Talks exploring the life and legacy of Branwell Brontë are taking place at the Brontë Parsonage and Brontë Birthplace.The events aim to shed light on the often-overlooked brother of the famous Brontë sisters, who made his mark as both an artist and poet but whose life was ultimately overshadowed by personal struggles.On September 22, the Brontë Birthplace hosted an online talk titled Sibling Rivalry: Unpacking the Art of Branwell Brontë, led by guest speaker Dr Maebh O’Regan.The talk explored Branwell’s artistic output, focusing on his creative process.Branwell’s most well-known work is The Brontë Sisters Portrait, also known as The Pillar Portrait, painted in 1834.Though the piece has received negative criticism, it remains one of the most popular works in the British National Portrait Gallery.Later in the week, the Brontë Parsonage will present an in-person and online talk on September 24, titled Grief and Loss in the Writing of Branwell Brontë.Led by Brontë scholar Rose Gant, the talk will begin at 2pm at the Parsonage, with a Zoom session offered at 7.30pm.A spokesman for the Brontë Parsonage said: "Like his siblings, Branwell suffered a series of losses throughout his lifetime, attending the deathbed of his mother, his aunt and his close friend William Weightman."Branwell drew on these losses as inspiration for his writing, capturing his experiences in both his letters and poetry."This talk will explore these writings, looking at both the inspirations and how Branwell captures his experiences of grief." (Amelia Short)
As bleak as it is beautiful, the windswept landscape of the South Pennines and its surrounding settlements in West Yorkshire fuelled the imagination of the Brontë sisters as they wrote their works in the mid-19th century.“In the hill-country silence, their poetry comes by lines and stanzas into my mind,” wrote Charlotte Brontë, reflecting on the moorland after the deaths of her sisters, Anne and Emily.Yet residents warn the setting that inspired the Brontës could be lost forever to England’s largest onshore wind farm. [...]“It’s not just a local moor,” explains Nick MacKinnon, who lives in the small village of Stanbury. “It’s internationally designated twice, and it’s internationally famous as the Brontë moor. [...]As for the wind farm’s ramifications for tourism, Calderdale Energy Park said: “Our assessment work to date concludes that Top Withens and its Brontë associations would remain intact, with no harm to its heritage significance.”Yet Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, is not convinced.“You can’t separate the Brontës’ work and the influence on them from the landscape itself,” she says. “The two are completely entwined.”Despite having seen visitor numbers increase by 20pc, in part because of the release of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, Yorke believes the tourism related to the literary heritage would be affected if the project went ahead, given the landscape would be “forever changed”.“Wuthering Heights is full of references to wildlife, particularly birds, such as lapwings and skylarks, which are around today. And there are also several mentions of peat in the novel,” she says“The Brontës themselves were well aware of the nature which made up the moors.”Yorke points to the final line of Wuthering Heights in which Lockwood, seemingly untouched by the turbulence he has witnessed, ponders the “quiet earth” of Brontë country.“If Calderdale Energy Park is not stopped, then the ‘quiet’ of this unique and special place will be shattered by the industrial hum of turbines, and the ‘earth’ replaced by tons of concrete,” she says. (Robert White)
The couple in the song burn with feeling, however let their pride stand between them. Years pass. Only then do the lyrical protagonists see what they’ve lost, and by that point, the door is already closed. What remains is longing that never fades and hunger with nowhere left to go.Amanda Fagan treats this story with lightness, allowing the sadness to come through naturally. “Forever Yearn” is a minor tragedy concerning timing and stubbornness, in that two lives can easily drift apart when neither of the individuals is willing to yield first.The song takes a classic story of ruined passion and turns it into a personal and up-to-date account, one that deals with the cost of delaying too long in saying what is important. (Layla Moore)
She moved on to the Theatre Royal, Horsham, where her roles included Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights (1953), with Michael Caine as her brother Hindley. (Anthony Hayward in The Guardian)
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, said: "We have not consulted our local accommodation partners or our visitors about the possible introduction of an overnight visitor levy, but understand why there might be concerns."The current economic climate continues to put pressure on the budgets of businesses and visitors alike and many tourist destinations have already been impacted by increased costs, e.g. the price of fuel and car parking charges."She stressed the need for transparency if a levy is introduced.Ms Yorke said: "While the introduction of a tourism levy will bring us in line with many European destinations, we believe it's important that its purpose is clearly communicated and articulates how the income generated by it will be used." (Amelia Short)
Just this year, Emerald Fennell crafted her own spin on Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights,” and Christopher Nolan struck box office gold with his version of “The Odyssey,” proving there is always new material to mine, even if it makes literary purists uneasy. (Sophia Ciminello)
Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontëA gothic story of longing set between two neighboring estates in a bleak northern England setting, Wuthering Heights follows multiple generations of love stories between destructive characters and passionate romantic tangles. Obsessive love, social class, and even a few ghostly hauntings come into play in this page-turner that feels like one endless rainy day. (Arabella Hau)
The Real Love Story Behind Jane Eyre Was Much DarkerJoin Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett as they delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of Jane Eyre, the world it was born of, and the novel itself.
