FOMO on the Brontës

The Times comments on the fact that it's GCSE revision time.

Some things don’t change, however. Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Charlotte Brontë and Wilfred Owen could all be found on the syllabus in 1984. They are still there but they've been joined by a richer selection of writers that not only reflects our diverse society but the cultural changes that have taken place over the past 35 years. (Nick Gibb)

The Spectator begins a review of Lucasta Miller's biography of Letitia Elizabeth Landon by comparing it to her previous work on the Brontës.

Miller’s previous book The Brontë Myth traced the stories and traditions that gradually adhered to the Brontës like barnacles, especially once they were dead and unable to answer back. Her new book is equally sharp-eyed as an analysis of the myths that grow up around some writers and the motives behind them. Its greatest achievement is to show that Landon’s scandalous life was far more than just the context for her poetry. To a large extent it also shaped how she wrote, producing verses that were playful and performative, full of stylistic dodges and disguises, and told her readers as much about themselves as they did about the mysterious ‘L.E.L.’ whose signature appeared beneath each poem. (Robert Douglas-Fairhurst)

Keighley News looks at a recent book about another famous resident of Haworth Parsonage: William Grimshaw.

Haworth is inexorably linked with the Brontës.
Visitors flock in their thousands to the parsonage museum every year to learn more about the lives of the famous literary siblings.
But some 70 years before their father Patrick became curate in the village, another colourful character held the post and was making his own impression on parishioners.
William Grimshaw was a fiery man renowned for some strange behaviour, yet was also a hugely popular preacher who packed out churches.
A glimpse into his fascinating life is provided in a new, illustrated book, William Grimshaw: The Perpetual Curate of Haworth.
Author Simon Ross Valentine originally used the information, gleaned from decades of research he carried out on Methodist history, for a public lecture in 2008 commemorating the 300th anniversary of Grimshaw’s birth. [...]
“By all accounts Grimshaw was a charismatic – if not odd – character, earning himself the nickname Mad Grimshaw.
“A man of prodigious stature, and a fiery preacher, he was both loved and feared by Yorkshire folk.”
Grimshaw took-up the Haworth church position after undergoing an evangelical conversion experience whilst serving as an Anglican clergyman in Todmorden. He went on to become one of the most important revival preachers of that time and led the establishment of a circuit of religious groups known as the Great Haworth Round.
Simon adds: “Grimshaw was a strange man, even to his contemporaries.
“If the curate was not happy with the number of people attending his services, it was his usual practice to set the congregation singing Psalm 119 – the longest psalm in the hymn book.
“He would then leave his pulpit and see who were idling away their time in the churchyard, street or nearby Black Bull Inn. With a horse-whip in his hand, he would march into the ale-house intent on forcing those inside to attend church!
“Apparently on hearing that Grimshaw was approaching, people could be seen making their escape from the inn, some jumping out of the lower windows and others throwing themselves over the low back wall.
“Having gathered together a number of the miscreant parishioners, he would lead them to the church and re-ascend the pulpit just as the congregation was about to finish singing the psalm!”
On another occasion, Grimshaw dressed as the devil one night and confronted a startled man who had refused to marry a girl he’d made pregnant. (Alistair Shand)

Cayman Compass interviews Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton.

On her influences: One of the huge influences on my work, apart from Toni Morrison, is Margaret Atwood, and she just gave my book an endorsement, which was just incredible. I also love Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry, who write those modern gothic novels. The classic gothic romances have been a big influence. There is a strong link between the plot in Frannie and the plot in Jane Eyre. It is about the creation of a self, taking control over your own life. (James Whittaker)

Gingernuts of Horror interviews writer Penny Jones.

Q: Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
A: I love the work of John Wyndham. I have most of his work, but I’m currently on the lookout for the first American edition of The Midwich Cuckoos as it has an extra chapter in, which our British edition doesn’t contain. I also really enjoy literary fiction, whether that’s Gothic classics such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre or more modern tales such as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. I’m also a bit of a sucker for a psychological thriller, so really enjoy the works of Patrick Redmond, Dennis Lehane, and Patricia Highsmith.

Express Zacatecas (Mexico) reviews the book Orquídea de Supermercado by Sara Andrade.

Hasta aquí los aciertos del libro son muchos: hay la emergencia de una voz madura en nuestra narrativa, tal vez con el señorío de la narrativa victoriana, a la manera de las Brontë, a quien Sara es tan afecta. (Alejandro García) (Translation)

FOMO vs JOMO in The Cavalier Daily:

Over my four years at the University, it has become a running joke between my friends and me that I most definitely do not have “FOMO” or “fear of missing out.” On the contrary, I have the unique ability to miss home football games, big parties, catered tailgates, concerts, fall break trips, and — dare I say it? — even basketball games without batting an eyelash.
As I’ve been found again and again tucked away under my comforter with a Brontë classic in hand or located in a distant city via “find my friends,” it’s been hypothesized by many that I may even possess “JOMO” or the joy of missing out. I’ve often teased my friends back for how tightly they hold onto the stereotypical collegiate experience and how religiously they attend its sacred events. To be quite honest, I’ve never understood “FOMO” — why would I want to be compelled by fear to do anything? (Sarah Ashman)

The Digital Fix reviews the release of the 1959 film Room at the Top on Blu-Ray and the extras it includes, one of which sounds quite interesting.

Next up is a selection of films under the banner of “Images of the West Riding in Archive Film”. [...]
We move on to 1945, and We of the West Riding (22:02). This is an illustration of the people of an unnamed Yorkshire town, at work and at play. It concentrates on the members of one typical family, the Sykeses, working in a textile mill, cycling across the moors, watching a football match and rehearsing for an amateur dramatic production of Jane Eyre. Only some stage and musical performances have direct sound, and for the rest of the time we have a narration written by novelist Phyllis Bentley. This government-sponsored documentary, made in wartime, was an early work of Ken Annakin, who would later move into making features. (Gary Couzens)

Journal Online (Philipinnes) reviews the movie After.

Things change when she meets Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a brooding young man who’s her exact opposite. But naturally, she’s irritated with him at the start, but you’ll know this is just the start of her fascination with him. Hardin seems to be an embodiment of mysterious enigmatic heroes in English literature that both he and Tessa are fond of, notably Heathcliff from “Wuthering Heights”. When they first meet, they argue about “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and you know it should remind us of the famous couple in that well known novel. Of course, it’s only to be expected that Tessa finds the air of uncertainty in Hardin simply irresistible. (Mario Bautista)

Adventure Bike Rider goes motorcycling in Alaska:

Dalton Highway
[...]
The landscape took on a raw, peculiar beauty with a bleak Wuthering Heights quality. (Lisa Morris)

NME reports that 'Florence + The Machine and Christine And The Queens share collaborative playlist “celebrating strong, inspiring women”' including Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. Writers and pseudonyms in Actualidad Literatura (Spain). A contributor to The eNotes Blog discusses why she keeps rereading Jane Eyre while My Dusty Bookshelf posts about the novel. WordyNerdBird posts about Wuthering Heights.