We have more reviews of Jane Eyre the Musical in London today. The Arts Desk gives it 4 stars out of 5:. "Iconic" must be the most used and abused word in the reviewer’s lexicon - a single in the Top Ten and a slot down the bill at a wannabee ...
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"BrontëBlog" - 5 new articles

  1. Jane Eyre. The Musical in London. More Reviews
  2. 21 Years of BrontëBlog
  3. Thornfield. A Story of Jane Eyre in Houston
  4. Wellness, Butcher's Shop and French Supper. All at the Birthplace
  5. A winning garden and more
  6. More Recent Articles

Jane Eyre. The Musical in London. More Reviews

We have more reviews of Jane Eyre the Musical in London today. The Arts Desk gives it 4 stars out of 5:
"Iconic" must be the most used and abused word in the reviewer’s lexicon - a single in the Top Ten and a slot down the bill at a wannabee Glastonbury festival is enough to secure that sobriquet these days. But Jane Eyre, the novel and the character, is certainly worthy of the descriptor, a lodestar for teenage girls (and, perhaps more quietly, teenage boys) seeking to find their identity and their space in a confusing and hostile world.
What sets Charlotte Brontë’s work apart from the countless coming-of-age stories that followed in its wake, is its date of publication (1847, earlier than both David Copperfield and Great Expectations) and the deep psychological insight it provides into a girl’s transformation into a woman. Readers had seen some of that with Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and in Jane Austen’s Emma, but they had much more going for them than this impoverished, damaged, plain Jane. But our girl has a resilience and resourcefulness that leaps across time and fortifies the spirit.
That’s the very stuff of musical theatre of course, Jane continually delivering "I Want" songs, so it’s a surprise to learn that this is the first London production of Paul Gordon and John Caird’s show, its roots put down in Bill Clinton’s USA. It then went through various iterations, scaling up for Broadway and down for Cleveland, before fetching up on Southwark Playhouse’s Elephant stage, a house that works perfectly in sustaining its romance and its tension with a reduced cast.
Charlie Burn’s Jane is anything but plain, and Ashley Gilmour (both pictured above) goes full unkempt hair, black eyes and heroically unbuttoned shirt as Rochester, the troubled but sexy Lord of the Manor. That’s all a tad unfortunate coming so soon after Margot and Jacob’s Wuthering Heights (social hierarchy albeit gender reversed), but at least Burn looks within a decade of the right age for the role.
She is very good indeed, and she needs to be because Emily-Rose Samuel is fantastic as the tween Jane being bullied at school, and proves equally impressive doubling as Adèle, the ward for whom Jane is employed as a governess. It’s not often that you see a child-actor deliver both crucial emotional development and later find laugh after laugh in a wholly new role. Emily-Rose is a name to look out for.
Burn and Gilmour also need to be excellent, as the score is somewhat anodyne, lacking a really big 11 o’clock number with most songs sounding like Stephen Sondheim had set them aside for another day.
Now there’s plenty of tunes that might not make Sondheim’s cut but will work perfectly well in a musical and we do feel Ben Kubiak’s unseen seven piece orchestra driving the pace of the narrative, especially in a second half that moves more swiftly than the first. “Painting Her Portrait” is a standout. as Jane sits at her desk to paint herself ugly and Rochester’s intended, Blanche (Eve Shanu-Wilson) pretty. She’d need the skills of Picasso to pull off that trick convincingly, but never mind, she’s really only trying to fool herself to ameliorate her (presumed) inevitable rejection.
The ensemble cast double and triple parts, and sometimes sing as a chorus, articulating Jane’s thoughts as she is pulled this way and that by love, by duty, by her own insecurity. Hannah Lindsey impresses as Rochester’s mad wife, locked away on the upper floor, catching the pathos as well as the madness in a character that takes Miss Havisham up to 11.
The somewhat bare stage, supplemented by a few black and white projections, catches a gothic atmosphere, but our imagination has to do a lot of work on creating the cold rooms, the mysterious staircases and the noises off. So too the fire that is so intrinsic to the plot - a red glow and a smoke machine leaves us somewhat shortchanged.
But the heart of the show is the romance between Jane and Rochester and that depends on the burning hot chemistry between the leads. And there is more than enough of that to light up the two hours plus runtime. You’re never in any doubt that they’ll be together, so it’s all very warming watching it happen.
