Curiosity hunters

An article on Charles Dickens on The Conversation, mentions the origins of fan fiction in passing:

In the 21st century, readers have commented on the resemblances between the fictional stories which the young Brontë siblings wrote about real-life contemporary figures such as the Duke of Wellington, and 20th and 21st-century forms of fan fiction. (Lucy Whitehead)

Inside Croydon, on an article about slavery mentions the appalling story of a governess who had a slave:

It was by no means only the super-rich who owned slaves, as the Croydon records show. Eliza Grant Shaw, of 42 South End, Croydon, was a governess who was born in Jamaica and claimed for one slave in Kingston, Jamaica, for which she was paid £19 10s 10d.
As Charlotte and Anne Brontë showed in their novels Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey, becoming a governess was a poorly-paid profession which tended to be the only occupation open to middle-class women with no money. It is possible that Shaw’s slave was an inheritance or an investment she made with her savings. But her claim shows how widespread and commonplace slave ownership was throughout society. (Stephanie Offer)

Vice's i-D focuses on the portrayal of slaves in Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea.

I am reminded of the recently freed black Jamaicans in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, who burn down the childhood home of the novel’s main character Antoinette. To her and her white-Creole family, the fire is a destructive force from an “angry mob”. But we should also think of fire from the perspective of brutalised former slaves. We have to consider fire and other forms of destruction as a means of purification, a necessary preparation for new growth. Colston’s statue has revealed that the difference in perspective between Antoinette’s former-slaver family and angry former slaves is still alive today. Some of us view Colston’s statue toppling as a symbolic purification, while for others it’s simply vandalism. Hiding behind the language of ‘lawfulness’, as politicians on both sides have done, doesn’t allow space for such vandalism to be righteous. (Josh Lee)

Coincidentally, Daily Mail reports that,

from this year, the English BA at Leicester has been changed to include more diverse texts and authors set and written in countries across the world.
The reading list now includes Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and NW by Zadie Smith. (Jack Wright)

Women's Web (India) claims that,

Any woman who is angry, is regarded as shrill, derailed and often, even violently insane, like Charlotte Brontë’s ‘madwoman in the attic,’ Bertha Mason, in the classic Jane Eyre. (Shivani Ekkanath)

We wish this list of Premio Letteraria finalists published by Vivere Fano (Italy) would come without a blunder.

Stranieri
Steven Amsterdam, La via più facile, Biplane Edizioni (traduttrice Anna Mioni)
Charlotte Brontë, Cime tempestose, Neri Pozza (traduttrice Monica Pareschi)
Marcelo Figueras, Il re dei rovi, L’asino d’oro (traduttrice Gina Maneri)
Josè Ovejero, La seduzione, Voland (traduttore Bruno Arpaia)
John Smolens, Margine di fuoco, Mattioli 1885 (traduttore Sebastiano Pezzani)

Coming Soon (Italy) is reminded of Wuthering Heights by the film Crimson Peak.

Tra i modelli reali citati dal regista ci sono però opere letterarie da lui molto amate, le cui influenze sono chiaramente avvertibili nel film: Edgar Allan Poe, e soprattutto il racconto “La caduta della casa degli Usher” (portato al cinema da Roger Corman nel 1960 col film I vivi e i morti), al cui centro c'è ovviamente la dimora, “Giro di vite” di Henry James, “Cime tempestose” di Emily Bronte e “Grandi speranze” di Charles Dickens, a cui aggiungeremmo un sentore di “Rebecca” di Daphne Du Maurier. (Daniela Catelli) (Translation)

Wanderlust recommends '7 of the best UK literary walks' including

5. The Brontë Sisters’ Haworth, Yorkshire, England
If you’re a fan of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or any work by author sisters Emily and Charlotte Brontë, the village of Haworth in Yorkshire, northern England will keep you occupied.
Firstly, there is a museum dedicated to the sisters’ lives and works. Charlotte, Emily and sister Anne, another acclaimed writer, are all buried in Haworth, and their graves can be visited in St Michael and All Angels churchyard. Almost every older building in the village centre has some connection to the sisters – the post office, for example, is where they sent manuscripts from.
You’ll see much of it on this nearly three-mile walk, which starts at the tourist centre and ends at Brontë Waterfall. The path to the falls is well-marked, and is detailed by Haworth village’s official website. You can also download the appropriate maps. You can visit the falls, which are quite serene, on a number of West Yorkshire walking trails of varying lengths. (Elizabeth Atkin)

Town & Country recommends visiting Brontë country during this year's holidays:

Going on holiday may be off the cards right now. But when travel restrictions do begin to lift, we’ll probably start looking closer to home for our next adventures. And with lockdown giving us more time to immerse ourselves in a good book (and to revisit favourites), why not plan a visit to the home of the Brontë sisters?
Since 1850, Brontë enthusiasts (or ‘curiosity-hunters’, as Charlotte called them) have flocked to Yorkshire in anticipation of discovering Rochester’s hall, Heathcliff’s farmhouse and Mrs Graham’s lodgings. However, to assume that every location in the Brontës’ novels has a real-life equivalent is to strip the sisters of their immense creative powers. Charlotte, Emily and Anne would scour their surroundings for glimmers of inspiration, selecting only the very best treasures for their gripping works of fiction. And we, too, should experience Brontë country as they did by retracing their footsteps and hoping that the same sparks of creativity reveal themselves to us, as they once did to the authors. (Imogen Bole) (Read more)