Always Worth Revisiting

The Telegraph & Argus talks about the latest edition of the Lonely Planet's England travel guide and how local attractions are mentioned:

Much space is devoted to the Brontë village of Haworth. ‘It seems that only Shakespeare himself is held in higher esteem than the beloved Brontë sisters’ says the guide, drawing attention to key spots on the tourist trail including the Brontë Parsonage Museum and Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. (Helen Mead)

Fine Books & Collections talks about the Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant plate dinner service on exhibition at the Piano Nobile Gallery and reminds us how the Charlotte Brontë plate was sold last year at Forum Auctions for £8,125 (and went to the Brontë Parsonage Museum). Also on Smithsonian.

The Student Life reviews When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi:

Though Kalanithi’s writing doesn’t linguistically measure up to some of his revered greats like Charlotte Brontë and Samuel Beckett, it does fully embody his voice. (Nina Potischman)

Harvard Political Review explores fame and fidelity:

Current popular culture also presents a different, more inclusive image of marriage than it historically has. True, the conception of marriage created by Shakespearean comedies and the Victorian novels of Austen and the Brontë remains alive and well. However, most people today are exposed to this narrative through different media, from pre-2000s Disney movies to romantic comedies to young adult books. (Carter Nakamoto)

AudioFiles reviews the audiobook of Catherynne M. Valente's The Glass Town Game:

Earphones Award Winner: The rich tones of narrator Kate Reading's voice are a perfect fit for this poetic tale of the Brontë children's adventures in the imaginary wonderland of their own making. The story is filled with dazzling imagery and glorious wordplay, which Reading masterfully performs with a lilting style that highlights the beautiful alliteration and musical assonance of Valente's work. The voices selected to characterize each of the Brontë siblings and the fantastical figures of Glass Town splendidly highlight small aspects of the characters, major and minor. Reading sensitively performs the range of delicate emotions--grief, wonder, betrayal, delight--that will make this story an enduring favorite fans will want to revisit many times. (D.L.Y.)

Reader's Digest lists books to read in a weekend:

Jane Eyre
The Brontë sisters, who reside in the annals of literary history, are always worth revisiting after long spells away. The most iconic governess of them all—Jane Eyre—snaps into life as easily today as she did in 1847 when this classic was first published. We can't forget the terror of the madwoman in the attic, and the passion between Mr. Rochester and Jane, whose troubled love story still stands the test of time. (Rachel Aydt)

The Yorkshire Post interviews Robin Tuddenham, chief executive of Calderdale Council:

Who is your favourite Yorkshire author/artist/performer? It is hard to say just one, but I’m going for Emily Brontë. I read Wuthering Heights when I was 16, and it blew me away. You can feel, smell and sense the environment the Brontës grew up in so much that when I went to Haworth in my early 20s I thought I had already been there. 

Culture Hub reviews the Jane Eyre Northern ballet performances in Belfast:

And with it comes many restrictions and more opportunities: to take a book and have people dance it out is something different; without a word. The only noises to be heard, apart from the orchestra are the whispering screams of bare-feet – maybe with slippers on their soles/souls being dragged across the GOH’s perimeter, a flutter of feet, a few stools being stomped in defiance on the ground. Apart from that: silence. At the mid-session interval, there were words of grumbling from the few: at the end, it all made sense. Yes, the ending gets easier to understand the plot: but only if you misunderstood the plot from the start. Death from start to end: life from start to finish.

By the way, the Northern Ballet YouTube channel just published a Bertha Mason's costume tour

Join First Soloist Victoria Sibson, as she goes backstage to tell us more about her costume for Rochester's insane wife.

We read in Bristol Post how:

Research by the Royal Mail has revealed that more than 800 UK addresses now have Game of Thrones-inspired monikers, with the most popular including ‘Tyrell’, ‘Stark’, and ‘Frey’ House. (...)
Other common TV- and Literature-themed names include Toad Hall; Thornfield from Jane Eyre; and Highclere from Downton Abbey. (Holly Thatcher)

Il Piccolo (Italy) celebrates 'the return of Victorian fiction':

