Fathers, zombies and secrets

The Gulf News included Mr Rochester to its list of '10 famous fictional fathers'.

The generous guardian
Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
He’s usually portrayed solely as a romantic figure, so it’s easy to forget that the whole reason Jane and Mr Rochester ever meet is because she’s the governess for his young ward, Adele. It’s unclear whether he is her biological parent – Adele has been abandoned by her French mother and her father’s identity is in doubt – but he takes responsibility for the little girl and she wants for nothing, being pampered and spoilt by the servants. Just like Jane, Adele has been rejected by the people responsible for raising her, but her kind treatment at the hands of the generous Mr Rochester makes her the ebullient, free-spirited child that Jane never had the chance to be. (Tabitha Barda)

While the Grimsby Telegraph features wrestler Big Daddy:

His T-shirt emblazoned with Big Daddy, he said he was not so proud to advertise his real name Shirley. His grandmother loved the book Shirley by Anne Bronte and vowed to give her child the name, whatever the sex. Big Daddy's father then passed on the name to him.

If his grandmother really loved the book, the poor woman must be turning in her grave at the sight of that blunder. Charlotte and Anne, too, of course.

Mmegi Online (Botswana) reviews Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights:

There is much to adjust to in this film, as it differs from the elegant interpretations of the past or what you might expect. Class and race are both issues, and it appears perhaps were so for Emily Bront‘ too in her original conception of Heathcliff. What is hard is to observe that a mature Cathy looks nothing like her adolescent self that you first identified with, and the same applies to the older, more mysterious Heathcliff, who is darker and more reserved. [...]
The cinematographer is Robbie Ryan. The editor is Nicolas Chaudeurge. There is no real music in this film, except the sounds of nature and the occasional old ballad sung by Cathy or others. This works well, as he words of the songs are so mournful and replete with tragedy. (Sasa Majuma)

Criterion Cast also mentions the film in passing:

With a new adaptation of the legendary novel “The Great Gatsby” still playing in theaters around the world, the world has put the spotlight back on various classic novels and their big screen adaptations. Be it the various previous adaptations of Fitzgerald’s breathtaking work or a film like Wuthering Heights (which recently finally got a fantastic Blu-ray release from Oscilloscope), the film and literary worlds have bred some of the greatest pieces of visual narrative ever. (Joshua Brunsting)

The Gulf News discusses zombie movies and reminds readers about the fact that

for Val Lewton’s eerie 1943 production of I Walked with a Zombie, directed by Jacques Tourneur, screenwriters Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray updated the plot of Jane Eyre and transposed it to the West Indies, thus demonstrating that mash-ups of 19th-century English literature and zombies didn’t begin with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

The Independent looks at an event taking place in the last week of October at the Manchester metropolitan University:

In the last week of October; mystery, horror, suspense, and possibly the odd ghost or two are set to descend on Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) will be celebrating the launch of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies which coincides, appropriately with Halloween. [...]
The gothic is a fabulously rich field for postgraduate research, both for exploring its historical context and the wider cultural linkages between literature and associated fields such as art and film. Units of study offer a wide and varied menu from post-colonial gothic to female gothic, American gothic and much more.
Here you will find everything from Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's 17th-century play The Changling, Matthew Lewis's 18th-century spine-chiller The Monk, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The theme is continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries through a study of important works such as Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca and Henry James's Turn of the Screw. (Stephen Hoare)

Rather more 'innocently' (for lack of a better word), CBBC Newsround asks 9-11 year-olds about reading and one of them says,

"I read all the time. At school, at home, and when I go on a car journey. I like reading Anne Frank, Jacqueline Wilson and Jane Eyre. Reading is an addiction!"
Hira, Scotland

The Washington Post refers to Jane Eyre in a review of Anton DiSclafani’s The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls.

Spoiler alert: Mr. Rochester is keeping a horrible secret from Jane Eyre, and the longer he delays telling her what it is, the more horrible his secret had better be. After months of anguished sighing, we don’t want to find out that he cheated on his taxes or ripped the tag off his mattress. We want to be appalled.
That’s the challenge Anton DiSclafani sets up in her first novel: A dreadful secret keeps accruing our compound interest, but can the author pay off the debt of suspense when the bill comes due? Trust her — she can. “The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls” is a 20th-century gothic tale that reads like a lusty cousin of Bronte’s classic. (Ron Charles)

The Green Car Website discusses noise pollution.

As a romantic at heart, turning away from the fumes and noise of the traffic, the meadow affords me the chance to be Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Catherine of Wuthering Heights, imagining myself in some bygone era where young maids could take carefree wander across fields and dream of their love, astride his steed-I know I'm making myself want to vomit too-but it is true that this journey allows me a chance to turn away from modern, hectic urban life. (Faye Sunderland)

Here are a couple of things worth listening to: Ann Dinsdale recently discussed her book At Home with the Brontës on BCB radio (beginning at about minute 22:50 into that podcast). And Rebecca Chesney from the Brontë Weather Project tells about her and Ann Dinsdale being interviewed by BBC Radio York a few days ago (40 minutes into the show).

Too Nerdy Girls posts about Wuthering Heights 2011 and other Wuthering Heights-related things. Daisy Dolls is now working on the skirt for the Jane Eyre doll.

Auditions in Winnipeg

An alert from Winnipeg, Canada:

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
Audition Notice for 2013-2014 Season
Jane Eyre

Adapted by Julie Beckman
From the novel by Charlotte Bronte
Directed by Tracey Flye
Part of our 2013-2014 season at the John Hirsch Theatre
Rehearsals start December 16, 2013
Preview January 8, 2014
Opening January 9, 2014
Closing February 1, 2014

Character Breakdown:
All actors other than those playing Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester play multiple characters of varying ages.
All actors other than that playing Rochester play children. Age ranges given are estimates only and not definitive.
More detailed character descriptions available on request.

WOMEN (5 total):
Actor playing ranges:
20 – 25 yrs old to play Jane Eyre from childhood to adulthood
20 – 30 yrs old to play Eliza Reed, Helen Burns, Leah, Blanche, Bertha, Mary Rivers
30 – 50 yrs old to play Mrs Reed, Mrs Fairfax, A Girl at Lowood, Surgeon, Hannah
30 – 40 yrs old to play Bessie, Georgiana Reed, Moon Spirit, Miss Temple, Grace Poole, Lady Ingram, Diana Rivers
Child to play Adele, under 10 years old

MEN (3 total):
Actor playing ranges:
30 – 40 yrs old to play Edward Rochester
30 – 50 yrs old to play Uncle Reed, Mr Brocklehurst, A Doctor at Lowood, A Post Mistress, Lord Ingram, An Innkeeper
20 – 30 yrs old to play John Reed, Apothecary, Robert, Miss Scatcherd, Colonel Dent, Mr Wood, St John Rivers

AUDITIONS IN WINNIPEG (by appointment) JUNE 20 & 21st (callbacks June 22nd)

More information here.

