Jane Eyre, now Andromeda, is an exorcist

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood is one of 'The 55 Best New Books of October [that] Are the Perfect Mix of Horror, Romance, and Nonfiction' according to

PopSugar.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood is a clever reimagining of Jane Eyre. This version of Jane, named Andromeda, isn't a nanny — she's an exorcist, who is hired by an eccentric heir named Magnus Rochester to rid his home of the Evil Eye. Unfortunately, his sprawling manse is far more dangerous than anything Andromeda has ever faced before, but she's fallen too hard for her employer to turn back now. (Sabienna Bowman)

BuzzFeed News includes the same novel on a list of '18 Horror Novels About Ghosts You Won’t Put Down'.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood (Wednesday Books; Oct. 19)

This mesmerizing Ethiopian-inspired gothic reimagines Jane Eyre in a fantasy setting. Andromeda was trained as a debtera — an exorcist who cleanses houses of evil spirits — though her mentor refuses to license her officially. She’s barely making a living when the wealthy Magnus Rochester hires her to rid his castle of its evil spirits. When she arrives, she’s shocked by what she finds. Deadly manifestations fill the castle beginning at 10 p.m. and continue throughout the night. She’s never seen such a multitude of evil spirits all in one place, and never this deadly. She’s unsure if she’ll be successful at ridding the castle of its hauntings, but, desperate for money and finding herself somewhat attracted to the handsome Mr. Rochester, she agrees to take the job. (Margaret Kingsbury)

Countryfile magazine suggests some 'Gothic days out for Halloween' including a trip to

Haworth, West Yorkshire

The moors around Haworth were the inspiration for Wuthering Heights, the haunted house at the heart of Emily Brontë’s tempestuous classic novel. The Brontë Parsonage museum library, housed in the stone cottage that was the Brontës’ family home, contains the world’s largest collection of letters, manuscripts, poetry and early editions of the sisters’ novels. Haworth is a pretty town, and the path next to the parsonage is the starting point for an atmospheric walk through the village and out into the South Pennines. (Karen Ruffles and Tanya Jackson)

Bishop's Stortford Independent recommends some 'translated children's book' such as

Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault

Helene is not free to hide from the taunts of her former friends in the corridors at school. She can't be invisible in the playground or in the stairways leading to art class.

Insults are even scribbled on the walls of the toilet cubicles. Helene smells, Helene's fat, Helene has no friends ... now.

When Helene's heart hammers in her chest as Genevieve snickers at the back of the bus, inventing nasty things to say about her, Helene dives into the pages of her book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
. And, in the solace she finds there, Helene's own world becomes a little brighter.

But how will the story end? Is there any hope for the wise, strange, plain Jane Eyre? How could Mr Rochester ever love her?

At nature camp, arranged by the school as a treat, Helene finds herself in the tent of other outcasts. Again, her inner and outer worlds become entangled as she reads on, this time putting herself into Jane Eyre's shoes. It would be impossible for Mr Rochester to marry a sausage in a swimsuit, even if he loved her, wouldn't it?

But, while deeply lost in self-doubt, Helene's world is unexpectedly shaken up by a fresh new friendship. Geraldine snorts with laughter at her jokes! They love being together!

Helene begins to worry less about what the cruel girls think and more about how happy she can be (and make others). Perhaps Jane Eyre's story will end well after all, too.

Jacqueline Wilson suggests to read to your teenagers in The Times:

Wilson suggested Charles Dickens for people who “like to show off a bit” and do the voices or Jane Eyre for older girls which is “a cracking book to read out loud”. (Nicola Woolcock)

Writer Jonathan Franzen discusses writing in the first person vs writing in the third person in The Irish Times.

“I’m kind of a warrior on the topic of third person versus first. Third person indirect is one of the crowning achievements of the human species. The flexibility of the third person, what you can do in the space of a single sentence in terms of going in and out of subjectivity, between interiority and exteriority… why you would tie both hands behind your back and stick with this rather boring word ‘I’ I cannot figure out. Unless you’re writing The Great Gatsby or Lolita or Jane Eyre.” (John Self)

Byline Times features Cynthia Muthoni, a University of East Anglia student who launched the petition ‘add education on diversity and racism to all school curriculums’ last June and went on to win a Petition Campaign of the Year award this year.

“In my school, we studied Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) alongside Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966), which acts as a prequel to Jane Eyre and gives a deeper understanding into Caribbean and Creole culture. The way Jean Rhys was able to take this classic novel and provide a nuanced perspective by making the minor and under-developed character of Bertha (the first Mrs Rochester) the protagonist of her novel, was absolutely inspired.” (Almaz Ohene)

El periódico de Aragón (Spain) reviews the recent release of Anne Brontë's poetry translated into Spanish.

La ‘Poesía completa’ de Anne Brontë recorre sus escritos desde 1838 hasta sus últimos días en 1849, cuando ella misma deja sobre el papel la certeza de que su fin está cerca. En formato bilingüe, lo cual añade más atractivo a esta cuidada edición, las inquietudes de la autora y sus vivencias van quedando plasmadas en unos poemas influenciados por su entorno y por unas temáticas recurrentes, la naturaleza, el amor y el desamor, la pérdida, el recuerdo y la nostalgia y los ecos de una vida que no era precisamente fácil para una mujer culta en tiempos en los que el lugar femenino era el hogar y la crianza de la familia. Pero, pese a todo, tanto Anne como sus hermanas supieron desafiar las convenciones sociales para dejar como legado su talento literario.

Marcada por la temprana muerte de su hermano y su hermana Emily, hay en su poesía tintes de desesperanza, pero también de superación, de esperar mañanas en los que la tragedia no sea protagonista, aunque en su corta vida esa fue una constante incluso en cuestiones de amor.

En sus últimas letras, Anne se sabe cercana al fin y vuelve su mirada a Dios haciendo recuento de sus logros y aflicciones. «Si me devolvieras a la vida, sería más humilde; más sabia, más fortalecida para la contienda», dejó escrito una joven mujer que supo dejar huella y cuyo reconocimiento sigue en aumento. (Virginia Guzmán) (Translation)

The London Economic reviews the latest James Bond movie No Time To Die directed by Cary Fukunaga.

Ultimately what I was left with was such a sense of profound disconnect that made me wonder if I will ever enjoy the concept of watching moving images on a screen again. Interestingly, I had a similar sensation after watching director Fukanaga’s Jane Eyre, so perhaps something must be attributed to his dispassionate filmmaking style. (Christopher Marchant)

Finally, a question from The Guardian's Saturday quiz.

What links:

13 Sylvia Plath; Emily Brontë; Margaret Mitchell; Anna Sewell? (Thomas Eaton)