our traditional lovers and Maddison and Pomfret, suggesting in just a handshake the growing bond between them, are excellent. Their verbal sparring, the thawing of Jane’s defences and Rochester’s crazed wooing, are spot on. (Belinda L)
Everything Theatre shares the opinion of the previous reviewer:
Brimming with pace and life, this uniquely touching production not only does justice to one of the best loved novels of all time, it also proves the value and continued relevance of theatrical adaptations. Before attending I assumed, given that the novel is such a part of our cultural heritage, that nothing new could be said. I believed the story dated and done to death. My thoughts turned loosely to film adaptations, only good to while away a rainy afternoon.
Dear reader I was wrong. This play is sure to please even the most ardent fan of Charlotte Brontë, arguably one of the finest English novelists of all time. (Anna Croft Savva)
Flavorwire features Shirley Jackson's novel
The Sundial in which
Although this mansion might not be as well known as other fictional big houses (du Maurier’s Manderley in Rebecca, Miss Havisham’s crumbling Satis House, or Thornfield Hall from Jane Eyre), its presence as a character in The Sundial is unmistakable; the book would hardly be as enjoyable if it were set in a three-bedroom house in the suburbs, or an apartment building in a big city. (Jason Diamond)
Yesterday, both the
Brontë Parsonage Facebook page and
The Brontë Sisters wished Patrick Brontë a happy birthday. The
Brontë Parsonage website invites readers to explore the Brontës' connection with nearby Saltaire. The
Brussels Brontë Blog has a post by Eric Ruijssenaars on the Isabelle Quarter.
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