Incredibly sought after

The Keighley News alerts to the first edition of Jane Eyre going under the hammer tomorrow.

A rare first-edition copy of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre goes under the hammer this month.
The work, the first published novel penned by Haworth’s legendary literary sister, has been given an auction estimate of between £30,000 and £50,000.
The Brontë Society, which runs the Parsonage Museum at Haworth, said the three-volume book – put up for auction by an anonymous seller – was something it would be interested in.
But museum collections manager Ann Dinsdale told us: “At the moment we can’t say if we will be bidding. We do already have a Jane Eyre first edition in our collection.
“They are incredibly sought after. The print run was small and they sold out within a short space of time.
“Prices seem to be rising and it is the bicentenary of Charlotte’s birth in 2016 so they are likely to continue to rise.”
The latest copy to be offered for sale will be among the lots at Bonhams in London on Wednesday, June 19.
Luke Batterham, senior valuer in the company’s book, map and manuscript department, said: “The value lies in this being the first edition of one of the most enduring classics of English literature.
“This particular copy is in wonderfully authentic condition. It is not elaborately rebound in calf or the more usual publishers’ cloth binding, but still untrimmed in rather drab cloth-backed grey boards – presumably the cheapest way to buy it at the time of publication and a rare survivor as such.”

In the meantime, BuzzFeed lists '10 Authors You Didn’t Realize Never Wrote Second Novels' such as

5. Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Year Published: 1847
The third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, Emily published her now classic novel, under the pseudonym Ellis Bell.
Why no follow-up: A year after the novel’s publication, Emily died of tuberculosis, caused by a severe cold she got during the funeral of her brother Branwell. (Brian Galindo)

Wuthering Heights is also one of the suggested 'rainy day reads' by The Daily Star:

Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s classic, this is one of the most passionate and heartfelt novels ever written. Wuthering Heights tells of the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the orphan boy her father adopted and brought to Wuthering Heights when they were children. This book resonates with monsoon thunder — demonic passion, vengeance and love as a force of nature. This is a very dynamic and satisfying read. (Dibarah Mahboob)

e-teatr.pl (Poland) reviews the stage adaptation of Wuthering Heights at Teatr Studio in Warsaw.

W zamyśle reżysera jego "Wichrowe wzgórza" odchodzą od tendencji upraszczania wymowy melodramatu, uładzania bohaterów, na rzecz ukazania autodestrukcyjnej i toksycznej natury człowieka, jego skomplikowanej psychiki, rzutującej na relacje z najbliższymi osobami. W praktyce na scenie dochodzi do powtarzającego się przekraczania granic społeczno-kulturowych zachowań i konwencji, w kontekście współczesnego języka, rzeczywistości i środków scenicznej ekspresji, obfitujących w to, co brutalne i wulgarne.
Na pochwałę zasługują aktorzy, przede wszystkim Anna Smołowik, odtwórczyni roli Katarzyny, prezentująca wachlarz emocji od dziecięcego, infantylnego, spontanicznego zachowania po kobiecą zmysłowość i ekspresję oraz Marcin Januszkiewicz - sceniczny Edgar Linton - komiczny, pedantyczny i zrównoważony mąż, który w scenach monologowych zachwyca możliwościami wokalnymi. (Agnieszka Górnicka) (Translation)

La Nueva España (Spain) reviews a new edition of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.

 Cuántas mujeres habrían no ya alcanzado un nombre en la historia a través de su trabajo y profesión, preguntémonos cuántas mujeres habrían simplemente existido o cuántas seguirían vivas ahora libres de la violencia machista o la violencia verbal, laboral, familiar o acoso y derribo que han sufrido desde siempre, a salvo entonces en su «cuarto propio» y libres gracias a su independencia económica («Cada vez que una lee de una bruja tirada al agua, de una mujer poseída por los demonios, de una curandera vendiendo hierbas y aun de la madre de un hombre célebre pienso que estamos en la pista de un novelista, un poeta abortado, o una Jane Austen muda y sin gloria, una Emily Brontë rompiéndose los sesos en el páramo o recorriendo con desolación los caminos, trastornada por la tortura de su genio»). (Ana Vega) (Translation)

Brontë (we don't know which one) is one of the 100 authors that can bring order to chaos, according to El País (Spain). Promoting Crime Fiction by Lizzie Hayes features Laura Joh Rowland's The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë. Finally, the Brussels Brontë Blog has a post on the 20th anniversary 'of the first Excursion made by members from the Brontë Society'.

Young Mens Magazine in Paris

This is not exactly breaking news but we have to share with our readers this video of the Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits concerning the Young Mens Magazine manuscript that is in exhibition in Paris:

Post Scriptum Young Mens Magazines de Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Thornton, 1816 - Haworth, 1855
Manuscrit autographe, intitulé Second series of the Young Mens Magazines. No Second, datant de septembre 1830.
La romancière britannique rédige ce manuscrit inédit à l’âge de 14 ans. Cette œuvre fait partie d’une série de Magazines écrits au cours de l’adolescence de Charlotte Brontë. Ils sont directement inspirés du Blackwood’s Magazine, revue mélangeant actualité internationale, faits divers et contes populaires, que Patrick Brontë lisait à ses enfants et qui alimenta fortement leur imagination. Young Men's Magazine s’inscrit ainsi dans l’univers fantastique de Glass Town, le plus ancien des mondes fictifs créés par les quatre enfants Brontë. Branwell rédige alors en parallèle le Branwell’s Blackwood’s Magazine, dans le même esprit que les Magazines de sa sœur, Charlotte. Le manuscrit présenté ici se compose de trois textes intitulés : « A letter from Lord Charles Wellesley » (« Lettre de Lord Charles Wellesley »), « The Midnight Song » («Le Chant de Minuit ») et « Journal of a Frenchman [continued] » (« Journal d’un Français [suite] »). Le manuscrit se termine par une page d’«Advertisements » (« Annonces ») dans laquelle on peut notamment lire : « À saisir. Un cheval de toute beauté !!!! Pour celui qui sait comment tricher ». Les travaux de jeunesse des enfants Brontë revêtent une importance capitale, tant les univers créés au cours de cette période ont influencé leurs œuvres écrites à l’âge adulte. Ainsi, dans « A letter from Lord Charles Wellesley », on découvre une scène décrivant comment Caroline Krista met le feu au lit de Charles Wellesley. La description de cet acte de folie n’est pas sans rappeler l’une des scènes les plus connues du célèbre roman de Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, lorsque Bertha, l’épouse démente de M. Rochester, met le feu au lit de son mari.

