Something of a feminist idol

South China Morning Post lists some authors born in April, including Charlotte Brontë:

Two of English literature’s greatest names were April babies: William Shakespeare, who was born and who died on April 23, the date chosen by Unesco as World Book Day; and Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, and something of a feminist idol. (Karly Cox)

Book Riot writes 'in defence of the 'modern' adaptation'.

Recently, I watched National Theatre at Home’s Production of Jane Eyre, which I found incredible and inspiring. Every third comment on the youtube video seemed to be some variant of the not liking modern adaptation variety. This particular production of Jane Eyre was devised by the company. Devised theatre is a different genre of theatre than a standard play. The company works with the source material to deconstruct and tell the story using sound, movement, and space. Along with the help of a movement coordinator and dramaturg, whose job is to interpret historical context and Brontë’s work for the company, Jane Eyre was pieced back together in a lively, heartbreaking way.
I had never seen a version of Jane Eyre I had connected with before. Then, there was this stripped down play, minimal set and props, small, diverse company, with dialogue borrowed directly from the book I tried reading several times. Jane Eyre, directed by Sally Cookson, was produced in 2015, yet spoke to me about freedom and heartache in 2020. Was my interpretation wrong? Did I watch it incorrectly? Was Sally Cookson’s Jane Eyre too modern because it was reimagined by 21st century artists? No.
When “classics” are adapted, they are adapted to their audience in context. In 1918, Jane Eyre was adapted into the silent drama Woman and Wife. Characters are dressed in stylish 1918 clothing rather than the heavy and austere clothing associated with Jane Eyre now. The film was subject to censorship laws of the time, cutting out some of the themes of the novel as well as scenes of drinking. As readers and viewers, we have no way of seeing what an original Jane Eyre might have looked like. We only have the original published work, the work of historical researchers, and the work of artists to go on. What we might recognize as a classic is always an interpretation. [...]
Book adaptations are that. Adaptations. Whether a piece is set in a contemporary setting or in its original setting, a new adaptation is born of current thought and ideal. Every adaptation is contemporary to its time. When we read books published hundreds years ago, of course we’re going to read them through our own perspective. We cannot go back. So we must look forward. (Courtney Rodgers)

Business Standard has an article on how to travel from home during lockdown thanks to books.

I could choose to get tossed around on the Mongolia, or I could run away to the Yorkshire moors, with Catherine Earnshaw and her Byronic, gypsy-cur of a companion, Heathcliff, through Brontë’s 1847 gothic tale of fierce love and revenge. (Radhika Oberoi)

While BBC Worklife wonders whether hermits can teach us about isolation.

Look to other cultures, and you’ll find that even early Buddhism’s chaste female wanderers, for example, were exceptions to the rule. Like the Hermit card in Tarot decks, we picture them male. In literature, the woman who opts for isolation tends to be at best a figure of pity, at worst, something more malevolent. Just contrast Charles Dickens’ wretched Miss Havisham or Charlotte Brontë’s original madwoman in the attic with Daniel Defoe’s iconic castaway, Robinson Crusoe. (Hepzibah Anderson)

Coveteur shares the books members of staff are currently reading:

Camille Freestone, Freelance Writer
[...]
2.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: I’ve been using my newfound free time to catch up on classics that I feel like I should have read. This one has so far been my favorite with the perfect balance between darkness and hope. Charlotte Brontë will make you fall in love with her characters as she weaves their tales through the Yorkshire moors—a favorite setting of the Brontë sisters.

The Yorkshire Post describes the local town of Ilkley as 'the town visited by everyone from Charles Darwin to Jimi Hendrix'.

Charlotte Brontë made two short visits to the town in 1853, and six years later it had another famous visitor, Charles Darwin. (Chris Bond)

L'Opinione delle Libertà (Italy) features the recently-translated The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815–1914 by Richard J. Evans.

Nella parte finale molto spazio è dato ai cambiamenti che avvennero in cambio letterario con l’avvento della sensibilità romantica in opposizione alla cultura illuminista. L’eroe romantico come creatura emotiva trovò la sua mirabile incarnazione e rappresentazione nel personaggio di Heathcliff, il protagonista di Cime tempestose, il grande romanzo di cui è autrice Emily Brontë. (Giuseppe Talarico) (Translation)

A New York Times article on whether stress actually affects fertility includes an unexpected mention of the Brontës:

Nearly 25 years ago, my husband and I were having dinner with friends who were expecting their second child — and I was having trouble getting pregnant.
“Just relax,” my friend’s husband offered, adding that his wife got pregnant after a weekend getaway to visit the in-laws in Florida.
My stress levels skyrocketed. I didn’t respond. But if I had, I’d have told him that all those theories about how stress curtails fertility is drivel from the Brontë era.
But now, I’m not so sure. (Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D.)

It is for subscribers only, but we gather that French writer Catherine Cusset is a fan of Jane Eyre judging from this article in L'Express

De Richard Powers à Anna Hope, en passant par Les Misérables, Anna Karénine ou Jane Eyre, la romancière française prise aussi bien les nouveautés que les classiques.