Jane comes out on top

Easter activities at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in The Telegraph & Argus:

Easter activities at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth include a celebration of the 198th anniversary of Charlotte’s birth on Bank Holiday Monday.
Visitors can find out more about her life with talks from members of staff throughout the Parsonage – including a talk from Executive Director Ann Sumner on the Brontë connection to the railways, which highlights the new display in Branwell’s Studio and follows on from our appearance on Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys.
There is also a rare opportunity to view some of Charlotte’s possessions, letters and manuscripts up close, as Collections Manager Ann Dinsdale takes visitors behind the scenes in the research library at 11am, 12pm and 1pm (free to museum visitors, though numbers are restricted so booking essential – contact susan.newby@bronte.org.uk or call (01535) 640185.

Also in The Telegraph & Argus, Steven Wood presents his new book Haworth, Oxenhope & Stanbury from old maps:

Haworth historian Steven Wood has turned from photographs to maps for his latest book.
He has gathered almost 100 old maps revealing various aspects of the Haworth, Oxenhope and Stanbury areas.
The paperback follows Steven’s two previous books for the same publisher, Amberley, containing 600 historic photographs of the villages.
Haworth, Oxenhope and Stanbury From Old Maps features informative maps dating from 1610 to 1937.
They range from Ordnance Survey and County maps to Board of Health plans, the Haworth tithe map and church, waterworks, railway and road plans.
The Haworth Village House Repopulation Plan is republished over several pages, showing the names of every family in every household in the village in 1856, including the Reverend Patrick Brontë.
A spokesman for Amberley Publishing said the repopulation plan provided the most detailed view ever of the Haworth that the Brontës knew.
She added: “Between them, the maps and the accompanying text reveal many details of the history of Haworth and its neighbouring villages.
“They can also serve as a guide to the use of maps in local history studies.” 

The Telegraph publishes a travel guide to Yorkshire:

There is a hugely impressive arts scene, with the Hepworth Wakefield (01924 247360; hepworthwakefield.org) and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (01924 832631; ysp.co.uk) enjoying fabulous reputations, not to mention the annual film festivals in Sheffield and Leeds. Poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath stalked the moors of the Calder Valley while this, don’t forget, is Brontë country too. (Joe Shute)

A new review of the Rosemary Branch's Jane Eyre production on Camden Review:

Helen Tennison adapts and directs this production with real sensitivity.
She uses a combination of inventive visuals and a flexible farmhouse set to conjure up an expansive sense of space so that the forces of nature are strongly evoked. Actors clamber in and out of windows and hidden doors to convey the characters’ thirst for freedom, while bold lighting changes accompanied by haunting projections and music work to conjure up the passage of time and Cathy’s spirit. Cathy’s haunting scenes – moments that can easily appear overdone, absurd even – are well handled.  (Caroline David)

The Mirror lists several interesting facts about the Peak District National Park:

Castleton, Baslow, Eyam and Hathersage are all worth a visit too, with the latter playing a large part in Charlotte Brontë's iconic novel Jane Eyre - North Lees Hall, which is on the outskirts, was used as the model for Mr Rochester's home Thornfield Hall. (Ben Burrows)

The New York Times reviews a NY performance of The Mystery of Irma Vep:

If Charlotte Brontë were to spend an afternoon bingeing on Hammer horror flicks, medicinal sherry and Jiffy Pop, perhaps she could dream up a tale as delirious as that of “Irma Vep.” Most likely not. This 1984 script, which originally starred Ludlam and his partner Everett Quinton, plays out on Mandacrest, a sinister and remote English estate. (Alexis Soloski)

TheaterMania adds:

With its joyful embrace of melodramatic theater and cinema, it's easy to see why. Irma Vep borrows freely from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, Shakespeare, Victorian penny dreadfuls, and the entire canon of American vampire, mummy, and werewolf movies. (Zachary Scott)

Vulture discusses Val Lewton's horror films:

In Cat People, a woman is convinced that she has a curse on her that will turn her into a deadly panther whenever she has any strong emotions; I Walked With a Zombie is as much influenced by Jane Eyre as it is by anything to do with zombies. (Bilge Ebiri)

Philip Galanes recommends Jane Eyre against bullying in The New York Times:

Ignore your step-cousin when she’s mean (she may move on to another mark) and make a beeline for someone you trust. It helps to talk. And pack a copy of “Jane Eyre” for your trip. Jane was bullied as a girl, too. But, boy, does she come out on top.

The Burnley Citizen celebrates the repairs plan to save Spenser House in Hurstwood:

The house and hall were also used in 1996 by the BBC for the film version of Anne Brontë’s ‘Tenant of Wildfell Hall’, when the stair balustrades were replaced with painted plywood to resemble barley twist spindles. (Peter Magill)

Première (France) talks about ruins and books. And Top Withins is featured:

Le photographe Pete Barnes est l’un des rares professionnels à avoir photographié cette ruine pas sexy pour deux sous et qui pourrait être le bâtiment ayant inspiré le célèbre manoir des Hauts de Hurlevent, le roman star d’Emily Brönte (sic). Pour les fétichistes du roman, le lieu se situe en haut d’une colline baptisée Top Withens, à l’écart du petit village de Haworth, à proximité de Bradford. L’association du lieu au personnage d’Heathcliff a fait de Wuthering Heights (l’endroit) un lieu symbolique des passions romantiques et de l’aveuglement amoureux.
La maison est sombre, immense, délabrée, rendue sinistre par les ravages de la passion dévorante et de la haine meurtrière. (Benjamin Berton) (Translation)

A.V. Club interviews the musician Dan Wilson:

Do you have a favorite song of all time? (...)
“Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush is amazing. I like songs that have operatic emotions. (Marah Eakin)

BuzzFeed interviews the actress Erika Christensen about her role as Cathy in Wuthering Heights 2003:

You were in a musical version of Wuthering Heights that was on MTV.
EC: You’re right. These are so random.
I know! With Katherine Heigl and Mike Vogel, who’s on Under the Dome.
EC: One of the things that I really liked about that is I got to sing, which I always hoped would come into play, because that’s how I grew up. (Kate Aurthur)

The Good Men Project has a Brontë mention:

 A third date was in the planning stage when I received an email, one I felt Charlotte Brontë might  have sent if computers were available in the 19th century. “My deceit has caught up to me, and I can never see you again.” (Al Deluise)

Motorsport (Germany) follows the Ireland rally that tomorrow, April 19, will pass through Patrick Brontë country:

The second leg on Saturday consists of eight tests. The highlight is the 29 km long "Brontë Homeland" route.
This test is named after Patrick Brontë, father of the famous novel writers Emily, Charlotte and Anne. (Gerald Dirnbeck) (Translation)

 Debiutext Magazyn (Poland) posts about Wuthering Heights; Aspirin and Boku-Maru reviews Jane Eyre; Litreactor thinks, poor fellow, that Jane Eyre sucks.