Découvrez notre vidéo

Voir la vidéo

Joking about a Taurus

Página 12 (Argentina) reviews Rosa Regàs's novel Música de cámara:

Con una eficaz combinación de Jane Eyre, de Charlotte Brontë, y la también catalana Mercè Rodoreda, Rosa Regàs va dando cuenta de los oscuros años de posguerra, la castración religiosa prodigada en los colegios de monjas, la férrea persecución política, la infatigable denigración de la mujer, la complicidad perversa con el régimen de la burguesía catalana y el silencio característico de todas las dictaduras. (Translation)

Daily Life (Australia) points to a Jane Eyre 'joke'. The beginning of the article goes along the lines of what we were thinking:

Back when I was a virgin, I remember thinking that sexual innuendoes were hilarious -- particularly about others' bodies. [...]
The problem is not humour. A dirty joke can be a work of knowing absurdity: witness Benjamin Law on Jane Eyre's core strength. (Damon Young)

That's a Twitter feed linking to this picture. Someone replies to that tweet with a similar use of the verb 'ejaculate' in Wuthering Heights.

It's all oh so very funny and new. We think that only every school-age reader ever of either novel has giggled at that before.

Literary Zodiac, by the way, thinks that Jane Eyre is a Taurus.

Jane under the hammer

A first edition of Jane Eyre will go under the hammer next Wednesday, June 19 at Bonhams 1793:

Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs
Auction 20752
London, Knightsbridge
19 Jun 2013, starting at 14:00 BST.

Lot 147:
Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre. An Autobiography, 3 vol., first edition, with all but two of the printing flaws listed by Smith, half-titles in each volume (but without the additional fly-leaf and advertisements), volume 2 with additional 8-page 'Ready Money Price List of Drawing & Painting Materials... Alexander Hill' tipped-in on front free endpaper (seemingly removed from other volumes), original price of "31/6" marked in pencil on front paste-down of volume 1, a few leaves slightly creased, some light foxing and occasional soiling in margins, UNTRIMMED IN PUBLISHER'S GREY BOARDS with grey/brown diaper half cloth spine, rubbed, spine label to volume 1 chipped with loss of 2 or 3 letters, split to lower joint of volume 2, crease to upper cover of volume 3, [Sadleir 346; Smith 2; Grolier, English 83], 8vo (199 x 122mm.), Smith, Elder, and Co., 1847
Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000

Footnotes
FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST BRONTË SISTERS NOVEL: AN EXTREMELY RARE VARIANT IN ORIGINAL BOARDS, ENTIRELY UNTRIMMED AND WITH THE ORIGINAL PRICE OF '31/6' MARKED IN PENCIL. The binding seems to correspond with Smith's variant B (allowing for some fading of the cloth over the years), but with white rather than yellow endpapers and a further slight variation in the printed spine labels, those on the present set having no semi-colon after "Eyre" and the words "In Three Volumes" inserted above the volume number. We can find no trace of any other copy in original boards having sold at auction.

Provenance: the tipped-in small price list of drawing and painting materials suggests an Edinburgh connection at or soon after the time of publication. Alexander Hill (of Princes Street, Edinburgh, younger brother of the painter David Octavius Hill) was publisher, artists' colourman and printer to the Royal Scottish Academy from 1830 until his death in 1866. In 1847 he was also appointed printseller and publisher in Edinburgh to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (see National Archives, LC 5/243 p.61). The price list tipped-in to this copy gives Hill's address as 67 Princes Street, where he had a shop from 1839 until his death, and mentions the royal appointment, reference to which he seems to have dropped by 1853.

And a 1848 issue of the original Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell:

Lot 148:
Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë - Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, first edition, second issue, with cancel title, advertisement leaf and errata slip, without publisher's catalogue, bookplate of Richard Bagley, publisher's olive blindstamped cloth [Carter B], gilt lettering on spine, binder's ticket ("Bound by Westleys & Co., Friar Street"), short tear and loss at foot of spine, preserved in purpose-made book box [Smith 1, pp.6-14], 8vo, Smith, Elder and Co., 1846 [i.e. 1848]
Estimate: £600 - 900

Footnotes
FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST BOOK BY THE BRONTË SISTERS. Poems was published in an edition of 1000 copies on May 26, 1846. Smith and Elder purchased the unsold stock in 1848, and printed a second issue in October of that year.

The threat of the benches

Keighley News shares more details about the concerns about the spreading of foreign plants (and benches!) in Penistone Hill:

Concerns family tributes may be spoiling a Brontë Country beauty spot will lead to a ban on benches there – and the creation of a new memorial garden in Haworth.
Penistone Hill, a council-run park above Haworth, has become a popular spot for people to place benches and plants in memory of departed loved ones.
But with the number of memorials steadily increasing, there are fears the beauty spot could become cluttered with furniture, and that alien plant species could harm the delicate moorland.
To counter the problem, Bradford Council is teaming up with the Friends of Haworth Park to create an alternative memorial garden.
Work is due to begin this year, and the council will ban any new benches at the country park, directing families instead to the memorial garden.
Penistone Hill is on the walk between Haworth and Top Withens, the landscape that inspired Wuthering Heights and that is seen by thousands of tourists each year.
Local ward councillors have donated £2,000 to the scheme, which will be created at the park entrance in Bridgehouse Lane. It will include benches, memorial plaques, flowerbeds and trees.

The Thorne and District Gazette is excited to see a local company staging the play The Brontë Boy in Leeds:

A Doncaster theatrical duo will be united on stage for a dramatic and hard-hitting play focusing on the troubled brother of the Brontë sisters.
Actress Keeley Lane and director Marian Mantovani will be working together on the production of The Brontë Boy which will be staged at Leeds’ Carriageworks theatre on June 28-29.
Keeley, who plays Emily Brontë, said: “I studied the Brontës both at school and university and Wuthering Heights is my favourite novel, so it is a great privilege to be playing one of my favourite authors. Playing someone who really existed certainly brings its challenges as you want to play the person with integrity and honesty, whilst bringing them to life for an audience who may know little about them.”

The Independent reviews Havisham by Ronald Frame:

Ronald Frame has done a clever job; Catherine Havisham is believable, and the period is convincingly evoked. But I couldn't help wondering what the point of it all was. Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea is not only a brilliant novel in its own right, but makes it impossible ever to read Jane Eyre in the same way again. The same cannot be said of Havisham; it is consistent with its parent text, but adds nothing to it. (Brandon Robshaw)

Another novel, Constance by Patrick McGrath, in The Guardian:

Sidney is struggling with an intended masterwork called The Conservative Heart, which will combine his deep reading in Romantic literature with some thoughts on the progress of society. Perhaps influenced by his literary discipline, he is one of those stately, slightly slow-on-the-uptake narrators, somewhat reminiscent of Nelly Dean in Wuthering Heights. He is telling the story apparently long after the event, with many phrases such as "In the account she later gave me of those days" and "I learned later". (Mark Lawson)

The Independent reviews the Sweet Bird of Youth production at the Old Vic in London:

The disappointment is Campbell's script which is too obviously indebted to certain gothic and ghostly classics, including Wuthering Heights and The Weir, and feels like a rehash. (Kate Bassett)

Libreriamo (Italy) interviews the writer Marcela Serrano:

Chi sono, se esistono, i suoi mentori, e quali sono gli autori ai quali si ispira?
Devo tutta la mia formazione letteraria alla letteratura inglese e alle sue “donne”: Jane Austen, le sorelle Brontë, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Doris Lessing. (Translation)

Mystery Playground interviews Joanna Campbell Slan, author of The Jane Eyre Chronicles saga:

1) Why did you decide to write The Jane Eyre Chronicles?
While I was on a panel at Malice Domestic, the mystery conference, someone asked what my favorite mystery of all time was, and without thinking I said, “Jane Eyre.” That started me thinking, why not revisit the classic?
2) What did you love most about Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë?
Edward loves Jane for her spirit, and I find that enchanting. I also empathized with a character who was poor, unassuming and overlooked. That described me perfectly as a young woman. (Read more) 

A Cliff Richards fan that has seen the Heathcliff musical seventy times (!) in The Argus; Doing Dewey briefly posts about Jane Eyre.

