The Telegraph and Argus reports that Brontë fans can now own a literal slice of Brontë history.
Limited-edition slices of beams from the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, Bradford, are now on sale as part of a fundraising campaign for the historic home. [...]
During recent renovations, the parlour ceiling was stripped back, revealing original beams that could no longer be used.
The beams were replaced in consultation with Bradford Council and Historic England.
Nigel West, fundraising coordinator from the Brontë Birthplace, said: "This is a limited edition.
"We do not anticipate any further major works in our lifetime, and you can take the opportunity to own this little slice of history, secure in the knowledge that removal was completely necessary to ensure the safety of the building.
"Dating back over 200 years, each beam once supported the very floor beneath the feet of the Brontë family.
"Lovingly preserved and presented, each piece offers a tangible connection to literary history and a timeless keepsake from the very place where the Brontë story began."
A total of 240 sections of the beams have been carefully prepared by the property advisor, Adrian Tingle.
Each piece has been framed and mounted by Thornton picture framer Andy Rushworth using museum-quality art glass and is being sold for £250.
Each slice includes holographic authentication, and a register of ownership will be maintained.
Also available as part of the fundraising drive is a limited-edition poem by London-based poet Liliana Pasterska.
She collaborated with Marina Saegerman of the Brussels Brontë Group, who specialises in calligraphy and artwork, to create the Brontë Birthplace, Thornton poem.
Mr West said: "The result is a unique and moving collaboration between Brontë enthusiasts brought together across countries by their shared passion.
"What began as a creative project has also blossomed into a lasting friendship and will hopefully support the continued work of the Brontë Birthplace."
Each of the 100 signed poems is priced at £120. (Francis Redwood)
As we’re deluged with commercials hyping the 2026 Wuthering Heights remake starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the classic book’s many previous adaptations probably come to mind. The first cinematic version of Wuthering Heights appeared in 1920, and through the century, dozens of other adaptations have appeared, including ones with Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Timothy Dalton, Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. What you’re probably not remembering is MTV’s 2003 version of the 19th century British romance, which moved the story to a California high school, turned it into a rock musical, and starred a pre-fame Katherine Heigl, just a few years before her debut on Grey’s Anatomy.
The film, shot in Puerto Rico, re-imagined the Earnshaw family living in a lighthouse called “The Heights.” Heathcliff became Heath, a brooding outsider with a musical gift, played by Mike Vogel. Erika Christensen took on the Cathy role as Cate, while Katherine Heigl played Isabel Linton and Johnny Whitworth played Hendrix, the story’s equivalent of Hindley Earnshaw. Another interesting casting choice was Aimee Osbourne, who declined to appear in her family’s MTV reality show The Osbournes but appeared in this movie as Raquelle. Surprisingly, for a film trying to reach a youthful audience, the film’s songs were created by Jim Steinman, the man behind Meat Loaf‘s iconic Bat Out of Hell album. [...]
Critics were mixed, with many questioning the decision to trade in Brontë’s gloomy English moors for bright California coastlines. PopMatters said at the time, “It’s worth wondering what possessed MTV to move this most famous tale of brooding to sunny California.” Yet for a certain generation, the film has taken on cult status. Viewers who caught it during its first run often remember it fondly as an odd but unforgettable experiment in early-2000s pop culture. (Lauren Novak)
A contributor to
Her Campus discusses the problem with
Wuthering Heights 2026 months before seeing it.
Emily Brontë produced one of the most famous and highly influential works of Gothic literature in her only published novel, Wuthering Heights. In it, we follow the tragic story of an eccentric cast of characters, mainly focusing on the tumultuous relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. While romance is a central theme, she also tackles darker subject matter with a special focus on racism, classism, obsession, and abuse. As of recent, the novel has been set for a film adaptation, both written and directed by Emerald Fennel. The release of a trailer for the film has sparked backlash from fans of the novel (me included) and has left some questioning Fennel’s direction.
Among the many concerns is pushback on the decision to cast Jacob Elordi in the role of Heathcliff and Margot Robby in the role of Catherine. The issue with this casting is that it erases both the age and the race of the main characters. Most of the novel takes place when both characters are in their late teens because Wuthering Heights is a tragic story about two young, obsessive people. Contrary to what Euphoria would like you to believe, Jacob Elordi cannot play a teenager, and neither can Margot Robbie. Which is completely okay because they should not have to! They are two full-grown adults and are not meant to look like teenagers; this also means that they should not be playing these roles.
