Whispers in the Air

The writer (and Brontëite) María Folguera has visited Haworth and shares her experience in Uppers:

Lo razonable es no hacer este viaje. Qué tiene este remoto rincón de Inglaterra que no pueda imaginarse desde casa, o que no pueda avistarse con un par de clics desde la pantalla. Para qué tomar un avión, varios trenes, un autobús; para qué alojarse en un pueblito donde no se sabe si aguarda la decepción. Como lectora y admiradora de Charlotte, Emily y Anne Brontë siempre había razonado conmigo misma: no era necesario tomarse la molestia de viajar hasta Haworth. 

Sí, leí 'Cumbres borrascosas' a los trece años y desde entonces vuelvo al libro para descubrir una hondura cada vez más antigua; sí, redescubro a Anne Brontë a pesar de la condescendiente prescripción que la hermana superviviente hizo de su obra, reduciéndola a lo modesto; sí, las novelas de Charlotte alzan el vuelo entre mis manos. Pero lo que me empujó a hacer este viaje fue la lectura de 'Infernales. La hermandad Brontë', de la escritora argentina Laura Ramos. (...)

Toda casa museo es una reconstrucción, una escenificación de objetos originales y de época que recrean el ambiente. Lo que asombra de esta visita es el palimpsesto de devociones que han conseguido sostener el legado: los donativos, adquisiciones en subastas, mediadores y artistas invitados que han hecho de la casa una lectura activa de la vida y obra de estas personas que murieron hace mucho tiempo. 

En el salón donde las hermanas leían y escribían puede verse un manuscrito de 'Cumbres borrascosas' que reescribieron frase a frase los visitantes de la casa en dos mil dieciocho. En el cuarto de Branwell, el artista Grant Montgomery imagina en una dramática instalación el estado de desorden del atormentado varón: papeles, tinta, botellas, sábanas. (Translation)

The Guardian interviews the author Andrew O'Hagan:

Leaving home used to be a rite of passage. It’s there in the classics, from Jane Eyre to The Color Purple, with especially vivid depictions of it in postwar British literature.

International Times interviews yet another writer, Geoff Nicholson:

I recently read Jane Eyre for the first time (there are a lot of holes in my reading) and it’s great but it’s weirder than hell, which I don’t think is generally recognized. And Jane Eyre, the character, isn’t just Beat, she’s downright punk! (Interview by Malcolm Paul)

The author Francesca Specter shares with The Guardian her recent readings: 

For my neighbourhood book club, I read Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, a feminist, postcolonial prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Antoinette Cosway, Mr Rochester’s “madwoman in the attic” first wife (whom he renames Bertha), is a powerful narrator with timeless resonance: “There are more ways than one of being happy, better perhaps to be peaceful and contented and protected.” It made me rethink the romanticisation of Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester (last January, we read Wuthering Heights … same story with Heathcliff). 

The most impactful romance novels of all time in The Mary Sue:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

In one of the most cherished romantic novels of the 19th century, Charlotte Brontë introduces us to the meek yet powerful character Jane Eyre. After suffering a lifetime of abuse at home and at boarding school, Jane goes to work as a governess for the brooding Mr. Rochester. In spite of his darkness she falls in love with him before discovering a devastating secret in his attic. Readers delight in watching Jane transform into a woman in the book, and Brontë is widely praised for her use of character conversation as exposition. (Beverly Jenkins)

YourTango suggests tips for surviving in these end-of-times days:

I was once an aging hipster who would say things like “I don’t like Taylor Swift,” and I thought such pronouncements made me cool, but the truth was I was insecure. But then the pandemic lockdowns happened, and I listened to her album Folklore repeatedly and was converted. I know it sounds a little like Stockholm Syndrome, but sincerely, I would probably die for Folklore. And that’s not hyperbole. Have you heard it? Sixteen tracks of melancholy power ballads. I nicknamed it Wuthering Heights: The Soundtrack. (John DeVore)

The Behind the Glass podcast's new episode talks with Bethany Turner-Pemberton:

Sassy and Sam chat to researcher and curator Bethany Turner-Pemberton. Bethany is PhD candidate in Textiles and Museum Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Science and Industry Museum and MMU Special Collections.   We'll discuss denim jackets and dodgy fashion, delving into textiles past and future.

Today's Los Angeles Times mini crossword includes this question: "Heathcliff's love in Wuthering Heights". The Guardian mentions how The Pilgrim's Progress influenced writers like Charlotte Brontë.