Jane in Texas but Patrick in Haworth

In Lancaster, TX, a student production of Gordon & Caird's Jane Eyre. The Musical:

Jane Eyre
Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Book and additional lyrics by John Caird
Based on the Novel by Charlote Bronte

Elizabeth McWhorter as Jane Eyre
Samuel Germany as Edward Fairfax Rochester

Performances:
June 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, 2013
Friday & Saturday Evenings 7:30 p.m. · Saturday Matinees 1:30 p.m.

Cedar Valley College
Performance Hall
3030 North Dallas Avenue
Lancaster, TX 75134

And at the Brontë Parsonage Museum

Father's Day: Patrick Brontë, Tyrant or Teddy Bear?
Join us for a short talk on the world's most famous literary father
June 16th 2013 12:00pm - 02:20pm

Charlotte's biographer Elizabeth Gaskell painted him as a stern authoritarian who destroyed his wife's dresses and denied his daughters meat with their meals. We now know, though, that the Gaskell biography was far from reliable. Evidence may, in fact, point to a man who was loving and tolerant, and encouraged his daughters' education in a way that was completely out of step with the attitudes of the time.
To celebrate Fathers' Day we're offering a short talk on the phenomenon of the astonishing self-made Patrick Brontë, father's of the world's most famous literary family, 'Tyrant, or Teddy Bear?'

What a woman is made of

The Vancouver Courier reviews the local performances of Blake Morrison's The Three Sisters:

Nevertheless, We Are Three Sisters is an entertaining exploration of the lives of Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë and their brother Branwell. It's far from gloomy and suggests that, for their time, they were strong-willed, strong-minded and talented women in a period when to be a woman writer was, as their patronizing father (Sean Allan) declared, never to be published. "Books cannot be the business of a woman's life," he pontificated. (...)
Carolyn Rapanos' set is simply stated elegance, beautifully lit by Graham Ockley. Neil Griffiths' sound design is an unobtrusive and lovely score for piano.
On opening night, United Players artistic director Andree Karas made a point of reminding us that everyone involved in the production is a volunteer and all but the director, Sandra Ferens, and two of the actors, Douglas Abel and Allan, are non-professionals. The quality of many of performances is far from amateur, however.
Like Chekhov's Three Sisters, it's an ensemble piece but, as with the brilliant Russian play, one sister stands out. Here it is Charlotte who is effectively foregrounded by Olesia Shewchuk who conveys all of Charlotte's wit and fire. Mari-aLuisa Alvarez is Emily, the most withdrawn and secretive of the sisters while Victoria Lyons is a shy, blushing Anne, relentlessly pursued by the old doctor (Abel) as well as the flirtatious young curate (Nick Preston).
Helen Martin, in a green, off-the-shoulder gown (by costumer Elliott Squires), is the nasty Mrs. Robinson. Jordon Navara-til, as heavy-drinking Branwell, comes on strong in Act 2.
The frequent echoes of Chekhov are weird but I was otherwise drawn in and the production is excellent. (Jo Ledingham)

The Tehran Times (Iran) announces the republication of The Professor in Iran:

The Persian translation of Charlotte Bronte’s first novel “The Professor” has been republished after 23 years in Iran.
The first edition translated by Esmaeil Kayvani was published by the Hessam Company, but the new edition has been published by Jami.

The unveiling of a new blue plaque in Brighton with a remote connection to the Brontës is mentioned in The Argus:

A blue plaque will be unveiled this weekend to commemorate the 1836 founders of a former school in Kemp town.
The unveiling will take place tomorrow at St Mary’s Hall, Eastern Road, in memory of Henry Venn-Elliot and his sister, Charlotte Elliot.
Henry was vicar of St Mary’s Church in Upper Rock Gardens and St James’s Street. The school was built on land donated by the Marquis of Bristol. It was modelled on a similar school in Lancashire that was attended by the Bronte sisters and which was the model for Lowood School in Jane Eyre.

All About Jazz reviews the Susanne Abbuehl's album The Gift:

The Gift does, however, represent a significant change for Abbuehl, whose past approach has been to split her repertoire between sourced poetry from, in addition to her own words, writers including e.e. cummings, James Joyce and William Carlos Williams, set to music from artists who, in addition to her own writing, ranged from pianists Carla Bley, Chick Corea and Sun Ra, to saxophonist Ornette Coleman, all of The Gift's sixteen songs feature Abbuehl's music, with words from two famous 19th century Emilys—Dickinson and Brontë—as well as two 20th century poets, Sara Teasdale and Wallace Stevens. (John Kelman)

The Globe and Mail reviews the novel The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls:

Nineteenth-century novelists from Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll and Charlotte Brontë to our own Lucy Maud Montgomery well knew the narrative power of a child protagonist adrift. Contemporary fiction, perhaps as a result, has almost too many examples to count. (Leah McLaren)

The Independent interviews the author Lisa O'Donnell:

Which fictional character most resembles you?
The madwoman in Jane Eyre, locked up in an attic. That's where I should be [writing].

Financial Times discusses the recent scholar turn on digital humanities:

“It can be dismaying to see Kafka or Conrad or Brontë read not for pleasure but as cultural artefacts,” [Jonathan Franzen] continues. “To use new technology to look at literature as a whole, which has never really been done before, rather than focusing on complex and singular works, is a good direction for cultural criticism to move in. Paradoxically, it may even liberate the canonical works to be read more in the spirit in which they were written.” (John Sunyer)

Helen Chandler discusses her personal reading history in The Huffington Post:

By my mid teens I was obsessed with the great Victorian novelists; with my long black skirts and long blonde hair I floated around, a novel by Charlotte Brontë or George Eliot never far away, waiting for Mr Rochester to come and take me away from my happy but humdrum life in a Liverpool suburb.

Saturday Monitor (Uganda) interviews the writer Emmeline Bisiikwa:

Do you have a favourite literary character?
This is a tough one, but I will have to go with Jane Eyre from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. She is the contemporary unlucky young woman who has to make do with average looks, no fortune and no family.
This does not keep her down since she is enterprising and hardworking. They say every girl dreams of her wedding and she is no exception. She falls in love with her seemingly heartless employer, Mr Rochester and their wedding is foiled by news that he is already married.
She shows strength and courage by leaving him for her unknown cousins and almost marries John out of duty but instead returns to Rochester after an epiphany. He is disfigured and depressed, but she decides to stay. Now that is what a woman is made of.

