Sounds That Shape

BBC Radio Leeds discusses one of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 events: Charlotte Brontë's Senseless Trash:

Listen to sounds that shaped the Brontë sisters lives with Senseless Trash.

The New York Times discusses how literature is no longer as important as it used to be. Although:

People still have attention span enough to read the classics. George Orwell’s “1984” (an essential guide for the current moment) has sold over 30 million books and Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has sold over 20 million. Americans still love literary books. When the research firm WordsRated asked Americans to list their favorite books, “Pride and Prejudice,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Jane Eyre” all came in the top 10. (David Brooks)

Lincolnshire Live reviews the recent production of Emma Rice's Wuthering Heights by the Tolethorpe Youth Drama company: 

For those who don’t know, Emma Rice’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel follows the story of Heathcliff, who is adopted by the Earnshaw family and taken to live at Wuthering Heights, where he meets Catherine Earnshaw. When they are forced apart, a chain of events is set in motion.

At times, you do need to suspend reality to believe that an actor is the parent of another when there is just four years between the oldest and youngest cast members - but the believable performances help you do just that.

Although they never appear on stage, the dedication and commitment of directors Mary Benzies and Rachel Lewin is clear to see. An example is evident in the way Emma Wheeler, who played Catherine, displayed so much confidence and prowess on stage.

Her very proud mum Amanda, the newly-inaugurated mayor of Stamford, shared with me beforehand that the experience with the Theatre Makers has helped her to flourish.

As well as Emma, I’d also like to give a shout out to Beatrice Ford, who really brought to life the spirit of the Yorkshire Moor. (Kerry Coupe)

Vulture reviews the premiere of the new Lena Dunham series, Too Much:

The plot of many a corseted period drama on which Jessica, the main character and narrator of Lena Dunham’s new Netflix series Too Much, has built her image of England goes something like this: An ingénue finds herself in a new environment, where she — clumsily, unpreparedly, authentically — falls in love with a distinguished gentleman who loves her back despite her “poor connections” and her faults. Often, this story is set on a picturesque estate, somewhere huge and stately with plenty of corners perfect for running into your prospective lover. This is how it goes for Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy; it’s how it goes for Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. (...)

Jessica calls the NHS and paramedics put her under the cold water of the shower to ease the burn. Gaz is there to offer some well-intentioned support, but his presence is made obsolete by Felix’s return. “By God, Wendy,” she narrates, “there he was. My Mr. Darcy. My Rochester. My … Felix.” It’s already obvious that Felix doesn’t have any of Mr. Darcy’s or Rochester’s fortunes, nor their arrogant attitudes. But the comparison suggests that Felix will have secrets and that this rom-com will build toward unwelcome revelation. (Rafaela Bassili)

Time Magazine also talks about the series:

A genre-savvy, meta romantic comedy in the tradition of Emily Henry’s novels and the best of Nora Ephron, Too Much, from co-creators Lena Dunham and Luis Felber, visualizes Jess’ Wuthering Heights fantasies and features a scene in which her family dissects Alan Rickman’s sex appeal in Sense and Sensibility. (Judy Berman)

Anc Cracked:

As a fan of Britain’s period romances AND gritty crime dramas — “I’m, um, a Wuthering Heights, Prime Suspect rising,” she says later — Jessica is eager to go. (Tara Ariano)

Or TVLine:

They share a weird sense of humor, but they’re separated by a significant cultural gap, with Jessica not comprehending British slang like “bollocking.” Felix knows her type, too, pegging Jessica right away as “one of those Love Actually-loving girls”… although she actually prefers Wuthering Heights and Prime Suspect. (Dave Nemetz)

And Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Manchester Evening News, Salon...

Willamette Week recommends romance books for summer reading:

We fully endorse reading classics like A Room With a View, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, but the category has now expanded into the most modern sensibilities. ( Audrey Van Buskirk)

The Atlantic and the battle of brows:

Firstly, Woolf declared, being highbrow is the best. She was unabashed in her preferences: The highbrow “is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind at a gallop across country in pursuit of an idea. That is why I have always been so proud to be called highbrow. That is why, if I could be more of a highbrow I would.” She went on to cite some of her highbrow idols—Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen—before affirming that being named among them was “of course beyond the wildest dreams of my imagination.” (Shan Wang)

The Indian Express lists books that prove that 'revenge is the sweetest satisfaction': 

Wuthering Heights

“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living” 

This is the story of a wild love and a betrayal that sparked a lifetime of revenge. Heathcliff was an orphan raised by the Earnshaw family. He forms a close bond with Catherine Earnshaw. His heart gets completely shattered when she marries another man, Edgar Linton. This makes him disappear, only for him to return rich and full of vengeance. Wuthering Heights starts as a simple heartbreak and spirals into a life driven by revenge. Heathcliff manipulates those around him and passes his bitterness on to the next generation. There is love. There is obsession. And there is revenge.

Also in The Indian Express, an article about the recent PEN winner, Leila Aboulela:

Leila Aboulela was instantly catapulted to literary spotlight after the release of her first novel, The Translator (1999). Nobel laureate J M Coetzee called it “a story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written.” The semi-autobiographical novel was written in 1990 after the author moved to Aberdeen in Scotland. The book follows Sammar, a Sudanese widow working as an Arabic translator in Aberdeen, grieves the loss of her husband and separation from her son. When she begins translating for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, their intellectual connection blossoms into love. Yet their relationship is tested by Rae’s secular worldview and Sammar’s deep religious convictions. Aboulela has described The Translator as “a Muslim Jane Eyre.”

Several Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever mentions around: Castlemaine Mail,  Guildford Echo News, Blog Preston...