Strange extravagance and wonderful excellence

 Let's begin with a lovely Macanudo comic strip by Liniers shared by The Daily Cartoonist.

The New European has an article on George Sand:

Sand is not widely read these days but during her lifetime she was one of the best-known cultural figures in Europe, equal to if not eclipsing compatriots Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac. She influenced Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, George Eliot and Charlotte Brontë. (Charlie Connelly)

Indeed, in 1848 she wrote to G.H. Lewes:

Now I can understand admiration of George Sand; for though I never saw any of her works which I admired throughout (even Consuelo which is the best, or the best that I have read, appears to me. to couple strange extravagance with wonderful excellence), yet she has a grasp of mind which if I cannot fully comprehend, I can very deeply respect: she is sagacious and profound;

Early novels by George Sand had been among the 'bales of French books' loaned to Charlotte by the Taylor family in 1840. There's an interesting article on 'Charlotte Brontë and George Sand: the Influence of Female Romanticism' by Pam Hirsch in Brontë Society Transactions, 21:6, 209-218.

This columnist from Colorado Springs Indy would do well to check the spellings and time periods of the authors she supposedly likes:

So, my quest this summer is to read new authors and new genres. For instance, I’ve never been a huge science-fiction fan; I do like some fantasy books though. (Richard Matheson is one of my favorites; love Tolkein [sic], of course.) I like horror, anything by Stephen King; and British Regency books (think Jane Austin [sic], Charlotte Bronte [sic], Elizabeth Gaskill [sic]). (Amy Gillentine)

We had seen Jane AustEn wrongly placed in the Victorian era before but we think this is the first time we see Charlotte BrontË and Elizabeth GaskEll placed in the Regency era.

Anglotopia recommends 'Ten Great British Countryside Films' including

Jane Eyre

The most recent adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, the 2011 version of Jane Eyre, does its best to bring out all of the Gothic beauty of Derbyshire and the moors on which it is set.  Most films based on the Brontës’ works love filming in the Peak District, and it’s not hard to see why.  Haddon Hall stands in for Thornfield and is gorgeous against the natural beauty of rural Derbyshire. (John Rabon)

Evening Standard reviews A Sister’s Story by Arifa Akbar, a memoir about her elder sister, who died from TB.

Up to a third of the world is infected by TB at any one point, although it lays dormant in most instances and manifests itself only in about five to ten percent of cases. It has an invidiously glamorous reputation: we associate it with tragic youth and creative genius – Keats; the Brontës –and with beatifically enervated young women: Mimi in La Bohème. Yet it's a sly, slithery disease that disproportionately affects the dispossessed and, in the UK today, those of South Asian heritage. It's also extremely difficult to diagnose; of the 400 people who die of it each year in this country, most could have survived had it been caught early enough. (Claire Allfree)

The Times recommends some thrillers. For instance, Fragile by Sarah Hilary:

“What did she teach me, Meagan Flack?” asks Nell. “Lie and dodge, never answer a question directly, never stay in one place too long, shrug and move on without looking back.” There are some elegantly framed nods here to Jane Eyre and Rebecca, although this story is too stylised to ever quite catch fire itself. Even so, it serves a reminder that everyone uses others to get what they want. (James Owen)

The Oxford Student on Richard Booth (MBE), self-proclaimed king of Hay, and the magic of secondhand books:

Booth’s brilliance lay in his recognition of the magic of secondhand books. The joy of entering one of Hay’s many bookshops is finding oneself surrounded by endless dog-eared possibilities, each book siren-like in its enticement of potential readers. When standing before chock-a-block shelves, a reverent silence buzzes in the air and time goes funny. After gazing at faded spines for measureless minutes, the thrill of discovering an unexpected gem is exhilarating. Many of Hay’s books are indeed treasures of sorts, bearing the marks of having been cherished. A Penguin edition of Jane Eyre might have been gifted to ‘Sarah on her fifteenth birthday, With much love from Mum.’ (Sophie Gwilt)

El mundo (Spain) shares the Spanish translation of the essay 'On Re-Reading Books' by Virginia Woolf which mentions the Brontës in passing.

Both Daily Record and Rochdale Online feature the Honresfeld Library. #SaveTheHonresfeldLibrary