Shakespeare hides behind Charlotte Brontë

Express sums up the Antiques Roadshow episode where a picture of Shakespeare was found behind a picture of Charlotte Bronté.

During a classic episode of Antiques Roadshow, expert Phillip Mould was delighted when he uncovered a painting of poet William Shakespeare, which had been covered up by a portrait of author Charlotte Bronte. [...]

“Now, it all started with you buying at a house clearance this print of Charlotte Brontë.”

“Yes,” the Antiques Roadshow guest replied. “I basically bought it for the frame because I like the frame.”

“I thought the frame was really old,” the guest continued.

Phillip asked: “And so you took the picture of Charlotte Brontë, which is sort of a pretty modern print.

“You took that out of the frame which you liked the look of. May I have a look?”

“Yes,” the guest replied as Phillip lifted the portrait of the novelist from the frame. [...]

Source

Speaking about the history of the painting, Phillip said: “So, here you have a picture of another famous author, William Shakespeare.

“[It’s] hidden behind Charlotte Bronte, how extraordinary. An 18th-century pastel, probably about 1730, 1740 based on the portrait. (Abbie Bray)

Charlotte Brontë would have enjoyed that.

Shakespeare and the Brontës are also mentioned together in this Q&A with writer Kathryn Barker on Publishers' Weekly.

Waking Romeo draws on a lot of literary sources: Shakespeare and the Brontës, of course, but also Dire Straits songs and other art that talks about Shakespeare. What made you decide to write a book based in these stories?

For me, it was because the love stories of Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights were presented as these epic love stories, and when I was an impressionable teenager I bought it hook, line, and sinker: like, they were the love stories. That’s what love meant. And when I got older, I looked back and reflected upon those two stories, and there was such a huge disconnect for me. What I had learned in real life about love was not the impression that I had when I read those books.

I wanted to explore that territory and what real love might look like with some worldly experience, as opposed to what I thought it looked like. And so I chose those two literary works because for me, they represented what I thought love was about—and it was really destructive and terrible for the women. There was something quite violent about it, and also really narrow. The women in particular were so focused on love pertaining only to this one man, and my considered experience of love many decades later was that it was much bigger: there was family, there was love of a planet. It was the broader perception of love that gave perspective when the boy didn’t like you so much, but I didn’t have that broader perspective when I was a teenager. (Leah Bobet)

Diario de Alicante (Spain) interviews writer Ángela Landete.

María: Te declaras fiel admiradora de dos grandes escritoras como son Jane Austen y Emily Brontë. ¿Qué encuentras en estas dos autoras que no hallas los demás escritores?

Ángela Landete: Soy romántica en los dos sentidos de la palabra: el amor y el movimiento cultural del Romanticismo. De Austen me maravilla la exquisitez en los modales, el trato respetuoso, el acercamiento pausado entre dos personas que se atraen, la elegancia del lenguaje. De Brontë me fascina la viva descripción del paisaje natural, el poder de los elementos sobre los seres humanos, la exaltación de las emociones (celos, codicia, odio, pasión, lealtad…) y su capacidad tanto de destrucción como de creación. Probablemente hallaría las particularidades de ambas en otros autores de la época pero, desde mi punto de vista, las historias de amor entre Darcy y Elizabeth, por un lado, y Heathcliff y Catherine, por otro, son inmortales e incomparables. (Maria Torres) (Translation)

Granma (Cuba) has an article on the importance of reading Jane Eyre and other classic novels.

Más allá del amor atribulado entre Jane Eyre y Edward Rochester y la especie de triángulo con el párroco St. John Rivers, queda la fascinación por la locura y sus impulsos incendiarios, y la certeza de que los moldes de la sociedad suelen ser estrechos e injustos para la pasión humana.

Charlotte, que vivió muchas veces del lado de la tragedia y murió embarazada y tuberculosa, supo escribir la vida en su complejidad y belleza. (Yeilén Delgado Calvo) (Translation)

Thrillist has ranked all 11 Guillermo del Toro movies, including

5. Crimson Peak (2015)

Crimson Peak was del Toro's attempt at gothic romance, and being a master of style, he succeeds—creating a hellish, bloodied-up Jane Eyre. 

Teen Vogue features Palestinian youngsters who are dealing with social media fame.

In many ways, Adnan Barq is a typical Zoomer. He’s constantly on Instagram, sharing his thoughts and scenes of daily life: artsy shots of the city, goofy selfies with family and friends, his takes on movies and TV shows. (His dream casting for a Wuthering Heights movie is Mena Massoud as Heathcliff and Lily Collins as Cathy, if you were curious.)  (Mary Steffenhagen)

Life Without Andy features singer Hayley Mary and the records that inspired her.

Through English class, I got into gothic novels such as ‘Wuthering Heights’, which lead to Kate Bush, and the knowledge that there was also rock music that could be called ‘gothic’., such as The Cure. 

While Narc magazine chats to the band Spelks about their influences.

Christina

I was first introduced to Kate Bush through a friend who played me The Man With The Child In His Eyes, at around 16. At the time I had just joined my first covers band and was getting more than a bit fed up with constant renditions of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ et al. I was looking for some new inspiration and Kate certainly provided it. I didn’t think I’d heard anyone who sounded like her (still don’t). I loved the mysterious, ethereal quality to her songwriting. Whenever I find I’m lacking inspiration, a Kate Bush album has me instantly motivated. Despite multiple listens, I always find something new that I didn’t notice before. My favourite way to listen is to blast it full belt in the car and annoy all the other drivers. I’m always considerate enough not to attempt Wuthering Heights.