Heathcliff and Catherine’s doomed romance has always carried more than a hint of the macabre, but Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned is taking that darkness much further. The new British horror reworking of Emily Brontë’s classic novel transforms Catherine into a vengeful ghost and Heathcliff into a man prepared to kill in order to bring her back.Directed by Rebecca J Matthews, the film will be released to own next month through Signature Entertainment, offering a supernatural reinterpretation of one of literature’s most famously destructive relationships.The story begins after Catherine’s death, with her spirit haunting the halls of Wuthering Heights and terrorising those who remain there. Heathcliff, consumed by grief and obsession, becomes convinced that her continued presence depends on bloodshed and begins carrying out sacrifices in the hope that Catherine might eventually possess a living body.That arrangement is disrupted by the arrival of Mr Lockwood, a new tenant at a neighbouring property whose curiosity draws him into the increasingly dangerous affairs of the house. As his health deteriorates and his grip on reality begins to falter, Lockwood encounters Catherine’s tortured apparition while gradually discovering just how far Heathcliff is willing to go.Liana Failla wrote the screenplay, drawing on Brontë’s 1847 novel while pushing the material firmly into supernatural horror. Rather than treating Catherine’s presence as an ambiguous gothic element, the film makes her ghost central to the action, with Heathcliff’s grief transformed into a murderous devotion.Filming took place in Brechin, Scotland, giving the production a suitably remote backdrop for its reimagining of the isolated Yorkshire estate.The project joins a long line of screen adaptations inspired by Wuthering Heights, although its emphasis on possession, sacrifice and explicitly supernatural violence takes the material in a markedly different direction from the more traditional romantic and period-drama interpretations. The House of the Damned recasts Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship as something much more dangerous, turning romantic obsession into the engine for a full gothic horror story. (Emily Bennett)
In which case, you really have to applaud whoever came up with the idea of Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned. Available on digital platforms in three short weeks (on 19 October in fact), it is a remake of Emily Brontë’s classic novel, only scarier. In the film, as far as I am able to tell, Cathy has died and her ghost starts haunting Heathcliff to the point that he starts murdering everyone. Is it any good? All signs point to not really, especially since the trailer contains a shot where Cathy seems to become a zombie so that she can punch through a window and strangle someone to death. But will I watch it? Oh God, try to stop me.You can see what’s happening here, can’t you? Emerald Fennell made a Wuthering Heights film this year and it was wildly successful, currently the 19th biggest film of 2026. But Wuthering Heights was published 179 years ago, so anyone can do whatever they want with it. Fennell’s film proved this all too well, with its rubbing and squishing and skin-coloured rooms. But it also means that someone else can hop on the back of it and turn it into a hammy horror about a zombie in a bridal gown. It’s not like the Brontës are around to sue, is it? (Stuart Heritage)
Rain came in with the wind and I got absolutely drenched on the final approach to Haworth. But soon after, I was entering Bradford’s prettiest township and thinking about coffee and cake. The walk officially ends at Penistone Hill country park, but after taking walking therapy a few years ago, I am no longer a completist – and was satisfied with my walk and mini achievement. I bowed out on Haworth high street, without so much as a glance at the Brontë Parsonage Museum. (Chris Moss)
Cobbled streets, vintage shops, pubs with roaring fires all surrounded by rolling countryside hills – you’ll find it all in this Yorkshire village.There’s no better time to visit than autumn, as the whole village gets a seasonal overhaul with huge shop displays and twinkling lights for the dark evenings.The West Yorkshire village called Haworth has absolutely everything associated with autumn from cobbled streets to charming cottages and cosy cafes. [...]The town has literature connections too as it was home of the Brontë sisters, who between them wrote books like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.Yorkshire.com explained: “Home of the famous Brontë sisters, Haworth is an undisputed literary mecca, attracting visitors from all around the world." (Alice Penwill)
From the Brontës' Haworth to Jane Austen's Bath, Wordsworth's Lake District and Thomas Hardy's Dorset, literary places continue to exert a powerful hold over readers.Literary tourism appears to be enjoying renewed popularity, from visits inspired by classic novels to the TikTok trend of turning books into travel itineraries. But what exactly are literary tourists hoping to find when they get there? The answer is more complicated than it might seem.Haworth, Bath and Dorset all exist, obviously. They can be found on a map and visited. But the Brontë moors, Austen's Bath, Wordsworth's Lakes and Hardy's Wessex are also literary reimaginings of those places. They may never have existed in quite the form readers imagine.Our fascination with literary places has a long history. Literary geography, which combines physical geography with literary studies, emerged in the late 19th century as the novel grew in popularity and, in many ways, developed alongside literary tourism.In 1899, William Lyon Phelps created his Literary Map of England, marking locations associated with authors and literary works. A few years later, William Sharp's Literary Geography (1904) mapped regions such as "Dickens land," "the Brontë country" and the literary geography of the English lakes.These early literary maps invited readers to see where fictional and geographical worlds appeared to overlap. More than a century later, readers are still seeking those points of intersection. [...]When visitors reach Haworth, Grasmere or Dorset, they are not encountering those places for the first time. They have already visited them in their imagination. Their version of the landscape has been assembled from books, films, photographs, places they have visited and other cultural references. When they arrive, they compare the physical location with that imagined one. [...]At Haworth, visitors move through domestic spaces associated with the Brontë family while simultaneously encountering the imaginative worlds of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth derives much of its power from bringing biography, landscape, family tragedy and fiction together in one place. [...]From the earliest maps of Dickens land and Brontë country to today’s literary pilgrimages, the goal has remained remarkably consistent: to find the point at which real and fictional worlds collide. Literary geography suggests that this point may never quite be reachable. Perhaps that is precisely why readers keep looking for it. (Rebecca Hutcheon)
There was a time when putting Jane Eyre on a school reading list would have been regarded as a fairly ordinary educational decision. A teacher might have thought that young readers could benefit from encountering a spirited orphan, a brooding gentleman, a Gothic mansion and a complex moral journey. CNN, however, has discovered that the matter may be considerably more sinister. The appearance of Charlotte Brontë's novel on a Chinese reading list, it suggests, is evidence of something called ideology.This is an impressive burden to place on a book. A novel that has survived Victorian moralists, modern feminists, postcolonial critics, film directors, television producers and generations of adolescent readers must now also survive the investigative imagination of cable news.According to CNN, the Chinese authorities see Jane Eyre as a corrective to the superficial romantic fantasies of the social-media age. That interpretation is not especially difficult to understand. The novel does, after all, present a young woman who values dignity, independence and moral self-respect more than money or social position. Jane refuses to become Rochester's mistress even though she loves him. She rejects St John's proposal because it offers duty without affection. Her famous declaration — "I care for myself" — is hardly a ringing endorsement of passive obedience.Yet CNN appears determined to treat the inclusion of an extracurricular classic as a coded ideological communique. One begins to wonder whether every alteration to a school reading list must now be examined for signs of a change in the authority's philosophical weather. If a book is added, it is a signal. If a book is removed, it is another signal. If a book remains where it was, perhaps that is the most ominous signal of all.There is, of course, a legitimate discussion to be had about Jane Eyre. The novel was published in London in 1847, and its treatment of Bertha Mason, the "mad woman in the attic", has rightly attracted criticism. Its depiction of colonialism, race and imperial wealth deserves scrutiny. Rochester's conduct, too, may strike contemporary readers as less than an ideal model of romantic behaviour. But literary criticism requires a modest acquaintance with history. Brontë was writing in the nineteenth century, not drafting a relationship guide for the year 2026. To read an old novel critically is sensible; to demand that it conform entirely to present-day moral vocabulary is to confuse literature with an updated terms-of-service agreement.A classic's value does not depend on its being ideologically spotless. Jane Eyre has generated a vast critical literature, inspired countless adaptations for stage and screen, and remained influential across cultures for nearly two centuries. Its endurance is not proof that every idea in it is beyond question. It is proof that the novel contains enough artistic power, psychological complexity and unresolved contradiction to keep readers arguing. [...]A reading list is usually a reading list. Sometimes a book is chosen because it is good, sometimes because it is available, and occasionally because someone has actually read it. That last possibility may be less dramatic than ideological intrigue, but it is probably worth considering. (Li Yang)
In the fall semester of 2026, the British literary classic Jane Eyre was included in the ninth-grade Chinese language curriculum as part of the "whole-book reading" list. CNN reported on the news, but described China's textbooks as being "tightly curated by the state," claiming that the inclusion of such a British romantic classic was "surprising."But what is so "surprising" about Jane Eyre being included in Chinese middle school curriculum?Thornfield Hall, Rochester, the secret in the attic, and Jane Eyre herself - a petite woman of plain appearance who refuses to yield to fate - have long been part of the shared literary memory of generations of Chinese readers. As early as 1917, "A Sketch of Western Women Novelists" published in Women's Magazine, a magazine founded in Shanghai in 1915, introduced Charlotte Brontë and Jane Eyre. In July 1925, Zhou Shoujuan's translation Chong Guang Ji is believed to be the earliest Chinese translation of the novel. In 1979, the film Jane Eyre was released in China. In 1980, the Shanghai Translation Publishing House published Zhu Qingying's translation, with an initial print run of about 270,000 copies.How could it be "surprising" that a work read in China for over a century - given its immense popularity - has become part of the required reading list for Chinese students? Is it that CNN's understanding of China is too outdated, or that it simply refuses to take off its colored glasses?The Chinese Ministry of Education has clearly stated that Chinese language textbooks include "a wide range of classical and contemporary works from both China and abroad." Many foreign literary classics such as Resurrection, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Hamlet, and To the Skylark have already been included in Chinese language textbooks. CNN's reporters may not even be aware that former US president Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has also been included in the People's Education Press high school elective curriculum.What is even more puzzling is that in its report, CNN specifically interviewed several Chinese parents and scholars who opposed the inclusion of Jane Eyre, citing concerns that the book might "teach girls in class that their brain should being wrongly ruled by love." While questioning whether it helps adolescents develop "healthy values," it made no mention of the broad public appreciation for the novel in China. When quoting coverage from the Beijing Daily, CNN also selectively omitted student reflections from a Jane Eyre reading session - insights that touched on core themes of love, respect, growth, and emotional resonance with remarkable precision.Great literature transcends language, nationality, and time. The enduring resonance of Jane Eyre among Chinese readers is a testament to the success of cultural exchange between China and the world. The CNN report, which repeatedly emphasized "surprise," does not appear to be an attempt to challenge stereotypes about China, but rather to reinforce them under a different guise.
