The richness of Jane’s internal life

The Scotsman gives 5 stars to Sally Cookson's Jane Eyre.

It is, of course, one of the great romances of all time, threaded through with a quest for truth and integrity as well as for passionate physical fulfilment; and on a great, simple scaffolding set by Michael Vale, superbly lit by Aideen Malone, it’s played out by Cookson’s company with a mixture of music, athleticism, flowing ensemble work and sheer passion that takes the breath away time and again, as we follow Nadia Clifford’s tiny, brilliant and indomitable Jane through her mighty journey. The show is haunted by a timeless sequence of songs of love and despair magnificently sung by Melanie Marshall, as Mr Rochester’s first, Caribbean wife, Bertha. And as Britain lurches towards a general election apparently dominated by many of the same dour, joyless and cruel attitudes that led Jane Eyre to her magnificent rebellion, it’s worth asking whether the sheer passion of this production doesn’t owe something to the sense that that driving 19th century belief in equal human worth is now in peril, and no longer setting our society on a steady path of progress, but gradually slipping beyond our reach. (Joyce McMillan)

On Northern Soul Sally Cookson compares her production La Strada to Jane Eyre.

Cookson points out that the challenge of staging La Strada was “almost the direct opposite” of that presented by Jane Eyre, which was “to tell the story through action without losing the richness of Jane’s internal life and the depth of characterisation that her inner monologue provides”. (Kevin Bourke)

The Times discusses Brearley Hall and its Branwell connections:

Another property on the market awash with bookish connections is Brearley Hall, the former home of the forgotten Brontë — Branwell, the brother of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, who became a painter and writer. The grade II* listed house, which has a guide price of £1.5 million through Carter Jonas, is “in the heart of Brontë country”, says Simon Wright, of Carter Jonas in Leeds. It is about ten miles from Haworth, the Brontë family home. According to Wright: “The cultural riches that a connection to the Brontë family bestows upon a property are impossible to quantify.” Branwell’s time at the house pre-dates his sisters’ fame as authors. “It is understood that he lived at the property while working as the clerk in charge at Luddendenfoot station in 1840,” says Wright, and the 1841 census records him as the resident at Brearley Hall. The building, which dates from 1621, has nine bedrooms. (Anna Temkin)

#AmReading lists '10 Popular Novels That Were Initially Hated' including

5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Seen as both strange and depressing, Wuthering Heights met very poor reception upon its initial release, with some even going as far as to suggest that it be burned. (Melanie Weaver)

The Yorkshire Post interviews garden designer Tracy Foster, who has created the Welcome to Yorkshire’s plot at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer? Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I was commissioned to make a garden based on the Brontë family and Haworth, about five years ago and I came away with a great admiration for all of them – brother included – and how creative they all were, despite some pretty primitive living conditions.

ABC (Spain) talks to actress Isabelle Huppert, who (obviously, she played Anne in Les Soeurs Brontë 1979) knows the Brontës well enough to make a point:

Haciendo honor a su curiosidad, Huppert admitió su pasión por aquellos cineastas con apuestas «diferentes». «Mi curiosidad me motiva, pero no necesariamente me inspira. Uno puede trabajar sin salir de casa. Fíjate en las hermanas Brontë y los mundos que crearon en sus libros sin viajar a ningún sitio. Los actores dependemos de los realizadores para dar vida a los personajes. Ellos son mi verdadera fuente de inspiración». (María Estévez) (Translation)

The Guardian's Secret Teacher wonders why it is assumed that children will read when teachers don't actually do.

I know for a fact that several of my colleagues have never read anything by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen or the Brontës, and nothing longer than 600 pages that isn’t by JK Rowling.

However, Study Breaks suggests '6 Soon-to-be Classics That Every Student Should Read in College' in spite of not having enough time 'with the mountainous novels that are Jane Eyre and The Grapes of Wrath'

Keighley News looks at the Keighley heritage that is gone.

There’s an empty space on the corner of Cavendish Street and North Street where the old Keighley College buildings have been demolished for redevelopment – and with them the last remnants of the Mechanics’ Institute, built in the late 19th century, partly destroyed by a famous fire a century later. [...]
There have been three railway stations (the Brontë sisters were intrepid early travellers); the first a small wooden affair, without even much of a ticket office; the second a handsome stone building, on what’s now Sainsbury’s car park. (Chris Manners)

The Brontës also knew the now-gone Mechanics' Institute, of course.

The Telegraph and Argus looks into the origins of the names of several places in Yorkshire.

The famously misspelt Busfeild Arms, in East Morton, was made for three cottages and was once The Hare and Hounds. It is also famous for its mention in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

MovieBoozer posts about Wuthering Heights 1939 and suggests a drinking game. My Fujoshi Life gives a 5/5 to Manga Classics' Jane Eyre. Fictional Development explores the links between the Brontës novels and development.