Ruth Ostrow in The Australian talks about The Great Gatsby:

I remember studying Wuthering Heights at school. Heathcliff did everything - desperately and compulsively - to earn the love of Catherine. At 15, we were taught about Gatsby's love of Daisy. I yearned for such passion as that.

JUF News reviews the film Fill the Void:

When Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre way back in the middle of the 19th Century, she gave her novel a triumphant but hard-earned ending. Brontë equalized Jane's relationship with Mr. Rochester by providing her with a large inheritance from her uncle (John Eyre) and a marriage proposal from an impressive suitor (St. John Rivers). And oh yes, she blinded Mr. Rochester in the fire that destroyed his mansion (Thornfield Hall). In other words, Brontë gave her heroine genuine options. So if Jane still chooses to marry Mr. Rochester anyway, purging her mind of the now-dead madwoman in the attic, that is her choice. But I challenge you to watch Fill The Void and walk out believing Shira's "choice" is even half as free. (Jan Lisa Huttner (Tzivi))

The Derbyshire Times on a recent local walk:

After crossing a golf course they stopped at Thorpe Farm for an unexpected but very welcome treat of locally made ice creams. An easy descent with views of North Lees Hall of Brontë fame took the group back to Hathersage.

Ann Arbor.com talks about storms and literature:

Literary inspirations abound as in Virgil’s “in the midnight of the storm clouds, he wields his bolts with a flashing hand" or in Heathcliff’s departure as “the storm came rattling over the Heights in full fury” from Emily Brontë's classic novel. (Ruth Ethman)

The Times Court & Social section has a Wuthering Heights reference in the cliché category:

Tom proposed in December 2011 on a weekend break in Norfolk. It was windy and raining on Holkham beach and according to Erika, "very romantic in a Wuthering Heights sort of way". (Morag Preston and Anna Temkin)

The Independent Florida Alligator recommends a light summer read:

Don’t get me wrong; I love delving into Brontë (Charlotte, not Emily) and Austen. But sometimes, especially over summer when you’re fighting to stay awake as you read a book on the beach or by the pool, you just want something you can follow somewhat mindlessly like a TV show. (Abbie Dorwart)

Slashfilm defines Jane Eyre 2011 as a "beautiful, effective drama" (Russ Fischer) and Le Devoir (Québec) Wuthering Heights 2011 as  "âpre et poétique" (François Lévesque).

Cultura Poing (France) reviews Jane Campion's The Piano:

Si Jane Campion avoue adorer les Sœurs Brontë et en particulier les Hauts de Hurlevent, c’est plus pour son atmosphère visuelle tourmentée, poussée par la fureur du climat et des éléments, que dans son traitement des personnages. Car, en réalité, The Piano est beaucoup plus érotique que romantique, relisant la littérature à l’orée de l’évolution des mentalités, faisant passer le romantisme et ses héroïnes par le prisme d’une réflexion contemporaine, s’interrogeant sur les pensées entre les lignes, tout ce que dissimule la littérature du 19eme siècle. (Olivier Rossignot) (Translation)

Deutschlandfunk (Germany) interviews Hannah Garner, vocalist from Miss 600:

Ich hatte am College englische Literatur belegt. Und eines meiner Lieblingsbücher damals war "Jane Eyre". Es ist immer noch mein Favorit. Weil es gut geschrieben ist. Vor allem aber, weil ich mich sehr gut mit der Hauptfigur identifizieren konnte. Mit ihrer Unsicherheit und wie sie sie überwindet, wie sie immer selbstsicherer wird. Ich mag's nun mal, wenn jemand alle Hindernisse in seinem Leben aus dem Weg räumt und es ein Happy End gibt. Das bringt mich zum Heulen. (Interview by Christiane Rebmann) (Translation) 

Play3-Live (France) reviews Wuthering Heights 2009:

Sinon, il s’agit là d’une bonne adaptation qui prend soin de traiter correctement ses personnages, même les seconds rôles et que les amateurs apprécieront probablement.  (David) (Translation)

Mystical Labyrinth posts about Wide Sargasso Sea 2006;  Arvelle Magazin (in German) reviews Wuthering Heights; HinkyPunk talks about the Brontë novels and its adaptations; Leona's Reviews posts about Aviva Orr's The Mist on Brontë Moor;

Finally the Brontë Parsonage Blog publishes a chronicle of the June AGM excursion to Levens Hall and Silverdale.

Shaping the Reader's Mind

A new scholar book just published:

Female Victorian Fiction:Shaping the Reader's Mind
Petra Schenke
Optimus Verlag
18.03.2013
ISBN 9783863760397

From the original 19th-century philosophical, scientific and literary texts, we have seen how the first professional female novelists under Queen Victoria's tutelage have succeeded in shaping readers' minds. This research focuses on Victorian prose that has either won the esteem of its contemporary audience and/or has been popularized by 20th- and 21st-century critics. Conservative efforts to educate young Victorian minds through 'quality literature' according to high standards of morality were hampered in the second half of the 19th century by the dramatization of scandal and crime in the popular sensation novel. The need for instructed learning alongside the evolutionary development of natural talents and moral propensities has been carefully acknowledged by renowned authoresses. With a different approach previously neglected by British literary scholars we have explored the educational relevance of foreign language and literature inside the Victorian female novel. Additionally, through reading about the emotional experiences of Victorian women (and men) in fiction from an informed modern point of view, we should gain a deeper understanding of the intricate psychological designs used by 19th-century female writers.

Readjusting Reality in Fiction: the Particular Role of Female Writers in the Victorian Era. 

These days, female writers form an important and natural part of the literary scene. Women authors and editors on the covers of bestselling books are omnipresent. In her book Female Victorian Fiction: Shaping the Reader’s Mind, Dr. Petra Schenke deals with a time when female authorship was still in its infancy. During the reign of Queen Victoria, in 19th-century England, their acceptability had to improve considerably before the first female professional novelists could establish themselves. How these Victorian authoresses have influenced readers' views is the main issue in Dr. Schenke’s book. She describes the difficult situation of female writers in the patriarchal society of Victorian England and gives an insight into the educational system of that time as well as into the general make-up of Victorian society and culture. For this purpose, Dr. Schenke includes the educational ideal of the Victorian Era and plays with certain relevant cultural conventions of 19th-century England. To familiarize the reader with her topic, Dr. Schenke combines genre theories and socio-historical aspects in analytical sequences. Literary traditions and gender issues are both given considerable attention. “The major aim of this book is not, though, to celebrate the literary achievements of the so-called New Women, who may have indeed contributed to female professionalism but more importantly wished to achieve women’s equality in the Common Law. We will instead follow the hypothesis that women authors in the second half of the 19th century took the chance to readjust reality in fiction to deal with contemporary gender prejudices.” In this context, the analysis and interpretation of specific gender-scenes in the female Victorian novel reveals a critical undertone towards dominant male views and social practices. One of the best-known female Victorian writers is, according to statistical insights, Charlotte Brontë. Her novel Jane Eyre is still being classified as pioneering and enjoys great popularity. Thus, Charlotte Brontë is given special attention in the context of female Victorian fiction and its impact on her timeless readership; but also lesser known authoresses of the time are being rediscovered by Dr. Schenke. Focused on the interdependence of education and literature, the book allows a deeper understanding of the intricate psychological designs used by female Victorian writers. Currently, Dr. Petra Schenke is doing research on the role of women in art and literature in multicultural Britain. She has worked as an English teacher at secondary schools in Germany for many years. Dr. Schenke’s dissertation at the University of Hamburg focused on teaching literature in the advanced English classroom. With this in mind, her book Female Victorian Fiction: Shaping the Reader’s Mind addresses not only cultural experts and literary scholars it may also be very interesting for (prospective) teachers and educationalists. (Julia Pfrötschner)

