The wealthy House of Rochester

Mental Floss shares '11 Enlightening Facts About Anne Brontë'.

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are an iconic literary trio—but of the three sisters, Anne has been the least read and, arguably, the least understood. The English critic George Saintsbury once deemed Anne a “pale reflection of her elders”; her own sister, Charlotte, dismissed her as a “gentle, retiring, inexperienced writer.” But such perceptions of Anne as bland and inferior are changing. She worked hard to earn a living, spun vivid tales of an imaginary kingdom, and wrote forcefully about the social oppression of women. To mark the 200th anniversary of her birth in 2020, here are 11 enlightening facts about this underappreciated Brontë sister. (Brigit Katz) (Read more)

In The Guardian, writer Sarah Blake picks her 'Top 10 tales about the rich' and we are surprised to find Jane Eyre on it.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Jane enters the wealthy House of Rochester as a governess, and finds it to be in possession of a wandering secret, a secret that insists on its telling, a secret in the form of a woman, dark and furious, and shut away. This story of a girl coming to find her voice in the face of a world that would dismiss her is one of my touchstones.

Of course referring to Thornfield Hall as 'the wealthy House of Rochester' does indeed make it sound more glamorous.

BH Living reviews Blackeyed Theatre's stage production of Jane Eyre.

This is a brave production – the stage is a simple, uncomplicated wooden set which included a piano. The costumes worn by the actors are impeccably faithful to the period. A couple of the small additions add some welcome humour to what is a tragic heart churning story of ‘Jane’. We witness her tough upbringing, her formative adult years, and her years as a Governess for Mr Rochester. We journey with her learning through life’s ups and (mostly) downs as she eventually has the courage to follow her heart.
Jane is superbly played by Kelsey Short who puts her heart and soul into the play with Ben Warwick playing Mr Edward Rochester. The whole cast, just five in total, were all highly skilled, multi-talented performers and deserve to be recognised for the expressive and creative way in which they portrayed the characters. The play lasted a little over two and half hours which is no mean feat for such a small cast.
This is a powerful story – those who have read the book will understand the power behind the words. Those who have not, will undoubtably watch this play and resolve to read the book. In my opinion the story of Jane Eyre really is one of the greatest literary works by the pen of a female author, and this excellent production has kept the story alive. (Brian Case)

Raamatuporaal (Estonia) on Patti Smith's favourite books.

Veel märkis Patti Smith, et teda liigutas pisarateni Charlotte Brontë «Villette», mille lõpp murdis ta südame. Lugemiselamus andis kirjanikule nii palju mõtteainet, et ta kirjutas sellele oma südamerahuks väikese alternatiivse lõpu. (Translation)

Ann Dinsdale holding Charlotte Brontë's 'little book' is one of the pictures of the week for The Bookseller. Trendencias (Spain) has selected several classics judging by their pretty covers, including three of the Brontë novels.