Part III is the most original in the book. Entitled “The Unlucky Book” (1855-60), its chapters chart the story of Elizabeth’s research for The Life of Charlotte Brontë and the several libel cases that followed its too hasty publication. Vivid vignettes abound, as when Elizabeth and Catherine Winkworth travel to Haworth by train to find the parsonage still deep in mourning and both clergymen breaking down in tears, and when the biographer enlists the help of her daughters and some of her many visitors in copying Brontë letters. Her rash comments on Lydia Robinson, Branwell Brontë’s femme fatale (literally), and Cowan Bridge School got her into even more trouble than had Mary Barton and Ruth. Changes were made in a later edition, and Elizabeth swore never to write another biography.Religion shaped these writers’ lives but is ignored here. The book contains many typos and is printed on inferior paper. Nevertheless, it remains a page-turner. (Dr Michael Wheeler)
Located in Thornton, Bradford, the birthplace of the famous literary family welcomed more than 100 visitors during a special open day held on Sunday, September 13, as part of a scheme of free heritage open days.The exhibition, titled From Butcher's Shop to Birthplace: The Story of the Brontë Birthplace, focused on the building’s transformation after the Brontë family left Thornton.Thomas Haigh, vice chair of the Brontë Birthplace, said: "Visitors loved the exhibition, and it was really nice to see the Brontë Birthplace attracting new audiences who aren't necessarily Brontë fans."One visitor said the exhibition was so informative, and it was a wonderful experience to learn about the butcher’s shop as well as the Brontës history."The building is so iconic because it is the birthplace of the famous Brontë authors."The Brontës lived in Thornton for five years before moving to Haworth.The exhibition traced the building’s later life, including its time as a butcher’s shop run by Reg Lovette for more than 40 years.Mr Haigh said the highlight of the day was their VIP guests Barbara, the daughter of Mr Lovette and her husband Alan."Barbara was there throughout the day sharing more memories and greeting visitors as they came to learn more about one of Thornton's Master Butchers." (Amelia Short)
Bonnie Greer was a joiner. She was on the board of everything, from the Women’s prize for fiction to the British Museum, she was president of the Brontë society – she got stuck in. (Zoe Williams)
Role in the Brontë SocietyA lifelong admirer of literature, Greer brought a fresh perspective to the organisation, which is dedicated to preserving the legacy of sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë and operates the famous Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.During her presidency, Greer championed efforts to broaden the appeal of the Brontës’ work and attract more diverse audiences.She argued that the Brontës belonged to the world rather than a narrow literary elite and wanted the society to connect with younger people and communities across Yorkshire, including Bradford’s large and varied population.After several months of internal disagreements, she resigned as president in June 2015. (Amelia Short)
When teenagers went back to school in China earlier this month, one book on their new mandatory reading list stood out: the 19th century English novel “Jane Eyre.”The literary classic, originally considered a trailblazing tale of female empowerment, might seem a surprising choice in a country where textbooks are tightly curated by the state to ensure ideological conformity.But Beijing sees another message in Charlotte Brontë’s work –– the value of finding true love.The story presents a counterbalance to the “superficial notions about appearance and wealth” of the social media age, according to the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper.In recent years, online novels and micro dramas featuring outlandish plots of wealth flaunting, wronged lovers, brooding billionaires and ill-fated mistresses plotting revenge have become mainstream entertainment. And that’s attracted the attention of China’s censors.In June, the broadcasting regulator launched a campaign to crack down on “harmful and lowbrow” content seen as promoting “distorted” views on relationships and marriage.But reading the story of Jane Eyre –– an orphan girl who finds her independence while suffering a series of hardships and eventually falls in love with her wealthy employer –– will help China’s 14-year-olds “develop sounder values,” said Beijing Daily.“When children are first beginning to experience romantic feelings and are still naive and inexperienced, it is a crucial stage for developing a healthy character,” it said.The coming-of-age story has been wildly popular in China since it first arrived in the country in 1925 and has been translated, published and adapted into theatre and screen productions countless times. A British film even made its way to Chinese theatres in 1979, following the country’s turbulent Cultural Revolution.Jane Eyre –– who famously says to her future husband “do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong” –– has long been seen as an anti-repression heroine by the working class in China. And the book has long been accepted by China’s ruling communist party.But its inclusion in the curriculum is striking at a time when other forms of feminist discussion and activism have increasingly come under scrutiny in China.And some parents have questioned whether modern day Chinese youths who have been raised in a relatively comfortable environment, could understand or relate to the deep and complicated love story portrayed in the novel.One parent said that her son had asked whether reading Jane Eyre was “teaching girls in (his) class that their brain should being wrongly ruled by love.”The parent, writing on social media platform Xiaohongshu, said that her son couldn’t understand why Jane chooses to marry a man who was blind, and the whole thing looked like a bad deal.Qin Shiwen, a recent Chinese literature graduate in Beijing told CNN that including a classic like Jane Eyre into primary education “is very necessary.”“China’s basic education system places a heavy emphasis on academic knowledge and high achievement, but very, very little focus on love or character development,” said Shiwen.But the book, first published in 1847, has in recent years been criticized for its treatment of a character Brontë often describes as a ‘mad woman.”“The more I think about it, the more problematic I find it,” said Yan Hairong, a sociology scholar at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, pointing to the portrayal of the “mad woman in the attic” and the book’s “underlying themes of colonialism.”Yan has doubts whether the novel will help Chinese teenagers build up healthy values, saying some students may just absorb it “without critically examining the problematic ideas embedded within it.”“I have some concerns about teaching the novel at the middle-school level, particularly if it is presented as a textbook or as an example of profound romantic love,” Yan told CNN. (Sylvie Zhuang)
Beijing, however, sees a message about the importance of true love in the novel. According to the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper, the book offers a counterbalance to the “superficial notions about appearance and wealth” that have become widespread in the social media age.In recent years, online novels and short dramas featuring plots about flaunting wealth, unrequited love, billionaires and revenge have become popular entertainment. In June, China’s regulator launched a campaign against “harmful and lowbrow” content, including material portraying “distorted” views of marriage and relationships.According to Beijing Daily, the story of Jane Eyre – an orphan who goes through a series of hardships, asserts her independence and falls in love with her wealthy employer – could help 14-year-old students develop “sounder values.”“When children are first beginning to experience romantic feelings and are still naive and inexperienced, it is a crucial stage for developing a healthy character,” the publication said.The novel has been popular in China since 1925 and has been translated, published and adapted for the stage and screen many times. Jane Eyre has long been seen in the country as a heroine who stands against oppression, and the novel has also been accepted by China’s ruling Communist Party. Its inclusion in the curriculum, however, comes at a time when feminist debate and activism in China have come under increased scrutiny.