Charlotte Brontë is discussed in chapter eight: Charlotte Brontë and foreign culture.

Beer, children and the Brontës

The Telegraph and Argus carries two articles on recent Brontë-related goings-on at Haworth. First there is a short piece on the play Brontë Boy:

The Brontë sisters took a back seat to their less successful brother Branwell at a one-night-only play in Haworth.
Brontë Boy, written by former Telegraph & Argus sub-editor Michael Yates, was held at Haworth Baptist Church.
Brontë enthusiasts from as far as New Zealand and the USA attended the event, and were wowed by the emotional performance of Warwick St John as Branwell.
The play dealt with Rommel's struggles to succeed as a writer, painter and lover, and he was portrayed as a jack of all arts, master of none.
The scenes of his frustration and failure were intercut with ones of his sisters' successes, making the forgotten Bronte and his short-comings even more tragic.
The play, written three years ago, was performed in Haworth as part of the Brontë Society's annual general meeting weekend. (Chris Young)

And then there is another short piece on Victoria Brookland's current exhibition:

Artist Victoria Brookland has returned to the Brontë Parsonage Museum with a third exhibition.
A Thousand Gleaming Fires is a display of drawings inspired by dresses owned by the Brontë sisters.
For her latest pictures at the Haworth museum, Victoria set out to explore the passionate heroine in literature and poetry.
Her work investigates how female writers have employed the Gothic genre to reveal hidden aspects of their own natures. Her exhibition runs until July 29.

Someone who was recently in connection with the Brontë Parsonage and Haworth was of course Patti Smith, featured in the Mail & Guardian (South Africa):

She does admit to spending much of her spare time at graveyards.
“In the last some months, I’ve visited the grave of Sylvia Plath, the grave of Anne Brontë, the resting place of the other Brontës, [Leon]Trotsky’s grave in Mexico City. I visited Elvis Presley’s grave and William Burroughs’s grave.”
You’re a grave stalker, I say. She smiles. “No, I’m not a grave stalker. If I’m in a city or town and there’s somebody I like or an old friend, then I’ll visit their grave. Sometimes I photograph it, sometimes I just sit and contemplate their work or bring flowers. It’s proximity. It’s nice to visit where people are.” (Simon Hattenstone)

La dépêche (France) reviews the book 7 femmes by Lydie Salvayre.

Lydie Salvayre, qui sera aujourd’hui vendredi à la librairie Ombres Blanches, explique avec une désarmante honnêteté comment est née l’idée de relire les livres de celles qu’elle nomme joliment «mes admirées». «Je lis tout le temps - la lecture est ce qui résiste à tout, confie-t-elle. J’ai commencé à lire la correspondance entre Marina Tsvetaeva et Boris Pasternak et, moi qui répugnais jusqu’alors à m’immiscer dans la vie des auteurs, en tombant sur cette sublime correspondance, me suis mise à relire les livres, à me passionner pour les vies de ces femmes.» Emily Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Colette, Sylvia Plath, Ingebord Bachmann, Djuna Barnes et donc Marina Tsvetaeva sont ces écrivaines - quel vilain mot - dans les vies et livres desquelles l’auteure de «La compagnie des spectres» s’invite et s’installe. «Le contrat que j’avais passé avec moi-même était de ne parler que de femmes qui avaient compté pour moi. Elles sont toutes très différentes, mais ont en commun d’avoir choisi de vivre comme elles l’entendaient, avec une force, un courage extraordinaires, si l’on considère qu’à l’époque où elles écrivaient, les femmes n’avaient souvent même pas le droit de lire le journal - écrire, n’en parlons pas, c’était une infamie ! C’est vraiment cette obstination à vouloir écrire qui m’a poussée à raconter ces histoires. Et puis leurs œuvres, magnifiques…»  [...] Elle s’en va alors, au gré d’une plume alerte, heureuse, visiter «Emily» et se met en scène à ses côtés pour proposer «une lecture subjective, sans l’occulter» de la romancière britannique. [...] Les femmes que Lydie Salvayre nous raconte sont farouches et insoumises : en ce temps «d’avant Goldman Sachs», on fuyait le régime soviétique pour écrire (Tsvetaeva) ou on s’isolait du monde plutôt que de ressembler aux médiocres (Brontë) ; on se suicidait, dépressive et incomprise (Plath)… (Yves Gabay) (Translation)

Emily Brontë is also mentioned in The Telegraph in an article about authors and children.

Actually [...] many of the best female authors have, for one reason or another, eschewed motherhood. Some, like Jane Austen and Emily Brontë, remained single and celibate. (Allan Massie)

The Daily Star finds a Brontëite in writer Dr Niaz Zaman.

Speaking about the writers she is fond of – like the Brontë sisters, the writer says that she is very fond of Emily Dickinson. The other writer that she likes is Louis M Alcott. Another writer that Dr Zaman particularly likes is American writer Kate Chopin.
Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore are good writers to teach. So are the Brontë Sisters; she prefers the writing of Emily Brontë, as she thinks “Wuthering Heights is a fantastic book. “It is undoubtedly a feminist book.” (Fayza Haq)

The Millions mentions Wide Sargasso Sea in a selection of five other 'spinoff novels':

It’s no wonder, though, that small-scale books inspire unauthorized sequels or spin-offs. A good novel asks questions as well as answers them, and at its end readers are left to consider the events therein, and also all that didn’t make it onto the page. If that reader is a writer, he might take matters into his own hands. Jean Rhys offered Jane Eyre’s Bertha a chance to tell her story in Wide Sargasso Sea. . . (Edan Lepucki)

Finally, the Yorkshire Evening Post looks at 'a range of great bottled beers which each had a literary connection'. One of which is

