This is the Way

The Telegraph & Argus devotes a piece to the reopening and renovation of the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton:

Following a remarkable crowdfunding campaign supported by more than 700 investors, and grants from Bradford 2025 and the Community Ownership Fund, the house has had a major nine-month restoration. More than £650,000 was raised to save the historic site, which has opened under the care of Brontë Birthplace Limited.

The house offers a fascinating visitor experience, to learn about life during the Regency period in Thornton and the Brontës’ domestic lives as a young family. An education programme is using the property’s legacy to inspire schoolchildren to believe in what they can achieve - just as three girls from Thornton, who went on to write some of the world’s most celebrated novels, did two centuries ago.

There’s an overnight facility too, with three bedrooms named after Emily, Charlotte and Anne due to open for the public to stay in. A cafe is opening this summer.

Having visited the house last year, before the renovation, I’ve been keen to see how it looks now. Thomas Haig from the Brontë Birthplace Committee meets me in the parlour, where Emily, Charlotte, Anne and Branwell were born by the hearth. This cosy space will be the cafe.

We go through to a gallery and exhibition space, where two sold-out Bradford Literature Festival events recently took place; Joanne Wilcock’s talk on Patrick and Maria’s’ early romance and Graham Watson’s exploration of Charlotte’s legacy. Artwork from Thornton Art Trail was on display here, and there are plans to showcase more local artists’ work and hold regular talks. (Read more) (Emma Clayton)

Keighley News reports on an upcoming alert in the local area:

People are being given the chance to walk through Keighley in the footsteps of the Brontës.

Actor and historian Irene Lofthouse will lead a tour on Saturday, July 26, taking in locations where the family enjoyed art, music, literature, travel and fairs.

She will adopt the guise of Brontë nursemaid and housekeeper, Nancy de Garrs.

Irene says: "Many people never think of the Brontës in Keighley yet they came often to look for books, give or listen to lectures, hear music, draw and paint, visit friends, enjoy an annual fair and more.

"I'll be following the Town Trail, devised by Keighley local studies librarians, which uncovered many nuggets of Brontë history hidden for years."

Irene has been portraying Nancy de Garrs for over a decade, visiting schools to tell Brontë tales and Undercliffe Cemetery where Nancy is buried.

This month's tour starts from Keighley Local Studies Library at 10am, and lasts two hours. (Alistair Shand)

The Mirror US mentions a TikTok by @vaneschko_books where Pedro Pascal shares his favourite books, which include Jane Eyre:

Pedro then added that he 'loves' Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Originally published in 1847, Jane Eyre follows an orphan as she grows up, overcoming adversities and finds love and independence. (Talya Honebeek)

Far Out Magazine mentions again one particularly disgusting (if true) anecdote in the shooting of Wuthering Heights 1939:

By the time he made it to Hollywood with 1939’s Wuthering Heights, Olivier managed to make an enemy of his female lead at the very first time of asking. He was cast as the unruly Heathcliff in the Emily Brontë adaptation, while Merle Oberon, a rising star at MGM, was cast as Heathcliff’s obsession, Catherine Earnshaw. He had previously worked with Oberon on a British movie called The Divorce of Lady X, and decided on that shoot that she wasn’t at his level, even going so far as to dub her a “silly little amateur”.

Perhaps this is why he seemingly chose to be as difficult as possible on Wuthering Heights, being openly rude to Oberon and director William Wyler. She also claimed he purposely spat on her during intimate scenes, which he tried to play off as something that happens all the time when actors are in close proximity. Eventually, though, she blew up at him and snapped, “That was worse than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a badly played shot, if I may say so — and you spat again!”

At this, Olivier reportedly flew off the handle, screaming, “Why you amateur little bitch! What’s a little spit for Christ’s sake between actors? You bloody little idiot, how dare you speak to me…?” This caused Oberon to leave the set in tears, and when Wyler stepped in to force Olivier to make amends, he outright refused, claiming he wouldn’t be made a fool of. (Michael Gordon)

The Halifax Courier publishes a gallery with the local blue plaques, which include:

2. Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë has her own blue plaque in Calderdale which is located on Law Hill House, Southowram, where she lived when she taught at Elizabeth Patchetts school for girls. (Abigail Kellett)

El Confidencial (Spain) quotes the writer and journalist Patricia Fernández on her favourite books:

A continuación, cita Cumbres borrascosas, de Emily Brontë, a la que compara con una “euforia vintage”, advirtiendo que no se trata de una historia romántica convencional. Según explica, es una obra cargada de conflictos, manipulación emocional y pasiones que arrastran a los personajes por el fango de sus propios sentimientos. (Translation)

Swooon and Film-Authority mention the Too Much's main protagonist's love of Wuthering Heights.