Damning with faint praise

HuffPost seems to be only just finding out that 'Charlotte Brontë Really, Really Didn't Seem To Like Jane Austen' and have interviewed Dr Michael Stewart about it.

“She wasn’t a fan of Austen,” Dr Stewart said. 

Charlotte once told critic G.H. Lewes she’d never read Austen (despite her very literary childhood). And after he urged her to give the books a try, she said in correspondence: 

“Why do you like Miss Austen so very much? I am puzzled on that point… I had not seen ‘Pride & Prejudice’ till I read that sentence of yours, and then I got the book and studied it. And what did I find? An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a common-place face; a carefully-fenced, highly cultivated garden with neat borders and delicate flowers – but no glance of a bright vivid physiognomy – no open country – no fresh air – no blue hill – no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen in their elegant but confined houses.”

This, Dr Stewart said, might be called “damning with faint praise”. [...]

Basically, her greatest compliment to the author appeared to be something along the lines of, “cool story, Austen!! Now imagine if it had literally any heart, soul, or vim whatsoever...”

Why didn’t Charlotte Brontë seem to like Jane Austen?

We’ll never truly know, but it’s highly possible the more restrained author just didn’t float Charlotte’s boat.

And Austen isn’t the only victim of Charlotte’s sharp tongue, either.

“She liked Dickens even less. She disliked his ‘ostentatious extravagance,’” Dr Stewart told us.

But it’s hard not to wonder if the writer, who was one when Austen died, was sick of unfair comparisons to the literary titan.

“I don’t think there are any meaningful comparisons between the work of the Brontës and Austen. In many ways, they are exact opposites. Although Anne’s Agnes Grey was called a ‘coarse imitation of one of Miss Austin’s [sic] charming stories,’” Dr Stewart explained. 

To that point, he noted that “Emily and Anne [Brontë] were no fans of Austen either”. (Amy Glover)

Yet it's been said--without any actual evidence--that Anne Brontë may have liked Jane Austen. 

A contributor to Metro recommends 'The UK’s prettiest towns and most charming villages for staycations in 2026' and one of them is

Haworth, West Yorkshire

Growing up in Yorkshire, I was never far from an idyllic village. One of my favourites has to be Haworth, in the moorlands of the Pennines.

While it might be small, it has some world-class literary credentials — it’s where the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) wrote their iconic novels, including Wuthering Heights.

Head to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, the Grade I listed Georgian building, formerly the home of the sisters which has been preserved to offer a glimpse of their life from 1820 to 1861 — entry is £13.

Brontë fans should also take a country walk to Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse near Haworth, believed to have inspired Wuthering Heights.

And to continue your Victorian education, take a trip on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a five-mile heritage steam train that runs through the village.

Finally, if a day of sightseeing has tired you out, stop for a classic pub lunch.

My favourite is Haworth Old Hall, a cosy inn set in a 16th-century manor house. Try the Whitby Scampi (£14.79) and a pint of local ale for the ultimate Yorkshire experience. (Sophie-May Williams)

Russh has selected '8 of the most toxic on-screen relationships we can’t look away from' and of course one of them is

1. Cathy and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights (2026)

Is there anything more toxic (or dramatic) than ghosting your childhood best friend for five years when she chooses another man? Emily Brontë proved that toxic relationships have been around since the dawn of time with her writing of Cathy and Heathcliff, and Fennell's take shows us just how self-destructive a love like this can be... No thanks. (Kirsty Thatcher)

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday in the UK and so AnneBrontë.org devoted a post to mothers and the Brontës.