Charlotte Brontë's little book is still hitting the headlines all over the world. Anita Morris Associates (working for the Brontë Society) summed it up with this tweet yesterday.
We are of course delighted about it, but let's return to regular Brontë news.
Yorkshire Life recommends a Haworth walk:
This walk covers some of the places and landscapes most associated with the Brontë family. Family life for the Brontës was full of tragedy with Patrick outliving his son, five daughters and wife. The longest surviving daughters achieved considerable literary success with Charlotte's Jane Eyre, Anne's Agnes Grey and Emily's Wuthering Heights all published in 1847. Despite the sadness the family endured today Haworth owes much to their lives and work.
From the car park make your way to the church and take the path that runs to its right to pass the Parsonage Museum, which has a superb collection of artefacts pertaining to the Brontës. Follow the path signed to Haworth Moor which leads you onto a road. Turn left along the road and bear left at the first junction. After about 400 yards fork right to descend down a grassy track which leads to Lower Laithe Reservoir. Reaching the road follow it across the top of the dam, turning left at a T-junction to continue through the village of Stanbury.
At the far end of the village, turn left along an enclosed tarmac lane. The lane deteriorates into a rough track. Reaching a fork, take the right-hand route, signposted Top Withens. The track climbs steadily with improving views to emerge onto open moorland. Ignore diverging paths and stay with the main signed route to join the Pennine Way. Take care as this area can be confusing in bad weather - some experience of navigation would be useful in mist.
The ruined farmhouse of Top Withins is said by some to be Wuthering Heights but this is strongly disputed by experts. We shall never know the truth but the scenery is superb and in wild weather the location is full of literary promise with superb views of the surrounding moorland. Although most people turn back for Haworth at this point it is worth pressing on for another half mile or so to reach the relative solitude of the less visited moors beyond the ruins.
From High Withins retrace your route towards Haworth for about two hundred metres and fork right along a path heading towards Brontë Falls. The path descends through moorland with a stream to on your right. Follow the signs for the falls crossing a number of walls which are crossed by stiles. Reaching a kissing-gate join the Brontë Way and descend to the Brontë Bridge and falls. Reputed to be where the Brontë sisters spent some time, this is a view worth lingering over.
Cross the bridge and turn left towards Haworth following the main path that climbs above the stream. The onward route is straightforward first crossing moorland. The path becomes a track and leads to a public road. Turn right along the road for a short way before taking a path that heads half left to climb slightly onto the higher ground of Penistone Hill Country Park. There are many paths in this area but the best route is take the clear path that follows the ill-defined ridge and then skirts the northern flanks of Penistone Hill to reach a road (grid ref. 027368). Cross over and follow the path taking turning left to reach Haworth churchyard and the end of the walk. (Lou Johnson)
North Eastern Illinois University Independent reviews the Joffrey Ballet's performances of
Jane Eyre spelling Brontë as Brönte throughout the article.
The dancers were incredible. Jane (Victoria Jaiani) and Edward (Fabrice Calmels) had an unbelievable chemistry that was tangible throughout the whole audience. Every touch made the audience hold their breaths, for they could feel the suffering that the two lovers were going through. All the dances communicated the words of longing and conflict Charlotte Brönte wrote so many years ago.
The venue, The Auditorium Theatre, was magnificent itself. It helped the audience get into the mindset of the story before the ballet even began. The production side of the performance was extraordinary. The costumes had both a historic feeling to them, and also enhanced the dancers’ every move. The scenery really helped tell the story, especially through the many different panels that were used in the performance. A few of them were opaque, they separated the stage into scenes, such as a door or the forest landscapes, used to give the stage more depth. At the beginning of the performance Jane tells her story to the people that rescued her from the forest she was found. Before she starts to tell her tale, Jane goes to the end of the stage, behind a sheer panel, to demonstrate the time difference between to her now and the story. That way the audience can still see her, but understands that the focus of the narrative it is what is happening in front of the panel.
The highlights of the night were the personification of Jane’s demons and Rochester’s wife’s appearances. To help the audience understand how the main character was feeling, there were moments where these ‘demons’, all dressed in white, appeared and danced with her. With the dark music involving them, it was a smart decision that really helped the audience comprehend how much she was actually suffering, because you could visually see her feelings through her movements, she tried to run away from the ‘demons’ but they would always catch her and literally throw her back to where she was initially.
Every time Rochester’s wife, Bertha Mason, appeared it was amazing. The dancer, Yuka Iwai, who portrayed her did an amazing job in translating the character’s madness with her sharp and erratic movements. The songs that she danced to all had heavy drums that enhanced her movements with deep beats that resonated through the audience with each step and twirl. The settings, especially the ones involving the fires, were breathtakingly primal.
From the choices of clothing and music, to the actual dance moves, everything helped translate the vital story emotions and elements of the book from page to stage. The audience felt every single emotion that the dancers were trying to evoke. A beautiful adaptation of a story about hardship and an unconventional love story that, to this day, leave everyone who encounters it bewitched. (Ana Peres Bogo)
Far Out Magazine explores singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks's literary taste.
There’s also a clear affection for the trailblazing feminist work of the Brontë sisters. Not only did she include the defiant work of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre but also her sister, Charlotte’s, seminal work Wuthering Heights. She noted once, “The beauty of both these classics is that they were fantastic when I was a teenager and they still appeal to me now as a 63-year-old woman.”
She even found room on her essential list, the ‘prequel’ to Jane Eyre, Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea which focusses instead on Mrs. Rochester, the ‘wild woman’ who features in Brontë’s novel. Stevie once said of Sargasso, Jean Rhys wrote this book as a precursor to Jane Eyre because of her love for the Brontë novel. I saw the film adaptation of the book in the early 1990s and it inspired me to write the song of the same name on my album.”
The New Indian Express interviews writer Sharbari Zohra Ahmed.
As a renowned writer, and also having written the script for Quantico, what has influenced you as a writer and your works?
A great storytelling. The films I mentioned above, including Satyajit Ray’s work, and also great novels, like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice had a tremendous effect on me. Any stories with powerful female protagonists, who show strength and vulnerability simultaneously are also huge page turner for me. I also love sprawling social epics, like A Suitable Boy or Midnight’s Children.
North County Outlook recommends 'new goodies for your garden' such as
David Austin Roses — It’s hard to talk about roses without including the wonderful English roses from David Austin. Here are two that are noteworthy:
‘Emily Brontë’ — Flowers on this vigorous rose are 3.5 inches across and soft pink with the smaller inner petals a deeper rich apricot for a total of 100 petals on each bloom. The fragrance starts out a delicious tea-rose scent that over time becomes more old rose with hints of lemon and grapefruit. (I bet you are salivating now!) (Steve Smith)
The Eyre Guide has a review of
The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis giving it a 5/5.
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