a windswept soundtrack that more or less saved the otherwise dreadful Wuthering Heights (Adrian Horton)
Quick lightning round! Tell us:The [book] that made you want to become an author: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Elise Dumpleton)
like a cross between Jane Eyre and an especially nasty slasher movie. (Luc Haasbroek)
One of the reasons that I accepted the Presidency is not only because I love the work of the Brontës, but because both the members and the Council have been welcoming and supportive. And because of Yorkshire - the people and the region. (Brontë Parsonage Blog, November 2014)
Her particular interest was Emily Brontë and Wuthering Heights. At the 2011 Ilkley Literature Festival, she discussed Emily's language and its musical quality, as well as Heathcliff, race and abolitionism. In 2012, during a Brontë Society Annual weekend, Greer participated in a discussion of Wuthering Heights (A Regular Black: The Hidden Wuthering Heights, with Terry Eagleton and Caryl Phillips) and revealed that she was writing a screenplay based on the speculation that Emily Brontë had met Frederick Douglass in Leeds in 18471.
The connection between Emily Brontë and Douglass remained important to Greer. In 2015, in a Brussels Brontë Group weekend talk, she was still discussing possible Brontë links with the abolitionist, while also working to make the Brontës more accessible to younger and more diverse audiences. Also in 2015 she led, with Judith Watts, a Jane Eyre fan-fiction workshop at The Trouble Club in London.
According to witnesses, the meeting saw Bonnie Greer, the writer and President of the Society, keep order using her Jimmy Choo heel on the top table, as critics from both sides waiting to hear how the Brontë name should best be preserved. (The Telegraph, June 2015)
Greer said she took a high-heeled shoe to Saturday's meeting as a light-hearted prop to use to keep order."I brought my shoe because it's been, for some of us, so grim, that I thought, I'm going to make this funny," she told BBC Radio 4's The World At One."So I brought out the shoe, made for me by Jimmy Choo himself, and said, 'I'm going to bang this if it gets out of control'." (BBC News, June 2015)
Her association with the Brontës nevertheless continued. In 2018 she participated in a Liverpool panel discussion connected with Lily Cole's short film Balls, an Emily Brontë bicentenary project inspired partly by Wuthering Heights.
There was also a Brontë connection in Greer's own creative writing. Her 2021 play Douglass, commissioned by The Faction and performed by Jude Owusu, explored the life and inner world of Frederick Douglass. A contemporary review noted that Greer's text incorporated quotations from Shakespeare, Emily Brontë and Douglass himself.
1. Something that was explored a bit later by Deborah Denenholz Morse in "The House of Trauma": The Influence of Frederick Douglass on Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature, Number 140, Winter 2021, pp. 164-177. ↩
Garden designer Brian Roberts has won an award for an amazing garden inspired by Wuthering Heights and the moorland landscapes of Brontë country.Brian, who runs Patterned Earth in Netherton, took a little piece of Yorkshire to the prestigious Belvoir Castle Flower & Garden Show in Leicestershire.His show garden called Weathering Heights won the Duchess of Rutland Cup after being named winner of the show’s Border Competition.The garden took its inspiration from the exposed landscapes of the Yorkshire uplands: dry-stone walls, moorland planting and the way plants and wildlife respond to sometimes unforgiving conditions.At its heart is a dry-stone wall that creates contrasting microclimates, with cooler, shaded and more sheltered conditions on one side and warmer, nectar-rich planting on the other. Gaps within the wall allow insects and other wildlife to move through the garden.Brian said: “I wanted to take a little piece of the landscape I know and love in Yorkshire to Belvoir.“The moors, dry-stone walls and plants that somehow thrive in quite unforgiving conditions have always fascinated me.“Weathering Heights was a playful nod to Wuthering Heights, of course, but the ‘weathering’ was important too. (Martin Shaw)
Although the relationship between siblings is not the sole focus of the novel, the work presents multiple models of family relationships. It highlights the impact of cruelty and deprivation on human character, contrasted with the need for love and belonging. (Medhat Elsheikh)
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature explores three of the acclaimed Portuguese-British artist's most ambitious and profound series of prints, inspired by nursery rhymes, JM Barrie's Peter Pan and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. (...)From menacing creatures etched into life from children's nursery rhymes to near hallucinatory depictions of Neverland from Peter Pan and the power-based, tumultuous relationships Brontë described in Jane Eyre, Rego's prints tell stories which combine fantasy and imagination, innocence and cruelty, to explore the complexities of life in all its strangeness and mystery.
No visit to the Peaks would be complete without a stop at the village of Hathersage, home to a heated open-air pool. It’s an idyllic spot with a literary legacy; its rugged landscapes inspired Jane Eyre (there’s even a Jane Eyre walking trail), and you can visit the alleged grave of Little John, Robin Hood’s second-in-command, whose “little” moniker is actually an old-school dad joke in reference to his colossal height. (Jake Hall)
Sam and Mia chat to award-winning historian, broadcaster and author Dr Anthony Delaney! Anthony holds a PhD in 18th-century social and cultural history and co-hosts History Hit's podcast After Dark. His debut book Queer Georgians was published in September 2025.This episode takes us to Patrick's roots in Ireland; we discuss the country he left behind, the Brontës' relationship with their Irish heritage and the catastrophic events of The Great Famine in the late 1840s...
