"Charlotte Brontë’s insane source material deserves some credit"

The Telegraph and Argus looks at what the first Literature Festival to be held at Bradford (May 15-24) will include.

The first Bradford Literature Festival, from May 15-24, features a range of events - including digital storyboarding, a Brontë-themed afternoon tea, Indian poetry and Jewish storytelling. [...]
The district's literary heritage is explored in Brontë-themed events - including a discussion of race and gender in their writing and a Brontë quiz - and a panel examining the lasting impact of JB Priestley's writing. (Emma Clayton)

Wales Online has three generations share their favourite books ahead of Cardiff Children's Literature Festival.

Sandra Whitfield is a 72-year-old retired English teacher: [...]
“My mum and wonderful Aunt Kath used to read to me and I’ve still got The Puppy That Lost Its Wag, which was one of my first books. My first ‘real’ book was Jane Eyre, which Aunt Kath bought me. As an English teacher, I love the classics – Jane Austen, Dickens and Hardy but I’m also a great Susan Hill fan and like Graham Greene, Hemingway and modern novelists Anita Shrieve and Maggie O’Farrell – I wait for their books to come out."

A.V. Club has a daily feature which

offers staff recommendations inspired by a new movie coming out that week. This week: With Jessica Hausner’s peculiar period piece Amour Fou coming to theaters, we extend our hand to other 19th-century romances.

Such as Jane Eyre 1944:

Beyond Welles, Charlotte Brontë’s insane source material deserves some credit for the greatness of this adaptation. Little Jane has a nightmarish childhood, with an unfeeling aunt and a miserable girls’ school (where a very young Elizabeth Taylor is her only friend). By the time Welles shows up about a half-hour in, the viewer is grateful for the surge of dynamism he provides, personifying Brontë’s magnetic beast. What could have been a traditional governess/benefactor romance is heightened by Brontë-inspired elements, including Nosferatu-worthy stairways, omnipresent shadows, a series of fires, and oh yes, what Rochester has hidden away in the attic. But Welles sells this torture so well, and Fontaine possesses a quiet strength. A scene of the two leads shaking hands is hotter than anything in Fifty Shades. (Gwen Ihnat)

Don't forget that the film is leaving Netflix this month. We think Harper's Bazaar has got it wrong when it lists Franco Zeffirelli's Jane Eyre among other films leaving Netflix too. Speaking of that film, though, this is what Tribune News Service has to say about Charlotte Gainsbourg:

Charlotte Gainsbourg has always had a flinch in her acting, a twitch that suggests she's bracing for that next blow - physical or psychological.
It made her the perfect Jane Eyre, perfect as Sean Penn's I-know-he'll-leave-me wife in "21 Grams," and well-suited to Sylvie, the morose, can't-get-a-break lover in "3 Hearts." (Roger Moore)

Hamburger Abendblatt interviews Sophie Rois, who reads for audiobooks.

Haben Sie durch diese Leseaufträge Literatur entdeckt?
Rois: Ja, "Jane Eyre" von Charlotte Brontë zum Beispiel. Das hätte ich nicht gelesen. Es hat mich vorher nie interessiert. Das las sich wie selbstverständlich, es hat einen tollen Rhythmus und Aufbau und bewegt sich dankbarerweise in Höhen und Tiefen. Oftmals ist es so, dass ich Bücher, die ich gut finde, den Verlagen anbiete. (Heinrich Oehmsen) (Translation)

Bustle lists '11 Kate Bush Songs That Will Either Get You Obsessed For The First Time, Or Remind You Why You've Always Loved Her'. First on the list is obviously

1. “Wuthering Heights” (1978)
Written when Bush was only a teenager, “Wuthering Heights” launched the musician’s career, becoming a #1 hit on the UK singles chart in 1978. Inspired by Emily Brontë’s novel of the same name, Bush’s song takes on the perspective of Catherine Earnshaw’s ghost, clamoring at Heathcliff’s window. Although Bush had apparently never read the book when she wrote the song, she perfectly captures the novel’s gothic creepiness: [...]
Also, this video. I love it so hard. Bush is famous for the over-the-top theatricality of her music videos. As you’ll see, her songs are usually accompanied by elaborate dance sequences. (Lara Rutherford-Morrison)

According to this interview from Vogue (Italy) is is also model Eliza Thomas's favourite song.

A.V Club also reviews the film Growing Up And Other Lies and concludes that,

nobody goes to indie films to hear a reference to Heathcliff and Cathy followed by “I was always more of a Garfield man, myself.” (Mike D'Angelo)

If you are looking for a remote (in all senses of the word) Brontë-related locations, you might be interested in this tidbit from GMA News:

Some places in the remote islands are already becoming known as tourist attractions.
Alapad Hills—which first caught the attention of the rest of the Philippines in the 90s film "Hihintayin Kita sa Langit," an adaptation of Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" that starred Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta—is known for rock formations hewn by storms over millennia, and an unobstructed view of the sea from the top of its cliffs. (Trisha Macas)