There's good news in
Keighley News.
The charity working to restore a historic but rundown Haworth building has celebrated reaching a major landmark in its long-running project.
After eight years of battling to secure funding, the Brontë Spirit charity has finished co-ordinating the first half of the project, which involves the repair and replacement of the building's west end roofs.
This part of the scheme, which cost £100,000, has ensured that the roofs of the extensions to the original building have now been replaced.
The Old School Room, in Church Street, was originally built by Reverend Patrick Brontë, father of the world famous authoress sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
The property, which was constructed in 1832 to be a school for the children of Haworth, was then extended, first in 1850 and again in 1871.
A spokesman for Brontë Spirit explained: "It was these extension roofs, that had particularly suffered from the ravages of the Pennine weather and time, which have been restored.
"When the roofs were repaired during last summer and autumn, it was revealed they were suffering from both rot and woodworm, so many of the timbers had to be replaced."
The celebration of the end of this part of the restoration was attended by David Pearson, a deputy lieutenant of West Yorkshire, who officially re-dedicated the roof. [...]
Averil Kenyon, chairman of Brontë Spirit, told the assembled guests: “We were delighted and surprised with the positive response we received from the grant funders. Our grateful thanks go to [landfill community fund] WREN, The Garfield Weston Foundation and The Pilgrim Trust for making it possible for us to repair the building’s upper area roofs.
“Our original survey showed the west end of the building had dry rot, wet rot and woodworm but that has been restored and made watertight.
“Now we need to look to the future. The main hall roof – the oldest part of the building – also needs to be restored and it will cost around £100,000 to restore it.
"So, in the New Year we will begin the fundraising process again. We are a small charity comprised of local people and Haworth Parish Church members, so any help we can find for this project will be appreciated.” (Miran Rahman)
A critic at
Barnes and Noble has selected Claire Harman's biography of Charlotte Brontë as one of the books of the year.
This year marked the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, an event commemorated in part by Claire Harman’s Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart, a revelatory, often refreshingly tart biography. Harman captures the weird, stormy, rivalrous atmosphere that prevailed in the parsonage at Haworth as well as Charlotte’s bond with her sisters, her growing contempt for her dissipated brother, and her galling subjection to her selfish father. Harman is deft and brisk with character and event, giving a full picture of Charlotte’s literary inspirations and her ambition, a dauntless determination that brought fame and — as it turns out — a certain amount of unedifying vanity. I tore through this book as though it itself were a novel. (Katherine A. Powers)
ST: What elements of classic literature work well in the manga format? SK: Manga is really fantastic at conveying character and emotion. The storytelling pace gives dramatic moments room to breathe and let the reader fully immerse themselves in the feelings of the scene. And a lot of classic literature is memorable because of the characters, first and foremost. When you think of Jane Eyre, you probably think first about Jane's indomitable spirit and the brooding mystery of Mr. Rochester, more so than the social and moral concerns that Brontë was exploring. (Suzette Chan)
La Bloga interviews writer Ángela Cervantes.
XC: Do you have any favorite poems/paragraphs by other authors? Or stanzas? AC: There are a couple of verses and lines that have stayed with me all my life. When I was in high school, I read Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. I identified with Jane’s poverty and fiery spirit. There’s this line where Jane says, “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”
After I read it, I wrote this quote down in my notebook as a daily affirmation to get me through high school. When I write characters like Gaby or Allie it’s natural for me to write them as strong personalities who despite external and internal struggles fight for their independence and happiness. (Xánath Caraza)
It sure looks like there’s a fancy party going on, and the rest of the country is shivering outside, faces pressed against the window, like Heathcliff and Cathy in Wuthering Heights. Oh, wait, the shutter has been pulled down. So much for transparency. So much for sunny ways. (Elizabeth Renzetti)
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