True to the Characters

The Telegraph & Argus publishes an article about the appalling sanitary conditions of mid-nineteenth century Haworth. It's an article that will be published complete in The Bradford Antiquary (No. 83) edited by Dave Pendleton, out August/September:

By the mid-1800s , living conditions in Haworth were grim. Cess pits were sometimes below dwellings and overflowed into the streets, and past the water pump. Drainage was generally an open channel or gutter, and effluent could ooze into houses through the walls and all over the floor. (...)

n his health report of 1850, Benjamin Babbage was shocked by what he saw. This small industrial town which looked up to the moors suffered air pollution from the smoking chimneys. Excrement ran down the streets because of the lack of sewers. Human waste and offal from the slaughterhouse stood for months in the streets. The moors which play a significant part in the Brontë novels contained very few trees to act as a wind break, or slow down the surface water which ran off the hills and down the streets. A surveyor was appointed every year to see that the roads were repaired by local labourers, but this was inadequately done. The unemployed broke the stones.

Patrick Brontë was a driving force to make improvements. He often covered his mouth with a muffler as a protection against the noxious smells and disease. Cholera was carried through the water supply. There were outbreaks of small pox, measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever, typhus, dysentery, and consumption. In November 1848, Emily Brontë’s health was deteriorating. She had difficulty breathing and complained of pains in her chest. On December 19, 1848, she died and was laid to rest in the family vault in Haworth Church. She died as a result of tuberculosis, often referred to as consumption. Later in the 1850s, some improvements in the water and sewage system, reduced illnesses. (Dave Welbourne)

The Sydney Morning Herald reviews both Persuasion 2022 and the theatre adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: 

I re-read Jane Eyre and found that the charismatic, mercurial Rochester of my 20s had morphed into a man who would be a nightmare to be married to. (...)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is actually very fresh on a modern reading because its themes are so contemporary. It depicts the deterioration of a charming, narcissistic suitor (Arthur Huntington) into an abusive, alcoholic husband. His cruelty is so realistically drawn it’s impossible not to conclude Anne Brontë must have known such a man. (Scholars speculate he was based on the dissolute Brontë brother, Branwell.) (...)

The stage adaptation of Tenant played for laughs a little too much for my liking, which perhaps was a sop to modern audiences. It cut all the god-talk (of which there is too much in the novel). But it stayed true to the characters. (Jacqueline Maley)

Shethepeople lists Victorian authors you should read, including the Brontës:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Untamed personalities, who love wildly, who behave wildly, unsocially, acting like a force of nature, whenever the mood takes them, a book on the wildness of nature, and the wildness of human nature. The Victorian story of the destructive, dark side of love. You will find that no one is nice even though their wildness varies by degrees, you cannot like any of them. What is worth taking away is a depiction of the cyclic form of nature, of life. How a thing is nurtured will be reflected in how it grows. There will be a part of you that wants to find good in utter wilderness. If not anything you can appraise it as a story of the wind howling on the moor, rattling at the windows, whispering of the wildness of the human spirit, of the untameable power of love. (...)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Brontë sisters’ text is always a must-read from the Victorian era as they provide you with the imaginative radicality that was immensely absent in the reality of the period. Charlotte wrote in her text about the silent needs and demands of freedom and individuality by Victorian women through Jane. Depicted as a strong feminist symbol, arguing throughout the whole novel that women should be free to fulfil their desires, express their true natures, and chart their own destinies jane course her demand of free will. Rebels have consequences so was the course of Jane’s journey or perhaps any other woman you try to come out of the box, but you will witness that changes happen not overnight but slowly and steadily like a mute earthquake. If you are looking for a rebel of Victorian ideals Jane Eyre is your must-go. (Vanshika)

We have some film recommendations in several news outlets:

Jane Eyre

Esta producción está disponible en Prime Video, HBO Max y StarzPlay. En ella conocerás la vida de una institutriz que intenta cambiar la visión de su muy estricto jefe que no disfruta de la vida ni mucho menos del amor, pero con el tiempo descubre que más allá de tener una opinión diferente sobre ello, es capaz de descubrir el secreto que esconde. La cinta está inspirada en la novela de Charlotte Brontë que se estrenó en 2011. (Gabriela Trujillo in Nueva Mujer) (Translation)

Jane Eyre (2011)
Speaking of notable literary names, you might've also heard of classic novelist Charlotte Brontë. Like Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre has undergone multiple film adaptations. Our favorite version to include on this list is the 2011 film starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, which is true to the gothic romance and understated themes of the original 1847 novel.
After a cruel childhood as an orphan, and following many years spent in a strict school for girls, Jane Eyre (Wasikowska) is grateful for her new position as governess of a large manor called Thornfield Hall. Her young pupil is a good student, she's given food to eat and a place to sleep, and the master of the house, Mr. Rochester (Fassbender), seems pleasant enough. But, as Jane will soon discover, things at Thornfield Hall are not what they appear to be.