Next up was Withens Pale Ale (3.9%) ** named after the remote Yorkshire farmhouse which was the influence for Emily Bronte’s first – and last – novel, Wuthering Heights, published in 1847. This pale ale comes from the Little Valley Brewery in the Calder Valley, and our tasters commented on its floral aroma and easy-drinking nature. More Cathy than Heathcliff, we thought. (Simon Jenkins)

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Patrick Brontë, home and away

Source

The Comox Valley Record tours 'the Brontë Homeland by auto':

It's an auto tour, clearly signposted with brown shingles, along a 16-kilometre circuit south and east of Banbridge and in the shadow of the famous Mountains of Mourne.
This is where Patrick Brunty (the name change came later) taught school (and romanced one of his students!) and preached his first sermon after he was ordained in 1807.
"Patrick was a very talented man in his own right. The girls got the talent from the father; it was in the genes," says Jason Diamond of Banbridge District Council, who helps publicize the tour. "Here's a man who came from a two-room stone cottage in Ireland and he produced not one but three of the greatest authors in the canon of famous literature." [...]
One of the schoolhouses where Patrick taught, at Drumballyroney, has been restored to its late 18th-century appearance. There's a blackboard, desks, manikins of a teacher and students and, rather incongruously, a wedding dress in a glass case.
"That's a replica of Charlotte's wedding dress," says Diamond. "Notice how thin she was."
Nearby is the church where Patrick preached his first sermon after returning from his university schooling in Cambridge. This building, now deconsecrated, has also been restored to look as it did in Patrick's time.
The original Glascar School, where Patrick first taught, was long ago replaced by a more modern building. As we view it, Diamond tells how Patrick was dismissed from his post there because he and a student had become too fond of each other.
Not as serious as it seems, however, for Diamond explains that the girl was a senior and just two years younger than her 20-year-old teacher.
Our next stop is the cottage, still standing, that was the childhood home of Patrick's mother, Alice McClory. Her parents disapproved of the romance so she and Hugh Brunty eloped.
On, lastly, to the Brunty birthplace. Only the ruins of the two-roomed cottage in a glen at Emdale exist now. The site is cared for by the Brontë Homeland Trust and a plaque marks the spot.
The district council has provided a picnic site along the route, with views across the rolling hills to the Mountains of Mourne, the sights Patrick Brunty would have seen. It's unlikely he would ever have stopped here, however, for the site was a shebeen, an illegal drinking den, in his time. (Mitchell Smyth) 

Further info on the route can be found here.

More on Patrick Brontë today, as the Brontë Parsonage website shares his story with Wethersfield girl Mary Burder. The 1820s bit always kills us!

Female First interviews actor Dan Stevens about his new film, Summer in February:

It’s that classic dilemma that we see in Jane Austen and Brontë, a woman who is fleeing something and falls in love with two very different kinds of men; one if the more respectable upstanding nice guy while the other is more roughish and slightly unsuitable. Of course they always fall for the unsuitable one, sometimes with heartbreaking and tragic consequences. (Helen Earnshaw)

Poet Juan Gelman refers to Emily Brontë in an interview again. From Rebelión:

Como la Brontë que escribió entre otras cosas, una novela en la que describió como nadie el mal del amor, una mujer a la que no se le conoció pasión alguna, y sin embargo, escribió ese libro. (Silvia Arana) (Translation)

MeriNews has several recommendations for young readers:

The readers who are diabetic to such candy sweet stuff and demand at least a nagging mother-in-law  or an ex-lover can read books like love story by Erich Segal or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, one of the Brontë sisters. (Chhavi Mishra)

Listverse looks into the eating habits of several writers, including Charlotte Brontë.

Charlotte Brontë’s Poverty Porridge
The Brontë sisters did not exactly grow up in the lap of luxury. If they were given any food at all on a particular day, it would be prepared in such a way as to render it almost inedible. There were times of near-starvation, and whole days which would provide their stomachs with nothing more than burnt porridge and a chunk of bread.
Charlotte eventually turned her experiences with food—or lack thereof—into a recurring theme in her books. Heroines would starve themselves as a sign of strength—the gist being that the body does not need fuel, so long as the heart and mind are strong. (Sabine Bevers)

False myths and out-of-context references are always so eye-catching, aren't they? The truth is, that's what they ate at Cowan Bridge. As has been proved time and again, their diet at home was healthy and varied.

The Global Mail mentions 'several Brontës' dying of TB. Booklady's Booknotes reviews Joanna Campbell Slan's Death of a Dowager (second installment of the Jane Eyre Chronicles series). And finally, via @BrontëParsonage, we read that Moira Buffini discussed her 2006 adaptation of Jane Eyre on BBC Radio 4 last Sunday.

Lucy Gough's Wuthering Heights performed in Surrey

We report today another recent Brontë event. The performances of Wuthering Heights by the Royal Holloway University of London Student Workshop:

RHUL's Student Workshop presents
Wuthering Heights
Adapted by Lucy Gough
Directed by Chloe Walton
Caryl Churchill Theatre
June 10, 11

Wuthering Heights has often been described as one of the greatest love stories ever told, and I can remember reading the book for the first time and being totally transported into another world and feeling enthralled by their tale. However, upon reading this adaptation by Lucy Gough I came to the realisation that Cathy and Heathcliff’s passion for one another is actually an example of obsession and violence within love, and I began to question whether it is a love story at all. This led me to consider that love is not always in total opposition to hatred, as if we were not passionate about someone then we would not be capable of conjuring such strong feelings for them. This production of Wuthering Heights will therefore aim to channel this idea into a piece where passion will totally underpin characters’ emotions and actors will be able to explore their own basic human instincts. I feel that there is a pre-conception that Wuthering Heights is a static tale, and I was relieved to discover a truly theatrical representation of the passions felt by these characters, by utilising stage combat at times when characters feel totally unable to stifle their emotions and lash out at one another.This production will provide a real opportunity for actors to totally embody their characters, and as a director I will firstly seek to create this with the performers by taking advantage of the wide critical analysis available for each of their characters which will form the foundation for the physical manifestations of their character’s actions. We will then explore the physicality of the piece, and the safety of my actors would be paramount and this is why I have asked Katie Overstall to be my Stage Combat Co-Ordinator, as careful choreography will be needed from the outset in order to ensure the seamless co-ordination between movement, set changes and performance. I feel that the close collaboration between an actor led transformable set, careful choreography and in depth character analysis will create an ethereal dream like quality to the piece, which will totally transport an audience into this world; all in the luxury of the new Carly Churchill theatre.

The Founder reviews the production:

Overall, the adaptation was a general success, and hopefully any of my qualms raised will have been addressed before today’s matinee performance. I would encourage everyone to visit the new Caryl Churchill Theatre and enjoy this stage adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic gothic romance. (Rose Walker)

To read or not to read the Brontës: that is the question

The Vancouver Courier reviews Blake Morrison's We Are Three Sisters, currently on stage at the Jericho Arts Centre.