Ultimately, I suspect one’s judgement of the evening will depend on whether one has read the novel and is invested in its iconic status. I confess that I haven’t, but its story is strong (the book so often the weak point of a musical). It took me no time at all to be pulling for Jane and her emotional-intelligence stunted paramour, helped, perhaps, by the absence of any casting gimmicks and the old-school fidelity to the source material.
Treat it as an opera (it’s largely sung through) and grant to it the allowances we do for that oft-overwrought genre and the show works very well indeed, flaws and all. (Gary Naylor)
Also 4 stars from Plays International & Europe:
This musical adaptation of Jane Eyre (music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, book by John Caird) makes its long-awaited British premiere 30 years after it was first staged. Its Broadway production led to five Tony nominations in 2001. Since then it has been revised, with this chamber version now being produced at Southwark Playhouse Elephant. The show adds a spiritual and operatic layer to Charlotte Brontë’s Gothic romance. [...]
Using the cast as narrator/chorus throughout the proceedings adds a warmth that the story may otherwise lack, and the use of the floor space in this venue, with only projections to indicate a change of scene, allows effective blocking and interesting movement from the cast. Choreographer Georgina Lamb, lighting designer James Whiteside, and set/costume designer Morgan Large all add value to the atmosphere.
The story is much stronger in the second half, with Jane’s “Painting Her Portrait” adding drama. As the interval comes at a curious point in the narrative, there is a lot of ground to cover thereafter, including “My Hope of Heaven” (the proposal), what really is on the upper floor (a sweet moment between Jane and the mysterious woman lost in her insanity), and the ending, which “tempers judgement with mercy”.
With direction by Caird and Megan McGinnis, this production opens out the spiritual themes of the story from the start, opening with the mysterious connection between Rochester and Jane, miles apart. Themes of forgiveness, love, and loss thread through from the death of Jane’s parents through to the eventual reconciliation of the two lovers, joined forever by that string from his rib to hers.
Brontë purists will notice a few changes, but they are sympathetic to the original story, while a generous runtime allows scenes often excised in adaptations to be fully explored, such as the fortune-teller. This is not the only musical treatment of Jane Eyre – there have been operas, and even a ballet of the story – but it is perhaps the most sweeping, sentimental, and symbolic. Above the stage, quotations from the novel speak to Jane’s independence, faith, and state of mind, and tree branches suggest the oppressive and mysterious nature of Thornfield.
I might question the pacing of the first half, but the performances are uniformly excellent, especially the lead pair and young Samuel, who has a lot of emotionally charged moments as young Jane. This is a fine adaptation that is well worth your time. (Louise Penn)
3.5 stars out of 5 from a reviewer for The Reviews Hub:
A Victorian-era, feminist, romantic, and gothic musical set in the moors of Yorkshire. How haunting and intriguing! But… can gothic romance and feminism really coexist in that era? And then, how do you sing about it?
Jane Eyre, the musical written by John Caird and Paul Gordon, is based on Charlotte Brontë’s well-known novel, published in 1847. This groundbreaking work, which follows Jane’s life, was at the time one of the first novels to feature a first-person narration, told from a woman’s perspective. In this adaptation, directed by Caird and Megan McGinnis, Jane Eyre’s life story is told with the help of a cast of 12. In it, 10 ensemble members take on various roles throughout the performance to embody over 20 characters, all while sharing the first-person narration and speaking from Jane’s perspective, thus carrying the two leads, Jane (Charlie Burn) and  Mr Rochester (Ashley Gilmour), through their romance.
Act 1 is a fast-paced medley of short ballads, alternating between full choir formation and short solos. This follows Jane from her childhood (with young Jane played by the brilliantly captivating Emily-Rose Samuel) through a whirlwind of events: losing her parents, being mistreated by her aunt, and being forced to attend an impoverished girls’ school. There, she meets Helen (played with beautiful purity by Isabelle Methven), whose untimely death is a harsh lesson, before she takes on her role as governess at Thornfield Hall for a young Adèle (again played with sassy joy by Samuel) and meets her romantic interest Edward Rochester – a strange, brooding and secretive man.
The speed is constant, songs are wordy, and, though the orchestration (Larry Hochman and Brad Haak) is wonderfully nuanced. It leaves little space for spoken text and for full musical numbers, with only Gilmour and Burn’s duet Sirens standing out from the rest.