Erano poi molte le donne ad essere attratte in epoca vittoriana dalla letteratura e le loro opere figurano oggi tra i classici del periodo. A cominciare da Charlotte Brontë, di cui il Regno Unito ha da poco festeggiato il bicentenario della nascita, impostasi nel 1847 con “Jane Eyre” firmato con uno pseudonimo maschile come fece in seguito George Eliot perché l’establishment non vedeva di buon occhio le signore capaci di avere successo. Per fortuna, ricorda Lyndall Gordon in una biografia uscita per Fazi (“Una vita appassionata”, pagg. 298, Euro 18,00) non seppe mai cosa affermò su di lei l’amatissimo Thackeray in una lettera al termine di una serata trascorsa insieme: «Ho incontrato quella povera infelice di cui l’intera Londra parla. È una piccola creatura dall’aspetto squallido. Sono certo che al posto della fama preferirebbe avere un uomo da amare. Ma è una personcina senza un grammo di fascino, destinata a restare sepolta in campagna a mangiarsi il cuore in attesa di qualcuno che non verrà mentre i suoi testi saranno dimenticati in fretta».
Nell’inverno 1848 “Jane Eyre” divenne in fretta un bestseller e la storia fu portata anche a teatro mentre si moltiplicavano nei salotti londinesi le ipotesi sull’identità del presunto autore. In poche settimane la prima edizione viene esaurita, la seconda a febbraio con una dedica a Thackeray contribuisce ad alimentare altre speculazioni sulla paternità del romanzo perché lo scrittore, di cui stava uscendo a puntate “La fiera della vanità”, ha una moglie rinchiusa in manicomio, circostanza che ovviamente Charlotte ignora mentre affida un ruolo centrale nel suo libro a Bertha, la consorte folle di Rochester. Quando, poi, a giugno 1848 il secondo lavoro di Acton Bell, ovvero di Anne Brontë, viene erroneamente annunciato come seguito di Jane Eyre, Anne e Charlotte decidono di andare a Londra per svelare alla casa editrice la loro identità. In seguito l’editore Smith ritrae Charlotte in questi termini: «Una donna di statura modesta, riservatissima, vestita come una quacchera, probabilmente molto colta. È una terribile fatica coinvolgerla in qualsiasi conversazione». (Roberto Bertinetti) (Translation)

Observator Cultural (Romania) discusses the literary canon:

Bogdan Creţu: (...)Criticul literar, dacă își respectă meseria, nu are cum să ierte textul deficitar literar doar pentru că îi aparține unei scriitoare și, desigur, nici să ignore valoarea acolo unde ea există. Dacă nu avem o scriitoare precum Jane Austin ori surorile Brontë în secolul romantic nu este pentru că femeile nu ar fi putut să scrie literatură de calitate, ci pentru că nu au scris!(...)
Ion Vianu: (...) Singură – poate literatura engleză în care s-au dezvoltat scriitoare canonice precum surorile Brontë (sub pseudonim masculin!), dar mai ales, înaintea lor, marea Jane Austen (publicată postum!) ar putea pretinde că a așezat scriitoarele-femei la rangul cuvenit. (Translation)

Salamanca al Día (Spain) interviews the author Gustavo Martín Garzo:

La historia de su protagonista, una mujer herida que termina en una isla trabajando como enfermera para la misteriosa dueña de una casa encantada, discurre por las coordenadas de lo real con una cuidadosa documentación que explica así el autor Me compré una guía de viajes de las islas Mauricio y así describí mi propia isla. Después de todo, Salgari no salió de Italia y nos llevó hasta su mundo de fantasía. Y es en ese mundo de fantasía heredado de la literatura de aventuras donde la heroína descubre un secreto en el mejor estilo de la novela gótica de títulos como Jane Eyre o Rebeca. (Charo Alonso) (Translation)

Diario de Ibiza (Spain) lists books you should read before 40:

'Cumbres borrascosas' es la gran novela romántica que ha dado lugar a películas, óperas y hasta canciones. Charlotte Brontë definió la obra de su hermana como "árida y nudosa como la raíz del brezo".
Tensión, incertidumbre, noches sin luna, confinamientos desesperados, crueldad sin medida y una atmósfera de pesadilla se dan cita en este referente del género gótico. (G.C.) (Translation)

Europa1 (France) interviews Laura El Makki, author of the recent book Les Soeurs Brontë. La Force d'Exister. You can listen to the podcast here.

Les sœurs Brontë. La force d’exister : c’est le titre de l’ouvrage de Laura El Makki, paru chez Tallandier à l’automne dernier. Franck Ferrand reçoit aujourd’hui son auteur. Lorena Martin nous emmènera ensuite sur les traces des sœurs Brontë, à Haworth – elle évoquera notamment le bicentenaire d’Emily Brontë. 

Country & Town House gives the chance to win the manuscript edition of Jane Eyre among other ones. HMH Teen publishes a teaser-excerpt of the upcoming YA Jane Eyre derivative Brightly Burning (you can watch the author Alexa Donne talking about her book here). Gabbing Geek reviews Wuthering Heights 1939. Brussels Brontë Group publishes an exhaustive April 1842 Brussels calendar.