The Brontës’ rebellious legacy

Eastern Eye features Anita Rani's Sisters of Disruption.

From a young age, Rani was surrounded by the Brontës’ legacy. At her all-girls’ school, the portrait of the Brontë sisters by Branwell Brontë was a familiar sight, and their stories felt personal, especially since she grew up walking the same windswept moors they once did. The documentary takes Rani back to those roots, exploring the spirit of rebellion that connected her with the Brontës from a young age. To her, they weren’t just quiet, knitting women. They were fierce disruptors who challenged norms and made their voices heard. It’s this strength that resonated with Rani, who always longed to break out of traditional expectations.

Rani’s upbringing was shaped by her parents’ struggles as Punjabi immigrants who set up a textile factory in Bradford. Despite the hardships, her father encouraged her to break stereotypes. Unlike many traditional Indian fathers, he took her to the pub at 15 and taught her to play pool, something Rani credits for her ability to navigate the TV industry today.

The Brontë sisters, like Rani, were outsiders in their own way. Rani’s documentary highlights how their stories are more than just gothic romances; they are tales of women pushing against the world’s constraints. The film also touches on modern issues, like using Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to support domestic abuse survivors. Rani’s own sense of disruption is echoed in the Brontës’ fight for female autonomy and identity.

Reflecting on her journey, Rani admits that her teenage self never realised how much the Brontës’ spirit matched her own. It wasn’t just about loving Wuthering Heights or identifying with Heathcliff. It was about finding a voice and taking ownership of her story.

Today, Rani continues to challenge stereotypes, inspired by the Brontës’ rebellious legacy. As she considers getting a tattoo that reads ‘Sister of Disruption,’ it’s clear that she’s not just telling their story but living it. (Pooja Pillai)

The Yorkshire Post features the Birstall-based Friends of Oakwell Hall who 'work to maintain manor house and gardens visited by Charlotte Bronte that has featured in Gentleman Jack and Wuthering Heights'.

Oakwell Hall was built in 1583 and has a colourful history, being a manor house, school and latterly a museum. Writer Charlotte Bronte visited in the 19th Century and featured it as Fieldhead in her novel Shirley.

Shemazing recommends '9 classic books under 200 pages that you could read in a day' including

Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys (176 pages)

This is one that will only make sense if you’ve already read Jane Eyre, but it’s honestly one of my favourite modern classics, purely for the interesting angle and social commentary. The story follows Antoinette ‘Bertha’ Mason, the woman who eventually becomes Mr. Rochester’s ‘crazy’ wife that he locks up in the attic in Jane Eyre. But this time, the story is told from her perspective and we take the journey with her as she struggles through life in the colonies before being transported to a strange land in Britain where no one understands her and her new husband is cruel. Although we know her ending we hope for more for her, and this retelling delivers. (Amber Saunders)

Cosmopolitan (Spain) lists some writers who published under pen names, including the Brontës. The Brussels Brontë Blog has a post on a recent talk given by Dr. Charlotte Jones from the University of Oxford on 'The Brontës among the Moderns' about the influence of the literary sisters on eminent early 20th-century writers.