A Nod to Jane Eyre

The Irish Independent reviews the latest novel by Louis de Bernieres, The Dust that Falls from Dreams:

The book opens in 1902 with a celebration of the new age of Edwardianism; a garden party held by Mr Hamilton McCosh, entrepreneur and self-made man, married to an eccentric snob who is grateful for the fact that he rescued her from spinsterhood - she had been engaged to a lord, who, in a nod to Jane Eyre, turned out to be already married - but annoyed that he does not rise to more exalted circles. (Emily Hourican)

We like these words by Ed Jewell, Chief Librarian in Jersey Island in the Jersey Evening Post:

‘Your public library has these arranged in ways that make you cry, giggle, love, hate, wonder, ponder and understand. It’s astonishing what these 26 little marks can do. In Shakespeare’s hands they become Hamlet. James Joyce twisted them into Ulysses. You can live without books, of course, but it’s so limiting. How else can you go to Ancient Rome, or meet such people as Christ, Burns, Aristotle, Napoleon and Jane Eyre? With books, you can explore the past, guess at the future and make sense out of today.’

This comment on Performing ArtsHub is slightly misleading:

Instead of a day job impeding creativity, it can inform a creative passion. Charlotte Brontë was inspired by Jane Eyre and Villette thanks to her work as a poorly paid governess. (Madeleine Dore)

Liz Langley sings the praises of not being a mother on Salon:

In excerpts from Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, author Elizabeth Gilbert talks about the fact that in any given society at any given time there are about 10% of women who never have kids. This group often acts as crucial support for exhausted or absent mothers. She calls it the “Auntie Brigade,” women who contributed to raising the likes of John Lennon, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Brontë sisters.

A.V. Club reviews the last episode of the BBC series Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Arabella:

The Brontë-like setting, with open English countryside, thick snow, and ghosts about, gives these scenes a properly chilling quality, like we’ve stepped into the pages of a British ghost story. (Caitlin PenzeyMoog)

The Book Belles reviews Texts from Jane Eyre.