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1992)
Another Brontë classic for our list, Wuthering Heights is a gothic romance from 1847 written by Emily Brontë—sister of Charlotte. Again, similar to her literary counterparts including her sister, Austen, and Tolstoy, Brontë's novel has seen many film adaptations.
Our choice for this list, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights stars Ralph Fiennes as the dark and brooding Heathcliff, with Juliette Binoche as the tragic Catherine Earnshaw. As childhood companions at the Wuthering Heights estate, Heathcliff and Catherine have a bond that defies social status and family duty. But when the pressure of growing up threatens to drive them apart—and a misunderstanding drives Heathcliff away—the young man returns to Wuthering Heights hell-bent on proving his worth to Catherine, her family, and anyone else he suspects of doubting his worth. (Kacie Cooper Stotler in Collider)

The Daily Star talks about not being able to finish reading a book:

I used to divide my reading habits according to the three parts of my life: In my school days, when I came back from school, I showered and sat down with a book while mummy was thinking what a good child I was, to want to complete my homework so soon after school hours. I remember reading The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo at one go; books like Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Wuthering Heights (1936 sic) by Emily Brontë, I re-read several times. (RBR)

The Sunday Times publishes some examples of home makeovers:

Upper Heights sits in remote Brontë country and has its own literary credentials, as the home of the poets Lydia Macpherson and Nick MacKinnon. (Katrina Burroughs, Jayne Dowle and Victoria Maw)

In the same newspaper, a review of the film Where the Crawdads Sing: 

The movie, like the book, is a woozy compilation of greatest hits for the self-pity party teenagers sometimes like to throw in their heads, lent appeal by [Daisy] Edgar-Jones’s unforced central performance. The breakout star of Normal People has a hint of drowsiness to her that makes her perfect to play dreamers — she’d make a great Emily Brontë. But she seems to bear none of the psychological scars that her upbringing might have entailed. (Tom Shone)

More Sunday Times, Waldemar Januszczak is not all impress with the immersive art experiences he has visited:

Stepping into a noisy twilight, where rousing music rings unceasingly around you — imagine being stuck in a lift with Kate Bush who won’t stop singing Wuthering Heights — you lie down on one of the beanbags scattered like dog turds and await the digital arrival of the stars.

And the last one from the Times, bands do not edit Greatest Hits albums anymore:

Bands don’t tend to release greatest-hits collections any more — Spotify and the rest do that work for them. Search for any half-known artist, or shout their name at your Alexa, and you’ll be given their most popular releases straight away. These are no longer static collections — after its boost on the Netflix series Stranger Things, the song Running up That Hill now sits proudly atop Kate Bush’s algorithm-created popular releases and the human-selected “This is Kate Bush” compilation on Spotify, where Wuthering Heights would have been before. Those editors entrusted with choosing an artist’s definitive selection have now taken over from the labels who previously had the final say. (Dave Fawbert)

Agenzia Sir (Italy) talks about the second season of Sanditon:

La seconda, 6 episodi, a giudicare dai primi rilasciati, sembra correggere il tiro e allinearsi su un binario più sicuro, collaudato, nel segno della tradizione:
il personaggio di Charlotte sembra addirittura rendere omaggio all’istitutrice Jane Eyre di Charlotte Brontë. Buona dunque la partenza per “Sanditon 2”, di certo consigliabile. Attendiamo però sviluppi. (Sergio Perugini) (Translation)

Zombies in Cuba.esEuro (in Spanish): 

Aunque algunos remontan sus orígenes cinematográficos al “sonámbulo” Cesare (Conrad Veidt) de Consultorio del doctor Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), lo cierto es que el zombi logra una carta definitiva de carácter fílmico en Camine con un zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943), película de aire haitiano en la que aparecen la mayoría de sus motivos posteriores (incluido el racismo) y en la que se aprecia la influencia de la novela gótica Jane Eyre (1847), de Charlotte Bronté. (Orlene Lacroix) (Translation)

Amour fou quotes in DiLei (Italy) including one by Emily Brontë.