Kylo Ren meets Rochester

The Sunday Times reviews Star Wars: The Last Jedi and finds the inner Jane Eyre on it:

Soon they are at it like teenagers. “I feel the conflict in you,” Rey insists, like Jane Eyre before her, thinking she can turn the bad boy good. “You’ll turn. I’ll help you.” The lightsabers are not the only thing giving off extra heat here. With his long, gaunt features and Byronic mien, Driver has grown into the closest thing the series has to a Mr Rochester: mad, bad and dangerous to know. The movie’s subtitle ought to be Inter-Galactic Bad Boys and the Women Who Love Them. (Tom Shone)

Richard Wilcocks reviews the new book by Helen MacEwan, Through Belgian Eyes in the Brontë Parsonage Blog:

In this fascinating book, Helen MacEwan once more reveals herself as the current leading figure in the area of Brontë studies which concentrates on the time spent in Brussels by Charlotte Brontë, as a pupil and as an assistant teacher. Her well-known negative observations on Brussels and its inhabitants, and on Belgium in general, are rehearsed, embroidered upon and set in context, and the influence of her experiences in the city on her writings, particularly those relating to her beloved teacher, Constantin Heger, are examined in detail in a discourse which is both scholarly and accessible to less academic readers. (Read more)

The Daily Express talks about the plans for the third season of Victoria:

[Daisy] Goodwin has previously told the Express.co.uk she would like the next series to focus on the Great Exhibition - the first international exhibition of manufactured products organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert.
It was held in a purpose-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park and was attended by many famous people at the time, including Charles Darwin, Charlotte Brontë, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson. (Amani Hughes)

Ottawa Citizen has a story on disability and strength:

As childhood gave way to adolescence, Maria danced in the emotional delight of literature. Where her body faced limitation her mind found fascination in the fictive places she could explore. There was Jane Eyre’s wit and independence in a world that wasn’t ready for it and Jane Austen’s ladies, both passionate and principled. (Drew Meerveld)

Heavy recommends romantic gifts for men:

Wuthering Heights and Other Brontë Works
Romantic gifts, gifts for men, romantic gift for husband, special gift for husband, sentimental gifts
If you want to talk about books that are romantic and a special gift for husband (or any guy), look no further than the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The novel is actually one of four novels by the Brontë sisters that are included in this boxed set. (...)
Of course, Jane Eyre may be the most famous of the four books, but we pretty much will put all our chips on sis Emily’s amazing novel as the one that is the most passionate. It’s a classic Victorian work that has more than stood the test of time. It’s about Catherine and Heathcliff, a man and a woman who are desperately in love. I loved this novel when I first read it. It is an amazing work, especially when you consider it was written in 1846 by a 29 year old woman who, sadly, died the following year. This beautiful boxed set is illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith. (Tim Robinson)

New Straits Times (Malaysia) finds modern fiction unappealing :

I find that my interest in fiction has waned. I’m no longer captivated by plots of mystery or love. I tear through best sellers and they have come up short. In fact, the first 10 pages can tell you how the book will end and how the characters are related. There is a lack of originality in the themes. There is a lack of depth and a feeling that these writers are trying to squeeze in too many modern-day concerns between the covers. These writers are a poor comparison to Charles Dickens or the Brontë sisters. (Dr Koh Soo Ling)

e-cartelera (in Spanish) talks about the film adaptations of Anne Rice's novels:

Influenciada por autores de la talla de Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, Shakespeare o las hermanas Brontë, la obra de Rice ha estado siempre acompañada de cierto lirismo que, en algunas ocasiones, no ha logrado trascender a la pantalla en sus respectivas adaptaciones, las cuales repasamos a continuación y entre las que encontramos desde grandes éxitos cinematográficos de los noventa, a miniseries para televisión. (Javier Parra) (Translation)

Live University Catania (in Italian) recommends classic books for Christmas:

Cime tempestose – Emily Brontë
Quale posto migliore se non le fredde brughiere dello Yorkshire per una lettura natalizia? Il genio di Emily Brontë narra la tormentata storia d’amore di Catherine e Heathcliff, giovani e sfortunati amanti intrappolati nelle convenzioni sociali del tempo. Un romanzo magistralmente costruito in cui eros e thanatos si mescolano dando vita ad uno dei mostri sacri della letteratura di tutti i tempi. (Antonietta Bivona) (Translation)

The writer Raffaella Romagnolo answers students questions on Ovada (in Italian):

Da ragazza, quali libri amava leggere?
Da ragazza amavo leggere romanzi classici, anche stranieri, come “Cime tempestose”. (Translation) 

Finally, a puzzle in New York Times with a Brontë-related question and blackwoodyvonne reviews Jane Eyre.