In contrast, Act 2 changes pace completely, and the audience is regaled with a number of fully developed songs, as well as musical reprises from the first act which give the piece more unity. We finally get a chance to savour Burn’s beautiful voice, notably in Painting her Portrait, and enjoy Gilmour’s comically masterful rendition of Dear Sister. Heartfelt scenes of pain and reconciliation between Jane’s family members and Rochester are poignant, yet the contrast in storytelling is almost a disappointment as we lose the narration so present in Act 1.
The lack of emphasis on this first-person narration, so key to Brontë’s implicit act of feminism,  is unfortunate, and the piece lacks an obvious female voice, making some of the social commentary shallow rather than timeless. This is not helped by the embodiment of the gothic horror through various lacy black costumes, which limit character differentiation, and the use of a background screen, whose images clash with the sombre tone of the piece.
Yet, Jane Eyre remains a beautifully poignant and entertaining story with fitting musicality and a playful gothic sobriety reminiscent of other well-loved musicals. It is enjoyable, though not quite yet on par with the greats. (A. Tran Ngoc)
3 stars out of 5 from West End Best Friend:
The songs consist of soaring ballads with some lovely orchestrations played by the band, led by Ben Kubiak, which conjure images of the rugged landscape of the North Yorkshire Moors that surround Thornfield Hall. Gordon’s lyrics are inspired by the novel’s themes of longing for love and independence, and the presence of the Christian faith and its role in providing moral conundrums for the characters. However, as the show progresses the songs begin to lose their individuality and their lyrics lack anything especially revelatory. There are a few standouts: ‘Sweet Liberty’; Jane’s “I want” song, beautifully sung by Charlie Burn with clear and bright vocals which portray Jane’s hope for something greater, and ‘Brave Enough to Love’; a rousing conclusion to the show. 
The cast is wonderfully led by Charlie Burn and Ashley Gilmour as Jane and Rochester. There are certainly a few chuckles when the pair are described as plain when they could be better compared to a Disney Prince and Princess with intense and emotive vocals to match. Gilmour is a suitably broody and enigmatic Rochester and has great chemistry with Burn’s charismatic portrayal of the feminist literary icon. They are supported by an excellent multi-rolling ensemble, however the casting choice for Bertha is perplexing. The ensemble narrates much of Jane’s story, although we do find it a little odd that they do so in first person. There are brief moments of choreography which could have been utilised further to bring additional drama to the piece but there is no shortage of emotion in the ensemble’s harmonious vocals. 
Jane Eyre is a classic story that has captured generations. Fans of the novel are sure to enjoy this musical production but those looking for a more modern retelling may leave yearning for more. (Sophie Luck)
3 stars from LondonTheatre1:
Jane in adulthood is in the very capable hands of Charlie Burn. She has a very attractive singing voice in the lower part of its register, even if the tone is inclined to spread on higher notes.
Ashley Gilmour has terrific stage presence as Rochester and easily commands the stage; he also looks suitably dashing and is a strong singer, even if he is inclined to sound too American. Burn and Gilmour work seamlessly together and almost make one forget that the dialogue they are given seems nothing like as poetic as Brontë’s original!
The rest of the hard-working ensemble also impresses, especially Claire Greenway as Grace Poole and Jonathan Andrew Hume in the role of Mason, Rochester’s brother-in-law, demonstrating a very pleasing singing voice. Hannah Lindsey is powerful in the role of Bertha, but is given hardly anything to do; for example, we are barely allowed to see her when she sets Rochester’s bed aflame.
There are some strange directorial decisions. For example, although Southwark Elephant has a thrust stage, with the audience on three sides, it seems to have been directed for a proscenium-style auditorium. I was given a seat on one side for Act One but managed to move to one that was forward-facing for the second half and found that I could both see and hear much better! This comment certainly applies to Morgan Large’s set, obviously designed to a limited budget, which does make sense when seen from “straight on” rather than at an angle! It is a shame that grey is the prominent colour as it is inclined to make the whole show quite depressing, especially as nearly everyone wears black!
In addition, Brontë’s novel is set in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Derbyshire Peak District where everyone, rich and poor, would have spoken using regional accents. In the production under review, everyone speaks in what is almost BBC ‘Received Pronunciation’, apart from one or two of the servants occasionally.
