Collecting copies of Wuthering Heights

We think this practice is fairly common when it comes to book lovers and their favourite books, but a contributor to Scroll (India) writes about having collected 15 copies of Wuthering Heights so far.

So, if you happen to glance at my books, you will soon come to realise that I am an incorrigible consumer of fiction. Authors that I have come to rely upon like old friends make multiple appearances: Nick Hornby, David Foster Wallace, Stephen Fry, Ian McEwan, Barbara Pym, Stella Gibbons, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Emma Donoghue. Non-fiction finds some representation, in the form of Bill Bryson’s travel narratives, literary theory, journo lit, a few memoirs and autobiographies. Inside a considerable number of my books you will find lovingly scrawled inscriptions from dear friends, referencing inside jokes, vouching for a new writer they are sure I will love, and vowing eternal sisterhood.
Oh, and you will also find some 15-odd copies of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
I can’t exactly recall when my epic saga with Brontë began. I have a vague, probably false, memory of the book being discussed in a brief aside by my English teacher in class when I was seven or eight, and already showing signs of literary besotted-ness. I remember waddling up to my then-librarian and requesting a copy of Wuthering Heights, please. She handed me an abridged version of the classic which I laboured through, liberally skipping pages and failing to understand much of anything. In fact, nothing made sense back then.
Why were the people speaking like this? What are moors? What is a grange? Where is Yorkshire? Why are these kids not going to school? There was still something about the book, though – or was it just my childish stubbornness? – that made me stick it out. When I eventually turned the last page, something had changed. I knew I would find my way back to it again when I was older, more ready. True to my prophecy, I returned to the book again when I was in high school, about 15. (Read more) (Neha Yadav)

According to 10 Daily, Jane Eyre is one of 'The Best Love Stories In Literature'.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The epitome of complex relationships, it would be difficult to write about complicated love stories without mentioning Jane Eyre. (First comes love, then comes … a mentally ill wife locked in the attic).
It is an admirable feat that Charlotte Brontë manages to turn this plot into a convincing love story that continues to resonate more than 150 years after it was written. (Fleur Morrison)

Inquirer also lists Jane Eyre among the 'Best Romance Books All Time'.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre
An outcast and an orphan, Jane Eyre, accepts a governess position for a girl in slightly mysterious circumstances with Edward Rochester, a brooding and dark master.  What secrets are concealed in Thornfield Hall? Plus, what will Eyre do as she finds out about Rochester’s dark past? (AJ Estrada)

Far Out Magazine suggests 'Top 7 last-minute destinations for a perfect Valentine’s Day' in Britain, including

6. Haworth Moor
Moving on to another destination that will most likely appeal to bookworms, Haworth Moor is situated in Brontë County. Still, even if you are not an avid fan of the sisters’ work, Haworth Moor is the place for adventurous lovers that want to get away from the bustling city for Valentine’s Day.
This place mirrors the peak of Brontë’s work – namely melancholia and nostalgia, which are characteristic of their novels. The moorland setting is melancholic as it is enticing. (Will De Nardo)

A contributor to The Boar discusses her favourite genre, romance.

My personal favourites came decades later. Firstly with the works of Jane Austen, who took the English society of her own time to pieces, presenting the reality of social interactions with humour and sensitivity, doing this all through romance novels. Austen’s works are closely followed by those of the Brontë sisters, as I can’t imagine more powerful words about love and gender equality than the ones Jane Eyre shouts at Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s most famous work, Jane Eyre. (Greta Csernik)

The 1851 Chronicle has yet another list, albeit not related to Valentine's Day. Here's one of '10 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues':

Read – There are so many fantastic new books out there that can take you to a place far away from these winter blues. Snuggle up with a classic like Jane Eyre or a new find: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. Both are sure to deliver an engaging read. (Hannah Akerly)

El mostrador (Chile) interviews editor Claudia Apablaza.

Si pudieras tomarte un traguito con un o una escritora, ¿Quién sería?
Me tomaría un vino con Emily Brontë. La llevaría a la comida hindú que hay frente a mi casa. (Catalina Hernández) (Translation)

Keighley News reports James Gorin von Grozny's latest Brontë theory.

An art collector is exploring previously-unknown links between the Brontë family and the illustrious sixth Duke of Devonshire.
James Gorin von Grozny believes the Duke struck up a friendship with the Rev Patrick Brontë after admiring his daughter Charlotte’s painting of Bolton Abbey.
The Duke, William Cavendish Spencer, is renowned for his friendships with famous figures of the day such as Charles Dickens.
He and Patrick were both social campaigners: Patrick on the health of his parishioners, and the “Bachelor Duke” on slavery and factory working hours.
According to Mr Grozny, it is possible the Duke commissioned the first public toilet in England, at the top of Butt Lane in Haworth.
Von Grozny began researching links between the Brontës and the Duke as a spin-off of his efforts to authenticate a painting he believes shows Charlotte, Anne and Emily Bronte.
Mr Grozny believes his picture was painted in 1838 by famous Victorian artist Sir Edward Landseer, a friend of the Duke.
Mr Grozny this week said he was piecing together evidence pointing to relationships between Patrick, the sixth Duke and Landseer.
He said the links originated at the Royal Northern Exhibition in Leeds in 1834, where Charlotte displayed a picture she had created the previous summer while visiting the duke’s estate at Bolton Abbey.
Mr Grozny said Charlotte wrote in 1856 of her father’s meeting and exchange of gifts with the Duke, probably at the exhibition’s private viewing.
Mr Grozny said: “A proud and protective parson will have been alongside his daughter on this day. Having trusted and accepted the Duke’s hospitality the previous summer, no doubt Patrick would have been keen to meet the Duke.”
Mr Grozny said a newly-published letter from the Duke confirms Landseer was staying at the Bolton Abbey estate during the same summer the Brontës visited.
He believes a mysterious host only referred to as ‘E’ in accounts of the visit, who gave the teenage Brontë siblings a guided tour, was in reality Edwin Landseer.
Mr Grozny added: “It not known if the parson and Duke had correspondence or met again between 1834 and 1856. The duke’s pilgrimage to the parsonage in 1856 was extraordinary.
“It is not known what the parson gave the old Duke, or what they talked about, but it is likely they discussed the children’s visit to the Abbey in 1833, and the fantastic consequences.”
As further evidence, Mr Grozny said there was “comfortably conclusive” proof that a drawing, currently at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, was a portrait of the young Duke by Landseer. (David Knights)

Jane Eyre's Library (in Spanish) tells about a 1941 Spanish edition of Jane Eyre.