If you’ve ever wondered what it may be like to party with the Brontё sisters, get ready to sip on a lot of cordials, margaritas, and rosè and experience an evening like no other at Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party. Join Emily (Leah Ly), Charlotte (Aubri O’Connor), and Anne (Rose Hahn) Brontё, alongside their brother Branwell (Ty Edwards) and some other very special guests, as they throw yet another house party that they hope will help them escape the Purgatorial time loop in which they are trapped.Many, many years after their untimely deaths, the Brontё sisters have found themselves stuck in Purgatory by the Lavender Witch of Gondol (a creation from their own imaginations), which requires them to throw a party every single night until they are able to reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence; except they don’t know what that requires, or do they? In order to gain approval from the Lavender Witch of Gondol, the Brontёs turn to some special guests to to keep their party attendees entertained: Wuthering Heights’ Cathy (Brenna Horner), Jane Eyre’s Helen Burns (Alyssa Nolan), and famed English singer Kate Bush (Madeline Marie). Through a wide variety of musical numbers, their stories are told (and hopefully earn audience approval) and the complexities of everyone’s lives are exposed. Do they ever make it out of this time loop? You’ll just have to see for yourselves!Charlotte’s (Aubri O’Connor) expectations of perfection and anxiety surrounding the party are palpable. O’Connor’s portrayal of the eldest sister is brilliant and because of this, I was able to empathize with her desire to protect her sisters, reconnect with her love, and remain optimistic that this time loop will eventually end. I commend O’Connor for her raw emotion and dedication to the role - it is a performance that has left an impression on me.In contrast to Charlotte’s range of emotion, Emily (Leah Ly) is pessimistic and remains that way through most of the show, even though she may know the way out. Whether that level of pessimism was the original intention or not, Ly’s performance remains at one level - always a bit mopey and apathetic. More depth to Emily’s character would have been an added bonus to this production. (...)Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party is a fun night out and a great way to spend an evening in this last part of summer. There are a variety of special performances coming up, including a free performance on September 8th during Art All Night sponsored by Van Ness Main Street, and they are all worth checking out. I’m eager to see what else Nu Sass Productions has in store this year! (Abby Korb)
Walking in Brontë country on the Moors above Haworth is like walking in one of the famous sisters’ novels.But the landscape that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, a story revived in the latest Hollywood film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is under threat, according to some local residents.Thirty-four wind turbines, each one standing at 200 metres tall, are being planned for construction on Crow Hill on the Moors here.Nick Makinnon’s home sits on part of the Brontë walk, taking in the stunning views of the dramatic scenery.He is among a large group in the surrounding area who are campaigning against these plans.“It’s a special protection area for enlisted birds, it’s a conservation area and it’s the inspiration for the Brontë sisters” Nick explained. “So on those three axes, it’s the worst site in England.”A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Our assessment work to date concludes that Top Withens (the farmhouse that inspired Wuthering Heights) and its Brontë associations would remain intact, with no harm to its heritage significance.“The nearest turbine would be more than 800 metres away and positioned beyond intervening landform, limiting its prominence in views from the site.”To that, Nick said this goes much deeper…literally.“Amazingly, there’s only one site in England where you get a peat landslide known as a ‘bog burst’, where the bog explodes under pressure.” Nick pointed out.“The only place it happens in England is on Crow Hill. The developers of the Wind Farm have very recently decided it needs to go over that area.”In response to Nick's comments, a spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Detailed peat, ground condition and stability assessments are ongoing, and the findings will inform the project's final design.“The design has already evolved through two stages of peat probing and hydrological surveys, moving infrastructure away from deeper peat and adjusting track alignments to follow shallower corridors, with floating tracks proposed in suitable locations to avoid cutting into peat altogether.”Around 80,000 visitors come to the area each year, many wanting to see the history of the Brontës.Rebecca Yorke, the Director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said if this energy park were to go ahead, it would “change the landscape forever".“It would be very mercenary to say it would have an impact on tourism; we don’t know if it would stop people coming here,” she said.“But what we do know is that their experience would be very different. That landscape would not be the same, the wildlife wouldn’t be there."To walk those moors is like walking in the Brontës' imagination. You can’t separate the landscape from their writing.” (Alex Taylor-Brown)
Wide Sargasso Sea feels like it’s in conversation with Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica. He goes off on white women in the Caribbean. How the white woman is this feral creature, she may be tainted, possibly insane, certainly full of wanton lust. My theory is that Charlotte Brontë read it, and hence we get the madwoman in the attic, who’s from Jamaica. Brontë wouldn’t have known a thing about Jamaica. Her only source would have been written material, and the only written material I know of from that period would be Edward Long’s History.So if you’re Jean Rhys, not only are your characters these women, but you’re also that woman. And I think she felt driven to give that woman a voice and agency. People think she only did that in Voyage in the Dark or Wide Sargasso Sea, but she did it in all her books. (Nick Hilden)
Three leaders of Reform-led councils in West Yorkshire and Lancashire are united in their opposition to a giant windfarm which a company hopes to build on Calderdale moorland.Calderdale Energy Park (CEP) plans to put 34 giant wind turbines on Walshaw Moor, which is located between Hebden Bridge and Haworth, the village associated with the Bronte sisters.The company says the turbines will generate enough low carbon electricity to power 198,000 homes a year.But the proposals have met with strong resistance from campaigners concerned about potential damage to peatland and loss of moorland habitat which is home to birds.The Government’s Energy Secretary – currently Miatta Fahnbulleh – will ultimately decide whether or not this controversial application is given the green light. (...)Councillors Dan Sutherland, the leader of Calderdale Council, Stephen Place, leader of Bradford Council, and Stephen Atkinson, leader of Lancashire County Council, met at Halifax Town Hall to discuss and set out their concerns.By responding to the Calderdale Energy Park proposal collectively, they hope to amplify concerns about the plans – which have also been made by campaigners and residents – not just regionally but nationally. (...)Another factor causing alarm was the impact on the heritage associated with the moorland.“The Brontes’ work is of global significance,” said Coun Sutherland.The final outcome might come down to the Brontë moors – or the Calderdale Energy Park, he said. (...)Coun Place said: “We don’t think it’s been widely enough known in the Bradford area, which is why we’re keen to get involved with this.“It’s just something we have got to make the public aware of.“The Brontës’ works are cherished and protected peatland could be severely affected,” he said. (John Greenwood)
It's certainly disturbing to link together in the same phrase Reform Party and the Brontës. But here we are.