Some of the elements of the original plot are changed or glossed over but, on the whole, John Caird has done well to reduce the playing time to two and a quarter hours: it does certainly not overstay its welcome! Paul Gordon’s music is a cross between the style of Les Misérables and Sondheim. Much of it seems very slow and lacking in energy, but the whole ensemble gives it the best possible chance, as does the excellent seven-piece orchestra under Ben Kubiak. It is a shame that none of Gordon’s melodies even begin to stick in the memory. By the way, full marks for a change to the excellent sound design of Andrew Johnson who has ensured that the result of his efforts always sounds natural and never too loud: perfect – many thanks!
Although I am not sure that a musical about Jane Eyre was really needed, and there is already an opera by Michael Berkeley, I am pleased to have encountered this particular production. (John Groves)
2 stars out of 5 from The Guardian which deems it 'more Disney romance than Victorian gothic'.
Much like Emerald Fennell’s film of Wuthering Heights, this musical version of another Brontë sister’s literary masterpiece is lovely to look at. Designer Morgan Large’s monochrome palette fashions the women in black corseted dresses with attractive ruffles and delicate mesh detailing. Behind them on a screen, a mist appears to roll over sketches of moorland, graves and barren trees. It’s winningly atmospheric. But also like Fennell’s film, there’s too little beneath the frills in an adaptation (music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, book and additional lyrics by John Caird) that struggles to tap into the substance of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel.
Though smart-mouthed and bolshie as a child (played commendably on press night by Emily-Rose Samuel), there’s scant sense of a strong-willed, independent thinker in Charlie Burn’s adult Jane, who under Caird and Megan McGinnis’s direction is as pure and polite as a fairytale princess. Nor is there anything dark or dangerous about Ashley Gilmour’s courteous, too-charming Rochester.
The songs dilute the story’s grit and hardship with syrupy sentiment. The overuse of twinkly wind chimes and pop-style scoop notes become musical tics, shifting the dial closer to Disney romance than Victorian gothic. Early numbers The Governess and Forgiveness are particularly cloying. But the better songs – including Jane’s Sweet Liberty and Rochester’s As Good As You – contain hints of Schönberg and Boublil’s Les Misérables (the original UK production of which Caird co-directed). And if the material itself is broadly one-note, this is still a fine-tuned production that runs like clockwork.
The cast of 11 – about half the size of the musical’s original Broadway run in 2000 – is packed with West End talent for this long-awaited London premiere. It’s just a shame they’re working with such flimsy material. (Holly O'Mahony)
Also 2 stars from Musical Theatre Review:
Yes, yet another adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel. They’re like number 11 buses at the moment.
This musical version is imaginatively staged with an ensemble of nine from which most of the roles emerge. They form some interestingly choreographed group shapes when physical theatre takes over at, for example, the moment when Mr Rochester (Ashley Gilmour – fine tenor voice) falls off his horse.
Charlie Burn is suitably passionate and feistily determined as the adult Jane and it’s a strong idea to have her and her child self sometimes on stage at the same time because it adds a multidimensional nuance to the characterisation. [...]
Otherwise the production founders for the oddest of reasons. It tries to adhere too closely to the novel. A surprising amount of the dialogue is pure Charlotte Bronte. Normally I’d applaud that, but here it feels like a constraint as if John Caird (book, additional lyrics, co-director with Megan McGinnis) can’t quite bring himself to reinvent it. It is, though, a good idea to conflate Mrs Reed’s death scene with Jane’s meeting with St John Rivers. It enables the plot to cut to the chase more seamlessly than usual.
There is a problem too with the ensemble concept. Between them they take so many roles that I suspect if you didn’t know the novel intimately you could easily lose track of who is who and what’s going on – which is not to say that each of them isn’t doing a decently competent job as whichever character they are presenting at any given moment.
Brontë wrote Jane Eyre as a first person narrative and this production attempts to retain that but gets it jarringly wrong.  From time to time the ensemble becomes a quasi Greek chorus voicing Jane’s memories in statements, spoken in turn. It doesn’t work at all if Burn and/or Emily-Rose is on stage and silent. Jane Eyre almost more than any other character in fiction can, and should, speak for herself. If she doesn’t the whole point is lost. (Susan Elkin)
3 stars from The Stage.

