The first of many 200s

First of all - and excuse us for being a little self-centered - have you seen that BrontëBlog is ten years old today? I's quite a milestone if we say so ourselves!

Of course today is also the first day of the first ever Thornton Brontë Festival and The Telegraph and Argus has an article on it.

A festival to mark 200 years since the Brontë family arrived in Bradford opens to the public in Thornton today.
The centrepiece of the event is a new exhibition at St James Church in Thornton Road, with a collection of Brontë artefacts on display for the first time.
The items on show include christening certificates for Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë, the font in which they were all baptised, and a wash stand and desk used by their minister father, Patrick.
A permanent display of the family's life, with words by former TV presenter and lifelong Brontë fan Christa Ackroyd, will also be housed in the church.
The exhibition tells the story of how in 1815, the family arrived in Thornton and took up residence in the old parsonage on Market Street.
New minister Patrick Brontë was accompanied by his Cornish-born wife Maria, and their two small daughters, Maria and Elizabeth, both born at the family's previous parish at Hartshead.
It was while they were living there that the family's four famous children were born in quick succession, Charlotte in 1816, Branwell in 1817, Emily in 1818, and Anne in 1820.
All four were baptised at their father’s church, the Old Bell Chapel, which now lies in ruins across from the parish church of St James. [...]
Church warden Steven Stanworth said: "When Patrick left the now ruined Old Bell Chapel in 1820, plans were already afoot for a new more impressive church on the land opposite gifted by John Foster of the famous Black Dyke Mills.
"By the time the new church was completed it was always planned that a permanent exhibition to the famous family would go on display.
"Now for the first time, the trustees have their wish.
"The time in Thornton was described by Patrick Brontë as his happiest years, the time when his family was complete, his ministry well-established, and when he had such hope the the future.
"The sadness that followed in Haworth is well documented, but this is an exhibition of joy and hope.
"Patrick's passion was education for all, and we hope schools from Bradford and beyond will bring children to St James' to learn about the famous family and their links with Thornton, so often forgotten by Brontë biographers, as well as all Brontë and Bradford fans.
"We are hoping this first Thornton Brontë festival will be the catalyst for five years of celebrations."
Miss Ackroyd added: "As a Bradfordian I am proud to reaffirm the Brontë's association with Thornton.
"This exhibition is now a lasting memorial to it's most famous residents, whose words and deeds in praise of equality of class, race, and gender still resonate today.
"The Thornton days were Patrick's happiest time.
"To be able to help in bringing together some never-seen-before documents and artefacts to celebrate his time here is both inspiring and humbling.
"I am proud to share in his legacy and that of his incredible daughters."
As part of the festival, which runs until Sunday, Miss Ackroyd will give a talk on Patrick Brontë entitled 'Father of Genius' at St James' Church on Saturday night.
Other events over the four days include film screenings of 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights', a performance by the Clifton and Lightcliffe Brass Band, arts and craft activities, and family fun days.
For more details and a full festival programme, visit www.james4u.org.
Meanwhile, Dutch author Jolien Janzing will introduce her new novel 'Charlotte Brontë's Secret Love' at the Brontë Society's Literary Luncheon on October 3.
The book, which is published on October 1, is said to be based on true events of a forgotten chapter in Charlotte’s life detailing her secret love affair with the man who would inspire her to write 'The Professor', 'Villette', and 'Jane Eyre'.
The event takes place in The Brontë Room at Hollins Hall Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Baildon. For further information, visit bronte.org.uk. (Rob Lowson)

Still locally, just when we thought we had got rid of the wind farm, this turns up. As reported by Keighley News.

