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Sunday, November 22, 2020

The Ilkley Gazette suggests some walks after lockdown 2.0:
Winter is a great time to venture on to the bleak moors above Haworth. It is invigorating and although the walk itself is straightforward, it is entirely possible to fully understand the motivations behind the bleak novels of the Brontë Sisters, particularly Emily’s Wuthering Heights. (...)
Either park in Haworth (a car park near the Parsonage Museum, where the Brontë family lived) or better just drive the half-mile to a minor road out the north end of the village. It shortens the walk and avoids some road walking.
Just beyond the cemetery on your left is some parking, leave the car and carry on westwards towards the moors. After crossing a road follow a lane westwards with a dry stone wall on your right signposted to the Brontë Waterfall.
Almost immediately you will notice the sandy element of the lane (soon becoming a track) which is a legacy of the hard sandstone bedrock. Further on it becomes like a beach in places!
The track continues for 1 mile before dropping gradually into a small river bed and an idyllic picnic spot. Here is one of the favourite spots for the Brontë sisters to walk to.
I can certainly picture them in this place and it is utterly inspiring. On entering this little enclave there is a large stone, the Brontë seat, to the left and a few metres uphill is the Brontë waterfall (not large but beautifully tiered) and directly ahead is the Brontë Bridge. The bridge is not the original one but has been replaced sympathetically.
Cross the river via the bridge and head uphill to a stile and a number of footpath choices. Take the one to the left signposted Top Withins. All the signs here are dual language, rather bizarrely in Japanese. Apparently, the Japanese learn English via the writings of the Brontë sisters and a pilgrimage here was extremely popular 20 years ago!
Follow the footpath heading steadily uphill for a further mile, turning left when it meets the Pennine Way and you will arrive at the derelict farmhouse of Top Withins (with its single stand out tree). The farmhouse is allegedly the inspiration for Wuthering Heights farm and on a cold winter’s day, it is bleak enough to see why. (Lesley Tate)
Travel Awaits thinks that Top Withens is also the right place to go:
On desolate moorland not far from Haworth, the home of the Brontë family, is the ruined farmhouse called Top Withens. This former farmhouse is reported to have been the inspiration for the home of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s famous novel. This makes it a must-see for Brontë fans, but also for anyone with a passing interest in British literature and history. A plaque on the wall of the ruin, placed there by the Brontë Society in 1964, gives you a little of the background of this historic place, but the real beauty is in the atmosphere. On the windy moor with nothing but barren land for miles around, it’s easy to see how such a story came to Emily Brontë’s mind.
The walk from Haworth and back is around 11 miles round trip. The route is well signposted and on fairly even ground, though you do need to be reasonably fit, since it’s somewhat of a hike in places.
Back in Haworth, I ate a hearty lunch at the Fleece Inn, where you can also book a room for the night. (Samantha Priestley)
The Weekender explores sick culture, from tuberculosis to Covid-19:
In her review of Carolyn A. Day’s book “Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease,” Christina Newland discusses the aesthetic movement around the disease as well as its accompanying literary themes. In the literary world, people framed tuberculosis as “the physical manifestation of an inner passion and drive,” even a manifestation of genius that killed famed writers such as two of the Brontë sisters and Honoré de Balzac. (Miranda Jiang)

We can see the point of this campaign, but nevertheless, we should emphasise that these topics should be included along with and not instead of the current ones. In The Sunday Times:

[Esmie] Jikemi-Pearson told MPs: “For my English literature A-level, I was taught Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility and a contemporary text by an Irish author. Throughout my entire A-level and school life, I never got to read a book with a person of colour in it.
“The only character I can think of is Bertha in Jane Eyre. She is a crazed, abusive wife, so it is not a positive portrayal. Sometimes I sat in that classroom thinking, ‘Why am I even here?’  (Sian Griffiths)
JCNET (Brazil) and dark academia aesthetic.
Em contornos góticos, o culto às artes foi se expandindo com o tempo e ganhou referências como os clássicos gregos (os adeptos da Dark Academia valorizam muito o aprendizado de línguas, inclusive), Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Emily Brontë, chegando até a cultura pop com Harry Potter e filmes como "Sociedade dos poetas mortos", "O Sorriso de Monalisa" e "Os sonhadores". (Mariana Couthinho) (Translation)
Le Figaro (France) reviews the latest issue of the BD Les tuniques bleues:
Puis vient la case centrale de cette page. Presque la case centrale de l’album. Le foyer est le centre d’attention grâce aux lignes de force aussi bien les ombres dans la case que les regards dans les cases alentour. Le lecteur ne regarde pas Daisy directement mais écoute son histoire. Elle tient son livre dans les mains, Les Hauts de Hurlevent, ce n’est pas un titre anodin. On souhaitait un titre de l’époque avec un rapport pour Miss Daisy. C’est une clé pour le lecteur. À lui de travailler et de choisir s’il y a un lien entre Heathcliff et Daisy... (Val Martigan) (Translation)
The blunder of the week comes from the magazine ¡Hola! (Spain) who blatantly states:
Jane Eyre. Emily Brontë no sólo es la autora de 'Cumbres borrascosas', sino de esta singular obra de la que, probablemente, hayas visto alguna de sus adaptaciones cinematográficas. Su protagonista es Jane, una mujer con un temperamento un tanto especial, influenciado por una infancia desdichada. Se quedó huérfana muy pequeña, y tuvo que quedarse a cargo de una tía poco cariñosa.
Cuando consigue un puesto como institutriz para educar a la hija del dueño de Thornfield Hall, el señor Rochester, poco a poco, el amor irá surgiendo entre ellos. Sin embargo, el señor guarda un terrible secreto. (Ana Caaveiro) (Translation)
A tutto notizie (Italy) and books for the autumn:
Come non appassionarsi poi alla storia d’amore tra Heathcliff e Catherine, protagonisti di Cime tempestose di Emily Brontë?! Una passione che si rivelerà distruttiva, a causa della gelosia e dello spirito di vendetta.
Una storia che ha come sfondo la brughiera inglese, selvaggia e solitaria, paragonabile ai cuori dei due protagonisti. (Antonella Sica) (Translation)
Kulturnews (Germany) talks about the film Twister 1996:
Wenn Emily Brontë nicht schon damals „Sturmhöhe“ geschrieben hätte, dies wäre der passende Alternativtitel für „Twister“, was ja eher nach einem fettigen US-Schokoriegel klingt oder einem cremigen Eis. (Volker Siebert) (Translation)

BuzzFeed has a random knowledge quiz including a Brontë question. 

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