It's much, much better to associate the Brontës with solidarity initiatives like this one that happened in Haworth. In Keighley News:
More than 200 people took part in a new charity walk through Brontë country.The first-ever Brontë Pub Walk started in Haworth and wound through Stanbury, Ponden and the outskirts of Oakworth, finishing on Haworth’s Main Street.Walkers followed in the footsteps of the famous literary sisters while raising funds for Sue Ryder’s palliative and end-of-life care services.Routes of five and 10 miles were available, with pub stops along the way.Adam Brunksill, regional fundraising team manager at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, said: "We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who took part in our very first Brontë Pub Walk and helped make it such a special day."It was fantastic to see people enjoying the beautiful countryside, visiting some of the places connected to the Brontë family and, of course, stopping for a well-earned drink or two along the way. (...)he walk passed by the Brontë Parsonage Museum and St Michael and All Angels’ Church, where several members of the Brontë family are buried. (Francis Redwood)
Brontë Sister House Party, a comedy that’s equal parts literary feminism and Christopher Durang-style surrealism, feels like it was expressly written for Nu Sass Productions. (...)Nu Sass co-founder and artistic director Aubri O’Connor plays Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë in House Party. Her performance as a neurotic people-pleaser who lives (well, “lives”) in hope that a Belgian professor who inspired characters in at least three of her novels will at last show up for this interminable soirée is one of the best reasons to attend.Written in 2021, this clever provocation comes to us from playwright Courtney Bailey. Bailey holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Baylor University, but her premise is far from academic: We are all the invited guests of the three literary Brontë ladies, none of whom lived to see 40, now sentenced to entertain us in some otherworldly bardo until their jailer decides they (we?) have reached The Point of Celebratory Reverence. Our hosts have little guidance on exactly how they might achieve this ecstatic state. Their only clue is a game show-style chime that rewards them whenever they do something to indicate that they’re fun-loving and sociable and not just a trio of introspective and invariably miserable writers. (..)Her characters are not all of equal interest, and the performances animating them are variable. Director Kathleen Barth struggles to keep the pace of all this clever existential chitchat sufficiently caffeinated, as evidenced by the fact that a play with a published (and ideal) run time of 90 minutes to two hours stretches out, intermission included, to two and a half. Still, it’s a fun night out, and one that might inspire you to brush up on your Brontë bibliography. (Chris Klimek)
Rather than asking one performer to carry the weight of Charlotte Brontë's first-person narration, co-book writer and co-director John Caird has transformed the ensemble into Jane's collective voice.It is a deceptively simple idea, but one that completely changes how audiences experience the story.For Caird, the challenge was never to recreate the novel word for word.Instead, the goal was to preserve what makes Jane Eyre special while allowing theatre to do what theatre does best.A novel allows readers inside Jane's thoughts for hundreds of pages. On stage, those inner emotions must become action, performance and music.Sharing Jane's narration across the company preserves Charlotte Brontë's first-person perspective while creating something that feels inherently theatrical. (...)One decision that particularly impressed us was the production's commitment to casting genuine young performers as Young Jane and Adèle.Rather than asking adults to portray childhood, Emily-Rose Samuel and Poppy Jason bring an authenticity to the opening chapters of Jane's journey that helps establish the emotional foundation for everything that follows.It is a reminder that Jane's resilience isn't born overnight—it begins with the experiences that shape her from childhood.
1. HathersageHathersage has strong literary connections - having inspired Charlotte Brontë while she was writing Jane Eyre. The nearby North Lees Hall (pictured here) also became the main inspiration for Thornfield Hall. The Grave of Little John, Robin Hood’s second-in-command, can be found at St. Michael’s Church in the heart of Hathersage. While there is little evidence proving he is buried here, ballads suggest that he originated from Hathersage and settled there again later in his life. (Tom Hardwicke)
The Wives of Herrick Hall by Julie LewIn 1799, a disgraced young woman becomes the companion to a Lady in the isolated Herrick Hall. Lady Blake suffers from nightly visions of her impending death, and Herrick Hall is haunted by its previous mistresses. If you’ve longed for a sapphic take on Rebecca or Jane Eyre, and if you like ghosts, family secrets, curses, and forbidden love, this is perfect for your TBR.
A haunting prequel to Jane Eyre, imagining the life of Mr. Rochester's 'madwoman in the attic' before her confinement, a Creole heiress in postcolonial Jamaica. Rhys writes with lush, feverish intensity, turning a footnote of Victorian fiction into a devastating meditation on colonialism, identity, and erasure. Essential, and far richer than its source material. (Simran Sukhnani)
In 1876, Publishers Weekly asked booksellers to identify their most saleable novels. [Blanche Willis Howard’s] One Summer ranked below Dinah Mulock Craik’s John Halifax and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre but ahead of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Más figuras literarias surgidas en Yorkshire han acabado en la pantalla. Por ejemplo, la pareja de Cumbres Borrascosas. Su escritora, Emily Brontë ambientó la obra en su paisaje natal, el parque nacional de Yorkshire Dales. Sus páramos cubiertos de brezos, entre verdes oscuro y púrpuras, según incida la luz de un sol casi siempre plomizo, aportan tenebrismo al relato. Y pasan a ser un protagonista más en la reciente cinta protagonizada por un tempestuoso Jacob Elordi y una Margot Robbie, tan hermosa como tóxica. (Armando Cerra) (Translation)
The New York Times Midi Crossword (August 21, 2026) contains a Brontë question: "Jane, in a Brontë novel".
