So Memorable

A story of personal improvement and mountain hiking on RVSP:

Last year the Happy Rovers started planning a trip to Yorkshire in England. They wanted to hike the wonderful Brontë Way, in the footsteps of the Brontë sisters; to see Haworth Moore, the Brontë Parsonage Museum and Top Withins; believed to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. They invited me to go with them and I decided to give it a go, with the understanding that I wouldn’t be joining them on their walks. There would still be plenty to do; I could visit Haworth Village, the Parsonage, and the Woolpack, the original pub filmed for long-running TV soap Emmerdale. (Teena Gates and Michelle Townsend)

Siouxland Public Media recommends Sarah Shoemaker's Mr Rochester:

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books ever written. And in my mind, there is no greater character in fiction than that of Jane herself. So how could I resist picking up a book written from the viewpoint of Mr. Rochester? I thought it would make for a very interesting backstory to, although far from perfect, one of the most swoon worthy literary characters in all of his Byronic hero glory.
Rochester is such a complex man full of contradictions that make him sympathetic, incredibly frustrating, and far from perfect. Sarah Shoemaker introduces us to motherless, Edward, second son to a shipping tradesman, more comfortable with the servants at Thornfield Hall than with older brother or his father. Edward’s life is quite lonely. He is sent away from the family home to receive an education and lacks any knowledge of the life his father has carved out for him. Although Edward makes friends, his attachments are always short and his loneliness continues as he grows up. Thornfield Hall always lingers in his mind, but soon his older brother dashes his hopes that it will ever be Edward's true home. Although Edward does find some happiness working at a trade mill, it isn't long before his father sends him to the Rochester holdings in Jamaica. It is there that he meets Bertha Mason and where the tale becomes familiar to all Jane Eyre fans. But you do have to be patient, as Jane, herself, doesn't enter the story until 300 pages into the book. But once you reach the last third, you are treated with Rochester’s thoughts of Jane as well as experiencing classic dialog that makes Jane Eyre so memorable. (Jessi Wakefield)

The Star Tribune walks through Yorkshire and only mentions the Brontës once:

After an easy descent, we made our way into Arncliffe (from the Norse for Eagle’s Cliff), a tiny village straight out of Emily Brontë. (Dave Hage)

Publishers Weekly announces a new Penguin's Modern Library Torchbearers edition of Villette:

 Villette by Charlotte Brontë, with an introduction by Weike Wang (June 18)

Newwhistle celebrates Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility:

This one is truly a classic; if you haven’t read it, you are in for a treat, as it is one of the best debut novels ever written. (I’d put it up there with Jane Eyre and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.) (Laura LaVelle)

AV Club reviews The Handmaid's Tale graphic novel adaptation:

 It’s a choice that misses the purpose of the book entirely and robs the tale of its heft, suffering the same failures as last year’s terrible Jane Eyre adaptation. (Caitlin Rosberg)

Some After reviews:

Anna Todd, une jeune Américaine de 25 ans qui mène une vie simple, noie son ennui dans la lecture. “Hunger Games”, “Jane Eyre”, “Les Hauts du Hurle-Vent” ou encore “Orgueil et préjugés”; les classiques de la littérature comme les tendances du moment n’ont aucun secret pour elle. (Camille Sanchez in The Huffington Post) (Translation)

De smartphone registreert het moment wanneer Hardin een blauwtje loopt. Tijdens het feestje belandt Tessa in zijn kamer, en bladert ze onder andere in zijn exemplaar van Wuthering Heights waar een aantal post its in steken. Er lijkt toenadering tussen de twee te komen, maar Tessa blijft hem afwijzen want ze zit vooral met haar vriendje Noah die ze in het middelbaar leerde kennen in haar hoofd. (Bert Hertogs in Concertnews) (Translation)

Pendant 1h46, « After » raconte ainsi la romance entre une blonde – et vierge – ingénue aux lèvres charnues et un beau gosse en cuir, cynique et sauvage. Tout juste débarquée à la fac, la jolie Tessa, pourtant casée, croise la route de ce tombeur qui, lui, cite « les Hauts de Hurlevent ». (Catherine Balle in Le Parisien) (Translation)

Mais qui, comme elle, lit Gatsby le Magnifique, Les Hauts de Hurlevent et, évidemment, Orgueil et Préjugé, référence obligée de toute romance anglo-saxonne contemporaine. (Hubert Heyrendt in La Libre) (Translation)

El Mundo (Spain) finds echoes of Jane Eyre in the story of Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco. Grazia Daily is still in shock after the Charlotte Brontë mourning ring which appeared on Antiques Roadshow. Zapkode Marie reviews the recent Manga adaptation of Jane Eyre. What Rachel Wrote explores what she found walking top Top Withins. The Brussels Brontë Blog interviews Dr Kristien Hemmerechts.