The Brontë novels: 'exciting, pacey and often very funny'

BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime has put together a list of '10 must-read second novels', including

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë (1847)
If “Pride and Prejudice” is the pinnacle of Romantic Comedy, then “Jane Eyre” can certainly be nominated for the coveted title of Greatest Love Story Ever Written. It was actually Charlotte Brontë's second novel, but the first to be published, her earlier effort being “The Professor” which did not appear in print until much later.
One of the most passionate novels of all time, it was regarded as revolutionary on its publication due to its heroine's conscious awakening, her thoughts and feelings becoming the focus of the narrative.
Jane is morally conservative, but the book deals with more radical notions including sexuality, religion and proto-feminism due to the nature of her fierce spiritual outlook, which is consistently at its core, driving the novel's questioning and searching tone.
Finding love and attaining happiness with the Byronic Mr Rochester is the crux of the tale, and there is a fair amount of hand-wringing heartbreak along the way.

A contributor to Literary Hub blames her 'First Marriage on Jane Austen' and brings up the fact that,

Austen certainly isn’t the only literary celebrity among Anglo-American authors whose work inspires interest in her life. Captivated by the dark drama of Wuthering Heights, we visit Haworth, home of the famous Brontë family; drawn into Emily Dickinson’s poetic vision, we tour the unassuming clapboard farmhouse where she slowly retreated to a life of solitude and poetry. (Wendy Jones)

In her column for Grazia, writer Rebecca Manning Reid also refers to Jane Austen, though we think she needs to (re?)read the Brontës' works.

Books by Austen and Brontë are exciting, pacey and often very funny. They’re absolutely grade A chick lit.If Sense and Sensibility were they written in 2019 it would be published under pink covers with glittery shoes on the front and male literature critics would wrinkle their noses at it.

A columnist from The Telegraph claims she took up Dame Barbara Cartland's advice on 'the health-giving virtues of honey' and

while everyone around me was coughing like an ailing Brontë sister, I survived this winter without so much as a sniffle – and with a growing respect for the Dame’s health tips from beyond the grave. (Jane Shilling)

Town and Country recommends '8 Shows and Movies to Watch If You Love Victoria', including

Jane Eyre
If the Victorian era is your passion, consider watching the 2006 adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's gothic novel, which stars Ruth Wilson. (Caroline Hallemann)

And The Times has a quiz to find out how ‘well watched’ you are. One of the questions is

Your favourite Sarah Lancashire role is . . .
a) Still Raquel from Corrie, I’m afraid.
b) She was great in Wuthering Heights.
c) The lead in Kiri, a challenging series about child abduction. (Stuart Heritage)

Brontë Babe Blog reviews Without the Veil Between, Anne Brontë: A Fine and Subtle Spirit by DM Denton. On AnneBrontë.org, Nick  Holland announces that he will be publishing a new book on the Brontës in 2020 on Ellen Nussey and her friendship with the Brontë family.