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline can reveal that the BBC has joined Working Title’s new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre, which will be led by The White Lotus and Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood.As we revealed earlier this year, Emmy nominee Wood is attached to play the indomitable heroine in the buzzy adaptation, which is being produced by UK powerhouse Working Title and is penned by Miriam Battye, a WGA Award winner for her work on Succession.We understand the BBC is now attached to develop the project and become its broadcaster-financier. (Andreas Wiseman)
8 'Jane Eyre' (1847)You might see Jane Eyre referred to as a bildungsroman, which is really just a fancier-sounding name for a “coming-of-age story.” The titular character is introduced as a young girl who lives a challenging childhood, though it’s far from exclusively about her younger years, considering the length of time the whole psychologically tense and dense novel ends up spanning.But since those early years are so significant to what happens later, it makes that coming-of-age component of the novel very necessary. Also, plenty of good stories about not only growing up, but emotionally maturing, center on characters who are young adults, just because it's a reality of life is that people don’t always mentally/emotionally mature right when adulthood hits. If only it could be like the flip of a switch, but if it were, then the world probably wouldn’t have nearly as many coming-of-age stories. (Jeremy Urquhart)
One of the world’s most high-profile environmental campaigners has warned against Saudi-backed plans to build one of the country’s biggest windfarms on the wild moorland that was the inspiration for Wuthering Heights.Walshaw Moor, near Halifax in West Yorkshire, is designated as a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area due to its rare peatland habitat and red-listed bird species, including curlews, lapwings, skylarks, merlins, and golden plovers.The ruined farmhouse on top of the moor is said to have inspired the novel by Emily Brontë, which shot to prominence again earlier this year with Emerald Fennell’s movie adaptation starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie.Despite its legal protections, the developers are pushing ahead with plans to build 34 wind turbines – at 200m more than 40m higher than the Blackpool Tower – and a battery energy storage system, known as Calderdale Energy Park.MPs from Labour and the Conservatives have objected to the project, highlighting the fact that the scheme would cover more than 2,300 hectares of protected peatland, one of the UK’s most important natural carbon stores.Now Sadhguru, a spiritual yogi who is the leader of the Save Soil movement and one of the most famous campaigners in India, told The Yorkshire Post that certain soil types like peatland “must be prioritised” over developments.He said: “Preserving agricultural land and soil health is a generational responsibility.“We are just pop ups on this planet, and our actions have an impact on generations to come.“Whether it is peatlands or any kind of soil, construction can definitely cause its damage.“It’s not that all development is negative, and renewable energy sources are needed - but certain soil types are unique in their ability to regulate our climate, are essential for the surrounding biodiversity, and their future prosperity must be prioritised.” (Ralph Blackburn)
But these are not isolated cases: recently, the same technique has been used in other movies with historical backdrops such as Macbeth (Justin Kurzel, 2015), Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd, 2016), The King (David Michôd, 2019), The Wonder (Sebastián Lelio, 2022), The Northman (Robert Eggers, 2022), Firebrand (Karim Aïnouz, 2023) and Wuthering Heights (Emerald Fennel, 2026). And last year Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet entered the Oscars race with that same visual register used also in French blockbusters such as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan, and Spanish movies from Alatriste to El Cautivo.In all these cases, the absence of color tells us we are watching an important film, suitable both for an award and box office success, as discussed by the artist and scholar David Batchelor in his book Chromophobia (Ed. Síntesis), originally published in 2000. According to Batchelor, this expulsion of color usually takes place in one of two ways. In the first, the color is attributed to some “foreign” body: the oriental, the feminine, the infantile, the vulgar, or the pathological — or by relegating it to the realm of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential, or the cosmetic. In the first case, the color is considered something strange and, therefore, dangerous; in the second, it is perceived simply as a secondary quality of experience and, therefore, unworthy of serious consideration. (Ianko López)
The booksellers say the surge in interest followed a similar pattern after other film adaptations earlier this year for The Wuthering Heights and Project Hail Mary. (Isra'a Emhail)
Entertainment can often be a way for us to switch off. This year what’s on our screens has frequently been aimed at turning us on. From the sensual pleasures of “Wuthering Heights” to the steamy shower scenes in “Heated Rivalry”, sex has been front and center in a slew of recent hits in ways that might previously have made them ineligible to be mainstream cultural powerhouses. It’s safe to say horniness is having a moment. (David Mack)
Charlotte Brontë, the author of “Jane Eyre,” who died, at thirty-eight, a few months into pregnancy, in 1855, experienced “sensations of perpetual nausea and ever-recurring faintness,” according to her biographer and friend Elizabeth Gaskell. Though her death certificate lists the cause of death as phthisis, or tuberculosis, contemporary scholars believe she died of complications from H.G. (Anna Russell)
Best Original Song"House" from Wuthering Heights - written by Charli XCX, John Cale, Nathan Klein, Finn Keane | performed by Charli XCX, John Cale
Brontë’s 1849 novel Shirley, set in the Yorkshire textile district in 1811-12, combined sympathy for the plight of the workers with a criticism of violence and a call for paternalism from the mill owners. (Brian Lewis)
Brontë WaterfallStation: HaworthDistance: 9kmThe Brontë sisters are legendary authors in British literature, and this two-hour route crosses the landscapes that inspired their work. From Haworth Station, climb the cobbled main street and cross the cemetery next to the Brontë Parsonage. Follow the signposted moorland track, reaching the falls and returning via the same path. (Eibhlis Gale-Coleman)
With a particular predilection for historical fiction, some of McGuirk’s early favorites were Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte Brontë’s timeless classic Jane Eyre and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which she loved so much, “I read it every six months throughout my entire childhood.” (Tripp Whetsell)
5. 'Wuthering Heights', 2011IMDb Score: 6.0/10Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has been adapted for the screen more than a dozen times. In Andrea Arnold's version we are only introduced to the first half of the original's plot. Yet the atmosphere of Brontë's England, with its misty, heather-covered moors, is captured to perfection.The film opens with Mr. Earnshaw returning from a journey. He has brought back a dark-skinned teenager, a runaway from a West Indies plantation whom he found on the streets of Liverpool.Earnshaw names the boy Heathcliff. No one welcomes the new arrival, and the boy himself has a rough, rebellious nature. He finds common ground only with Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine. (Julia Talakh)
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëJane Eyre follows the journey of Jane, an independent woman who struggles against hardship while searching for love, respect, and personal freedom. Jane’s character teaches the importance of self-respect and staying true to personal values.Despite facing rejection, loneliness, and difficult circumstances, she refuses to sacrifice her identity to gain acceptance. The novel shows that real strength comes from knowing your worth and choosing authenticity over pleasing others. Jane’s journey inspires readers to build confidence and trust their own voice. (Saniya Ahmad Khan)
From silky slip dresses to pantsuits, this lightweight, sheer fabric is the perfect option for battling the summer heat while living out your "Wuthering Heights"-inspired fantasy. (Charlene Teressa)
Hosted by producer Adam, the afternoon began with a heartfelt introduction that immediately set the tone. Rather than simply discussing the logistics of bringing the production to London, he shared the personal journey that led him to champion the musical's UK premiere.Having first discovered Jane Eyre as a young theatre fan in Toronto, Adam recalled becoming captivated by the original cast recording before eventually seeing the Broadway production. Years later, after rediscovering the musical, he tracked down co-creators John Caird and Paul Gordon, leading to the production now preparing to open in London. It was a reminder that this is very much a passion project as well as a theatrical production.That passion was echoed throughout the afternoon.Co-director Megan McGinnis spoke movingly about Jane Eyre not only as one of her favourite musicals but also as a deeply important feminist story. Nearly two centuries after Charlotte Brontë first introduced readers to Jane, her search for equality, independence and self-worth continues to resonate with modern audiences, making the novel as relevant today as it was in the Victorian era.John Caird expanded on those themes, describing Jane Eyre as far more than a romance. For him, it is fundamentally a story about moral growth, self-worth and mortality. He explained how Jane begins life with almost nothing, while Rochester appears to possess everything, before their emotional journeys gradually reverse as the story unfolds. It is this character-driven storytelling, he believes, that has allowed the novel to endure for generations.One of the most fascinating insights into the adaptation came as Caird explained the production's unique approach to narration.Rather than asking Charlie Burn, who plays Jane, to carry every moment of narration herself, the ensemble collectively becomes Jane's voice, allowing the audience to experience the story through multiple performers while remaining firmly rooted in Brontë's first-person perspective. It is an intriguing theatrical concept that immediately distinguishes this adaptation from previous versions.The rehearsal itself offered an exciting glimpse of what audiences can expect when the production opens. The company performed several musical excerpts that demonstrated not only the emotional depth of Paul Gordon's score but also the exceptional vocal ability throughout the cast. Even in a rehearsal environment, the commitment and chemistry between the performers was immediately apparent, creating genuine anticipation for the finished production.Equally impressive was the thought that has gone into the staging.Although designer Morgan Large was unable to attend in person, his creative vision was shared with those present. An open playing space, visible costume pegs, lanterns suspended above the stage and a landscape of thorns beneath combine to create a symbolic environment that reflects both Jane's longing for freedom and the emotional obstacles she faces throughout her journey. Rather than attempting to recreate every location from the novel, the design embraces theatrical simplicity, allowing the company and storytelling to remain at the heart of the production.Another creative decision that stood out was the choice to cast real children in the roles of Young Jane and Adèle. As the creative team explained, experiencing Jane's childhood through genuine young performers helps establish the emotional foundation upon which the entire story is built.Following the presentation, members of the media were given the opportunity to conduct breakout interviews with the cast and creative team before exploring the production's costume and design concepts.Over the coming weeks, The Fan Carpet will be bringing you a series of exclusive interviews from the rehearsal room, including conversations with co-director Megan McGinnis, co-book writer and co-director John Caird, Eve Shanu-Wilson, Emily-Rose Samuel, Poppy Rose Jason and Isabelle Methven, as we continue our coverage leading up to opening night.With rehearsals well underway, one thing was immediately clear: this is a company approaching one of English literature's greatest novels with enormous respect, while confidently embracing the possibilities that musical theatre offers. We look forward to seeing how that vision comes together when Jane Eyre opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant later this month.