La Nueva España (Spain) features the Jornadas del Cómic “Villa de Avilés” and the talk that Brontëana author Paulina Spucches gave there:
La cara europea de las Jornadas del Cómic “Villa de Avilés” la completaron ayer, por un lado, la francoargentina Paulina Spucches y, por otro, el español Rubén Fdez. La primera es la autora de “Bronteäna” y también de “Vivian Maier. En la superficie de un espejo”: por un lado, la historia de la tercera de las Brontë -la primera fue Charlotte, después vino Emily y, al final, llegó Anne- [...]
Spucches, cuando tuvo que explicar por qué eligió a Maier y a la pequeña de las Brontë, responde que Maier “ahora sí que es reconocida”, pero que eso no sucedió siempre. “Ella trabajó, digamos, entre las sombras, sin mostrarlo a nadie”, señaló la francoargentina. Lo de Anne Brontë, lo admitió la creadora, viene de un empeño por promover “una visibilización” de una escritora envuelta en los siglos victorianos. “Vi a Maier en un mundo blanco y negro, Anne Brontë en algo muy victoriano, muy cerrado, con poca emoción, y me gusta la idea de poner movimientos y colores a esas vidas: tener un diálogo a través de la historia con esos personajes y me emociona mucho poder compartirlo con los lectores para quizás despertar un deseo en ellos y ellas de aprender más sobre esas historias”. [...]
Spucches, cuando tuvo que explicar por qué eligió a Maier y a la pequeña de las Brontë, responde que Maier “ahora sí que es reconocida”, pero que eso no sucedió siempre. “Ella trabajó, digamos, entre las sombras, sin mostrarlo a nadie”, señaló la francoargentina. Lo de Anne Brontë, lo admitió la creadora, viene de un empeño por promover “una visibilización” de una escritora envuelta en los siglos victorianos. “Vi a Maier en un mundo blanco y negro, Anne Brontë en algo muy victoriano, muy cerrado, con poca emoción, y me gusta la idea de poner movimientos y colores a esas vidas: tener un diálogo a través de la historia con esos personajes y me emociona mucho poder compartirlo con los lectores para quizás despertar un deseo en ellos y ellas de aprender más sobre esas historias”. (Saúl Fernández) (Translation)
   