For those up on their Chekhov, it’s easy to get into the head game of “Spot the Chekhov.” And that’s not a good thing; if you’re playing that game, you’re not fully engaged.
Nevertheless, We Are Three Sisters is an entertaining exploration of the lives of Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë and their brother Branwell. It’s far from gloomy and suggests that, for their time, they were strong-willed, strong-minded and talented women in a period when to be a woman writer was, as their patronizing father (Sean Allan) declared, never to be published. “Books cannot be the business of a woman’s life,” he pontificated. [...]
On opening night, United Players artistic director Andree Karas made a point of reminding us that everyone involved in the production is a volunteer and all but the director, Sandra Ferens, and two of the actors, Douglas Abel and Allan, are non-professionals. The quality of many of performances is far from amateur, however.
Like Chekhov’s Three Sisters, it’s an ensemble piece but, as with the brilliant Russian play, one sister stands out. Here it is Charlotte who is effectively foregrounded by Olesia Shewchuk who conveys all of Charlotte’s wit and fire. MariaLuisa Alvarez is Emily, the most withdrawn and secretive of the sisters while Victoria Lyons is a shy, blushing Anne, relentlessly pursued by the old doctor (Abel) as well as the flirtatious young curate (Nick Preston).
Helen Martin, in a green, off-the-shoulder gown (by costumer Elliott Squires), is the nasty Mrs. Robinson. (And here’s another connection: surely playwright Morrison borrowed “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate: older woman, younger man.)
Jordon Navaratil, as heavy-drinking Branwell, comes on strong in Act 2.
The frequent echoes of Chekhov are weird but I was otherwise drawn in and the production is excellent.
As for whether Chekhov drew inspiration from Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë (commissioned by Charlotte’s father), a Yorkshire theatre company might love to think so. It makes a good story: Charlotte, Emily and Anne as Chekhov’s Three Sisters. We know Chekhov read Cervantes and Schopenhauer. But Gaskell? (Jo Ledingham)

NPR's Monkey See discusses 'What Kids Are Reading, In School And Out' (in the US):

Most of the assigned books are novels, like To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men or Animal Farm. Students even read recent works like The Help and The Notebook. But in 1989, high school students were being assigned works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, Emily Brontë and Edith Wharton.
Now, with the exception of Shakespeare, most classics have dropped off the list. (Lynn Neary)

The Telegraph shows the other side of the coin (across the pond in the UK):

The English literature GCSE will require pupils to study a “range of classic literature fluently”, making sure all children “develop the habit of reading widely and often”.
It will require pupils to study a whole Shakespeare play, instead of short extracts, and at least one 19th century novel from authors such as Dickens, Austen and the Brontës. (Graeme Paton)

And still speaking of both Shakespeare and the Brontës, The Catholic World Report takes 'Lessons in Love from William Shakespeare'.

Lovers of literature will be reminded of how the love between Romeo and Juliet parallels that between Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Compare Romeo’s remark with the words of Catherine about Heathcliff:

If all perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and, if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the Universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem a part of it … Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks … a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff—he’s always, always in my mind—not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself—but, as my own being—so, don’t talk of our separation again.

Catherine is possessed by Heathcliff who is the eternal rock upon which she builds her church. It is, therefore, not surprising that she confesses to Nelly that she would be “extremely miserable” in heaven. Her “heaven” is where Heathcliff is and nothing will separate her from the “love” of her god, not even the love of God. (Joseph Pearce)

This Moultrie News columnist suggests a few novels to 'escape from hectic life':

I’m a librarian, but because the aforementioned Miss Kaufman instilled in me a love for good reading. Because of her, some of my all-time favorite books are “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, “Anne of Green Gables” by L. M. Montgomery and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger. (Susan Frohnsdorff)

BoDoï reviews Jane, le renard et moi, giving it 4 stars:

Jane, le renard et moi n’est rien de moins qu’un miracle de sensibilité et de poésie. Le sujet choisi (le harcèlement à l’école et le mal-être des jeunes) était plus que périlleux. Anxiogène et récupéré ad nauseam par les médias, il ouvre à toutes les dérives trash. Mais son traitement — Hélène sublime son quotidien par la littérature — est suffisamment original pour éviter l’écueil : la vision offerte est finalement optimiste, rappelant à quel point l’adolescence peut être aussi bien chienne que porteuse d’espoir.
A la fois sensible et violent, le texte de Fanny Britt s’accorde à merveille avec le dessin d’Isabelle Arsenault. Les crayonnés gris se mêlent d’aquarelles végétales lorsque le merveilleux s’introduit dans l’univers de l’adolescente. Le quotidien de l’héroïne est illuminé par une rêverie littéraire ou une belle rencontre avec un renard. Comme la jeune fille qu’il découvre, le lecteur se sent rasséréné, comme consolé de ses propres — et lointains — déboires adolescents. (Mélanie Monroy) (Translation)

Tablet's The Scroll thinks that 'Israeli Film ‘Fill the Void’ is Jane Austen for Jews':

In Austen’s time, powerful yet unspoken social forces shaped the lives of both her contemporaries and her female protagonists, and pressures to marry for reasons beyond personal fulfillment were commonplace. But as modern society strips away the bonds of tradition, community, and financial necessity which previously imposed external obligations on individuals—particularly women—tragedies of manners like Austen’s or Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre have become increasingly difficult to write. The only way to portray a protagonist beset by such outmoded responsibilities is to set the story in the historical past—or in an isolated traditional religious community. (Yair Rosenberg)

The thing is, though, that Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë approached those 'tragedies of manners' rather differently.

Chron's Bookish is also somewhat off the mark when discussing women writing under pseudonyms

So the reasons for a male nom de plume today are the same as they were in the 1840s, when Charlotte Brontë published “Jane Eyre” under the name Currer Bell. In her day, too, publishers figured they’d sell more books with a man’s name. (Maggie Galehouse)

Let Charlotte Brontë give her own explanation:

Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own names under those of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell; the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because — without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine' — we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice . . . [Our bold]

So the publishers had no say in it.

Die Welt (Germany) discusses the same topic and quotes from Robert Southey's letter to Charlotte Brontë ('Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be', etc.)

The Guardian features ten-year-old Shrinidhi from the TV programme Child Genius. She has

written four novels (three more than Emily Brontë did ... I think). (Sam Wollaston)

Another quite silly mention comes from The Toronto Star:

If Toronto homes were given names, like those English mansions in Brontë novels, then Twyla Gendron’s could be christened “A Testament to Kindness Manor.” (Catherine Porter)

Good news from The Telegraph and Argus as

A project to restore Yorkshire’s precious peatlands, including moors around Brontë Country and Skipton, has successfully saved more than 100 square miles of the landscape.
The Yorkshire Peat Partnership embarked on the multi-million pound project over four years ago, and in that time has restored 25 per cent of Yorkshire’s Moors. (Chris Young)

Mi Lorenteggio (Italy) reports that Wuthering Heights will be screened on July 17th as part of the first edition of the Lake Como Film Festival. 50 Book Challenge posts about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Reading in Reykjavík writes as she reads Shirley.