Lucy Snowe forces you to become a detective

LitHub shares part of the conversation writer Olivia Laing had with Michael Kelleher for the Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast in which she mentions Villette.

Olivia Laing: She [Lucy Snow[e]] has this very strange way of telling you things where she tells you a fantasy and then she says, “you can believe that.” And you go, “Oh, okay, Lucy. So it wasn’t like that at all, but you’re not gonna let me know.” She forces you to become a detective. And I think the reason I love this book, one of the many reasons, is it forces you to be a very active reader. You have to, all the time, weigh up everything everyone tells you, everything she tells you, and work out whether it’s true or not.

A columnist from Brainerd Dispatch recommends some of her favourite classic love stories.

I do, however, have to credit my college English class with connecting me to one of my all-time favorite classics, “Jane Eyre.” Everything about the novel drew me in — the characters, the gothic setting, the unpredictable twists and turns. I can still vividly remember my heart thumping fast as I neared the end and worried about what was in store for our hero and heroine. [...]

‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte (1847)

I couldn’t compile a list of my favorite love stories without mentioning Jane Eyre and Mr. Edward Rochester. Two more opposite people can’t be found — her poverty and his wealth, her sheltered life compared with his adventures abroad, her youth paired with his maturity. They come from different worlds, but their lives collide in a shower of sparks.

Jane’s an orphan, having grown up first with her neglectful, abusive aunt and cousins and then under harsh conditions at Lowood School for Girls. When she decides to embark out on her own, Jane finds herself a job as governess at Thornfield Hall, teaching Mr. Rochester’s ward, Adele. She soon becomes enraptured with the moody master of the house but isn’t prepared for the sharp turns her life is about to take.

It’s not until adulthood that Jane finds her true place in the world, among those who love her unconditionally. (Theresa Bourke)

The Telegraph and Argus reports that the public toilets in Haworth Central Park have been refurbished.