21 Years of BrontëBlog

September 10, 2005, to September 10, 2026

16831 published posts

Twenty-one years ago today, on September 10, 2005, BrontëBlog published its first post. Two decades on, it's still going — a quiet, steady record of Brontë news, scholarship, and the occasional strange pop-culture cameo, kept up post by post rather than with any fanfare.

None of it repeats itself, which is probably why the blog hasn't run out of things to say. Here's to another year of paying attention to it.

   

Thornfield. A Story of Jane Eyre in Houston

 A new Jane Eyre adaptation is being performed in Houston:
Zoom Shakespeare Productions presents
A World-Premiere Adaptation of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
Written by Tanya Terry; 
Directed by Andrew Roblyer
September 4 - 13, 2026
Matchbox 1, Midtown Arts & Theater Center, 3400 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002

You know the story, but you haven’t felt it like this. Step into the haunting, deeply intimate world of Thornfield Hall. Through stunning projections and evocative movement, this bold adaptation explores Charlotte Brontë’s timeless romance through the lens of Jane’s own artistic spirit—the very force that sustains her. Written by Tanya Terry and directed by Andrew Roblyer, this world-premiere production charts the quiet fire of a woman claiming her autonomy and the magnetic bond she shares with Edward Rochester. Artistic Director Rebecca Bernstein stars in a spellbinding experience.
Broadway World reviews the production:
Thornfield is a delightfully well-directed, well-acted, and well-executed adaptation of Jane Eyre. All the elements are there to make a wonderfully realized gothic romance, and some new flourishes will greet audiences as well. It is painstakingly faithful to the book, save for some extra beats that make Jane a more modern-minded woman. Rebecca Bernstein’s performance is wonderful and a career-high for her so far. Luke Hales is the right Rochester, and Todd Thigpen is a delicious Mason. The only quibble I have is that Tanya Terry’s script loves the source so much that I am not sure it knows where to trim for theatrical timing. Fans of the book will love the attention to detail, but I fear less literary folks may find it runs long. It’s certainly a lot at about three and a half hours in length, but when you have something this exquisite, you don’t mind as much. Jane’s road to real romance is worth the wait. Reader, I married this show. (Brett Cullum)
   

Wellness, Butcher's Shop and French Supper. All at the Birthplace

A few of the upcoming events at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton:
10th of September 2026, 6.30 pm

A quiet, simple session of guided meditation, somatic therapy, and the gentle practice of letting go.
Do you feel like your nervous system is constantly on high alert? Have you been carrying a quiet heaviness, rushing from task to task without a moment to simply stop and breathe? Is there something holding you back, and do you feel that now is the right time to let it go?
Join me at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton for a beautifully held, intentional one-hour experience in a small, private group of just six people. This evening is specifically designed to help you step out of the restraints and give your body the safety it needs to rest, reset, and clear away the heavy weight that no longer serves you.
Sunday 13 September: 1100-1600

The historic house on Market Street in Thornton is well known as the birthplace of the Brontës, but what happened to it after they moved? Uncover the house's long history of being the local family-run butcher's shop in our exclusive exhibition.
Discover the remarkable story of one of Thornton's most important historic buildings and explore its many different lives.
From Brontë family home to village butcher's shop, visitor attraction and café, community-owned heritage site and restored Brontë Birthplace, this special drop-in exhibition explores the history of the building and the people who have helped shape its story.
Through photographs, plans, memories and material from the restoration project, discover what happened to the building after the Brontë family left Thornton.
Explore its later life as a working butcher's shop, followed by its time as a visitor attraction under Barbara Whitehead in the 1990s and early 2000s, and its later life as Emily's Café from 2014 to 2022.
The exhibition then follows the building into community ownership and the ambitious restoration project that transformed an empty and neglected building into the Brontë Birthplace visitors' experience today.
Discover the challenges, discoveries and community effort behind the restoration and learn how this remarkable building continues to evolve and serve a new generation of visitors.
The exhibition is available to explore at your own leisure throughout the day, with Thomas Haigh, Vice Chair and Marketing & Audience Development Lead, available to answer questions and share stories from the restoration project.
26/09/2026  6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Join us for our September’s Supper Club with a French ​Themed Supper Evening at the Brontë Birthplace with a special guest chef.
Dine where the Brontë family once dined before and why not spend a summer evening at the Brontë Birthplace with our special Brontë Birthplace Supper. Enjoy delicious seasonal food in the unique surroundings of the historic house, accompanied by warm hospitality and the chance to experience the Birthplace after hours.
Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or simply looking for a memorable evening with friends and family, our Brontë Birthplace Supper promises great food, wonderful company and a truly distinctive setting. Advance booking is essential.
Price: £35, £10 deposit required for booking and the outstanding cost taken on the night.
   