Plans to install a second wind turbine at a quarry overlooking the Worth Valley are being strongly opposed by the Brontë Society.
The organisation has objected to the application for the turbine at Naylor's Hill Quarry, which was submitted by Gillson & Co (Haworth) Limited.
Alexandra Lesley, chairman of The Brontë Society Council, said: "It's extraordinary that the supporting data for this proposed wind turbine – particularly the landscape visual aspect assessment – takes no heed of the special character of Haworth village or its surrounding moorland."
The plans being considered by Bradford Council are for a structure which would be 48-metres high from its base to the tip of the turbine blades.
Gillson & Co argues that the additional turbine will generate renewable energy for the National Grid and help meet the Government's renewable energy targets.
It has also pointed out that the device would not be visible from the area around the Brontë Parsonage, Haworth Parish Church or the top end of Haworth Main Street near the Black Bull pub.
Members of the public have already submitted their responses to the application online, with one commenting: "Ultimately I would much rather a turbine than a power station and so I would welcome a second turbine at the site."
But Ms Lesley said: "If the proposed turbine joins the one already dominating the land high above Haworth, this will damage further the conservation of this unique village." (Miran Rahman)

It's back-to-school time and The Guardian lists the top 10 schoolchildren in fiction.

6. Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“Send me to school soon, Mrs Reed, for I hate to live here.” This is said in defiance, because the plan is already in train. Jane is admirably direct. She is packed off to Lowood Institution for orphans. The long, mysterious journey to reach the place, the setting in a forest dell, a “fog-bed of pestilence”, Mr Brocklehurst, the evil benefactor, Miss Temple the good headmistress – these are fairytale ingredients, but Jane is her own person, alive and spontaneous. Her experience and witness of cruelty is sharp. Who could forget the episode when, having accidentally broken a slate, she is made to stand on a stool, while Brocklehurst publically humiliates her? Jane feels every sting but is not crushed. (Janet Davey)

The Spectator reviews the book Weatherland: Writers & Artists Under English Skies by Alexandra Harris:

Charlotte Brontë, who found, as she put it, ‘no fresh air in Jane Austen’, did not look hard enough. Austen’s plots, Harris reminds us, all hinge on weather. Jane Bennet catches cold on a damp day; Elizabeth wears a mud-splattered dress; Marianne Dashwood slips on the wet grass and twists her ankle; Catherine Morland yearns for a stormy night. It is Brontë, Harris notes, who keeps her heroines indoors. ‘There was no possibility of taking a walk today,’ begins Jane Eyre, and so Jane curls up with a copy of Bewick’s birds. (Frances Wilson)

We rather hope that this is some sort of 'joke' and not an actual argument uttered in the book.

Naples News' Marco Eagle reviews the novel The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz:

How could you not, when this novel is led by a sassy, independent character reminiscent of every classic literary heroine you’ve ever loved? Yes, that’s what author Laura Amy Schlitz brings to these pages in the form of a young girl’s diary and vivid settings that will remind you of Brontë and Dickinson works. (Terri Schlichenmeyer)

Bustle lists '13 Experiences Only Book-Lovers Have While Dating':

Some Of Your Dates Turn Into Just A Long Listing Of Books
If you’re lucky enough to find another book-lover, you both basically just end up listing your favorite million books and authors back and forth to each other. “What about Vonnegut?” “Oh, me, too!” “Any thoughts on the Brontës?” “You haven’t read any Junot Díaz?!” And then you walk away with 500-plus books added to your already overflowing TBR pile. (Crystal Paul)

Love, dates and relationships are also the subject of this opinion column in the Philippine Daily Enquirer:

I want a “how we met” tale worthy of being storied, a relationship that Joaquin, Austen, or Brontë would have found worthwhile to write about. (Tinderella)

Several sites such as The Hayride or The Christian Science Monitor are commenting on the use of pseudonyms because of the story of - as The Hayride puts it - 'White Guy Writes Lousy Poetry, Is Rejected For Publication; Submits Same Poetry As Chinese Guy, Is Lauded And Awarded'.

Vacancies at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, whose Facebook page also confirms that there will also be a Brontë Festival of Women's Writing next year. Megalopolis is re-reading Jane Eyre.