Matty Healy and Gabbriette’s wedding photos are finally here, and the dark romance of it all is truly bewitching. The string of photos—shared by the model in several separate Instagram posts—are chaotic, intentionally low-res, gothic, sexy, and filled with the yearning passion of every Emily Brontë novel—like Wuthering Heights but with grungy, rock ‘n’ roll, Hollywood types. (Rosa Sanchez)
It looked like a Kate Bush lookalike competition was underway in Stratford at the weekend.Dozens of residents – and a few familiar faces – turned out in red for The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, held at the Bandstand, on Saturday (August 1).The flash mob was organised to celebrate the career and birthday of singer Kate Bush and also to raise funds for women’s domestic violence and health charities.The group of budding dancers joined thousands of people across the world recreating the video to Bush’s 1978 song Wuthering Heights, inspired by Emily Bronte’s novel.This is the second year the event has taken place in Stratford, organised by Stratford Town Trust and Stratford BID. (Philippa Mingins)
Also in Contrapunto (El Salvador).
The purple, treeless moors found across Britain’s uplands can look timeless and wild. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë described “the purple moors” as “a wilderness of heath”. Yet these moors have been shaped by clearance, drainage, grazing, pollution and burning. (Joe Glentworth, Anna Gilchrist and Ian Thornhill)
If you are in Germany, Filmstarts and Hitchecker recommend that you watch Emily 2022 on 3Sat today, August 5, 2026, at 10:30 p.m. on 3sat.
A ghost hunter says he has realised a lifelong ambition in launching a four-part series exploring paranormal activity in a historic Bradford district village.Jacob Haw-Wells, just 20 years old from Bradford, has created Haunted Haworth.It's a documentary-style series on YouTube that delves into eerie legends and supernatural reports in the iconic village of Haworth. (...)The series explores some of Haworth’s most intriguing locations, including Church Street, Haworth Old Hall Inn, the Old White Lion Hotel and Spooks.His investigations combine historical research with first-hand interviews.He said: "First I like to go to the location and speak to the owners, talk to people that have knowledge on the area, local businesses, people living in the surrounding area, I like to get them people on the show for interviews."The series follows real investigations into these locations while also highlighting Haworth's fascinating heritage and ghost stories." (Freya Thomson)
No me llamen exagerada, que yo con estos ojos que se ha de comer la tierra presencié en el Teatro Español de Madrid un brutal atropello teatral de Jane Eyre, la obra de Charlotte Brontë donde una mujer –bastante 'odiseica', por cierto– construye su destino y sus sentimientos de espaldas a los corsés de la época y asumiendo cierta humana imperfección, tentativa de poligamia incluida. Intentar convertir eso en un cántico a la sororidad, con la protagonista lanzando salvas solidarias a la neurasténica esposa del hombre que ama y que la ama... en fin. (Anna Grau) (Translation)
Jane Eyre: A New Musical, The Journey to SelfAugust 13, 2026 to August 16, 2026889 Dongdaming Road 东大名路889号Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" has been given a brand-new musical adaptation, which will be presented to Shanghai audiences from August 13 to 16 at AIA Grand Theater.This story of freedom, dignity, selfhood, and love is familiar to many. Jane's poignant question – Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? – has moved countless readers over the years.This new musical unfolds Jane's story in nine chapters. It is as if she has traveled across 180 years to the present, showing audiences through her actions that one can be plain, poor, or even unloved, but must always stay true to oneself."Many people tend to see Jane Eyre as a symbol of the nineteenth century; a textbook icon of the 'independent woman,' or a romantic legend," said director and musical singer Jin Shengquan."In fact, her dilemmas are our dilemmas, and her defiance is exactly what we long for. Her wholeness lies in her ability to remain self-possessed while also daring to love deeply," he added.Jin hopes that the musical, created in a contemporary theatrical language, will give this "female epic" a fresh look and inspire today's audiences.
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, at 3 p.m. in the lower level of Artworks, 106 N. Michigan Ave., Big Rapids, MIWuthering Heights"Wuthering Heights" is a challenging but memorable read because the novel does not offer a simple love story or a clear division between good and evil. There is a dark atmosphere surrounding "Wuthering Heights" and Thrushcross Grange. The reader is pulled into a world shaped by obsession, pride, revenge, class expectations, and emotional suffering. (...)Reading Wuthering Heights is unsettling because many of the characters are difficult to admire. Brontë does not ask readers to approve or condemn them. Instead, she asks us to think about how love, pride, class, and suffering shape people’s choices. It is a story that stays with the reader because it shows both the destructive power of obsession and the possibility of healing through compassion. (Barbara Ross)
HaworthHandsome, cobbled Haworth, former home of the Brontë sisters, is threatened by the construction of England’s largest wind farm.If approved, the Calderdale Energy Park will sit on the moors above the village where the Brontës wandered and composed. A total of 34 turbines – scaled back from an initial 61 – will blight the skyline, ruining the special atmosphere of places associated with the sisters such as Top Withens, the remote ruined farmhouse that inspired Wuthering Heights. “People come to Haworth to see the landscape and it will have a hugely negative impact on that,” said Robbie Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, whose constituency includes Haworth. (Christopher Winn)
Unless explicitly said