The problem of casting is further compounded by the changing of Heathcliff’s race. In the novel, Heathcliff is explicitly described as a person of color. While his race is not explicitly stated, it is important that he is not white. Heathcliff is abused, prevented from marrying Catherine, and forced to live through immense struggle for his entire life because he is not white and lives in a racist society. Jacob Elordi is a white Australian man, and, while he is a talented actor, that does not erase the fact that this casting choice whitewashes the character of Heathcliff and alters the story, rewriting a central theme of the text. The commentary Brontë makes on racism is completely lost, and Heathcliff becomes an entirely different person.
If the erasure of the social commentary is an issue, then the tonal shift of the film demonstrates another glaring problem. While romance is an important part of the novel, it is in no way the central focus. Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship was not written as erotic, nor was it meant to be aspirational. Rather than the gritty Gothic story, the adaptation appears more like an erotic romance masquerading under the name Wuthering Heights. This book is about passion, obsession, anger, and abuse. Why must that be traded in for erotica? And why can’t both aspects of the story exist at once? [...]
While the new trailer has caused me to worry, I am also well aware that we haven’t yet seen the film and don’t yet have the full picture. There are theories as to why the adaptation seems to stray so far from the source material. Among the most popular is that the film follows the story of a reader (Robbie’s character) in as she reads and inserts herself in it, meaning the film isn’t a pure adaptation of the original novel. While I don’t know if I believe this theory, I do understand how it may be compelling. However, for me at least, it is not an explanation as to why the erasure of important factors like Heathcliff’s race for example, are necessary. (Giselle Felix)
Intriguing that a University student should write an article on a movie judging it just by the trailer but even more so that she wouldn't dig deep in the scholarly papers written throughout the decades about Heathcliff's origins where she could have found some arguing--quite convincingly too--that he might have been Irish. But apart from that, Emerald Fennell explained why she chose Jacob Elordi: because he looked like the Heathcliff depicted in the copy of Wuthering Heights she read as a teenager, same about the steamy take on the story. Because, again, this is her vision, which may be totally different from yours (or even Emily Brontë's for that matter, which yours will be, too) and that won't be erasing every single copy of the original novel. Imagine if in 2003 at the time of the above rock opera there had been all these narrow-minded comments. That was done and dusted and it's now a piece of 'remember when...?' trivia. The original novel was still the original novel--nothing happened, some people laughed, some young people read the book, some would have found it boring, others may have loved it and read more classics and that was it. Same with this one. Please stop being outraged on behalf of a novel you don't know that well.
A much more interesting take on
It's Nice That, which features the story behind the font used for the poster.
Making desire public: Wuthering Heights
Teddy Blanks of Chips began his process for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights logo with research. His source material included every edition of the Brontë novel he could find, old type specimens, the film’s production design, and Fennell’s screenplay. His starting point was a 1920s film poster for an earlier adaptation (“a lost film”). The original lettering used elaborate lowercase ‘g’s with flourishing tails, random letter weight variations, theatrical spacing – pure silent film excess.
Teddy compressed the letterforms until serifs kissed – tight enough to demand you lean in, but not so crushed they became illegible. “That subtle change gave it the feel of a vintage, trashy romance paperback, which felt exactly right” for Fennell's interpretation. Then came the move that makes desire explicit: lace texture over condensed gothic capitals. When Blanks showed the typeface to his wife, writer Molly Young, she suggested leaning into the sexy vibe by incorporating lace. “Not wanting to deal with stock licensing, I asked if she’d lend me some lingerie. I ended up scanning one of her bras, and that’s where the lace texture comes from.”
The lace creates intimacy that holds, conceals, and reveals. Teddy could have gone full goth – blood-dripping Carrie titles, metal band logo brutality – but the lace disrupts that expectation. The delicate texture hints at Brontë’s obsessive desire sublimated into emotional intensity. Teddy’s typography makes that private longing public – projecting the lettering billboard-scale across major cities with taglines like “Drive me mad” and “Come undone”. “Making something nostalgic feel new is all about creating surprising juxtapositions,” Teddy adds.
The final typography layers three distinct time periods: 1920s silent film posters (letterform structure), 1970s trashy romance paperbacks (aesthetic feel), 2020s intimate apparel (textural overlay). Each period contributes specific visual qualities without dominating. The result reads as contemporary exactly because it refuses to commit to any single era – and because it makes longing visible rather than hiding it behind polite typography.
Teddy is aware of generational distance. “I’m 40, and self-aware enough to know that my sense of what’s cool to young people is probably skewed and out of date,” he reflects. “Trying to chase trends would almost certainly backfire.” (Nathania Gilson)
The hall is widely thought to have inspired Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre. Charlotte and her family lived in nearby Haworth, and she would pass through the village on her way to stay with friends. Charlotte would've seen Wycoller in its pomp, which didn't last long. (Milo Boyd)
A columnist from
La Vanguardia (Spain) says she feels she has lived in Manderley or Thornfield Hall thanks to the vivid pictures of those houses in their respective novels.
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