A winning garden and more

Several news outlets (Huddersfield Hub, Horticulture Week, Welcome to Yorkshire, The Dirt...) share the winner of the Belvoir Castle Flower & Garden Show in Leicestershire. 
Garden designer Brian Roberts has won an award for an amazing garden inspired by Wuthering Heights and the moorland landscapes of Brontë country.
Brian, who runs Patterned Earth in Netherton, took a little piece of Yorkshire to the prestigious Belvoir Castle Flower & Garden Show in Leicestershire.
His show garden called Weathering Heights won the Duchess of Rutland Cup after being named winner of the show’s Border Competition.
The garden took its inspiration from the exposed landscapes of the Yorkshire uplands: dry-stone walls, moorland planting and the way plants and wildlife respond to sometimes unforgiving conditions.
At its heart is a dry-stone wall that creates contrasting microclimates, with cooler, shaded and more sheltered conditions on one side and warmer, nectar-rich planting on the other. Gaps within the wall allow insects and other wildlife to move through the garden.
Brian said: “I wanted to take a little piece of the landscape I know and love in Yorkshire to Belvoir.
“The moors, dry-stone walls and plants that somehow thrive in quite unforgiving conditions have always fascinated me.
“Weathering Heights was a playful nod to Wuthering Heights, of course, but the ‘weathering’ was important too. (Martin Shaw)
Voice of the Emirates includes Jane Eyre among novels that explore "the complexities of love and jealousy between siblings", which is rather odd.
Although the relationship between siblings is not the sole focus of the novel, the work presents multiple models of family relationships. It highlights the impact of cruelty and deprivation on human character, contrasted with the need for love and belonging. (Medhat Elsheikh)
The Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature exhibition is coming to Rugby in late September, and Warwickshire World has an article about it:  
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature explores three of the acclaimed Portuguese-British artist's most ambitious and profound series of prints, inspired by nursery rhymes, JM Barrie's Peter Pan and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. (...)
From menacing creatures etched into life from children's nursery rhymes to near hallucinatory depictions of Neverland from Peter Pan and the power-based, tumultuous relationships Brontë described in Jane Eyre, Rego's prints tell stories which combine fantasy and imagination, innocence and cruelty, to explore the complexities of life in all its strangeness and mystery.
A visit to the Peak District in The Independent:
 No visit to the Peaks would be complete without a stop at the village of Hathersage, home to a heated open-air pool. It’s an idyllic spot with a literary legacy; its rugged landscapes inspired Jane Eyre (there’s even a Jane Eyre walking trail), and you can visit the alleged grave of Little John, Robin Hood’s second-in-command, whose “little” moniker is actually an old-school dad joke in reference to his colossal height. (Jake Hall)
Broadway World presents the cast of the upcoming production of Sarah Gordon's Underdog. The Other Other Brontë Sister in Carlsbad, CA, by the Carlsbad Playreaders. The New York Times includes a Jane Eyre 2011 question in a book quiz. The Behind the Glass podcast has a new episode:
Sam and Mia chat to award-winning historian, broadcaster and author Dr Anthony Delaney! Anthony holds a PhD in 18th-century social and cultural history and co-hosts History Hit's podcast After Dark. His debut book Queer Georgians was published in September 2025.
This episode takes us to Patrick's roots in Ireland; we discuss the country he left behind, the Brontës' relationship with their Irish heritage and the catastrophic events of The Great Famine in the late 1840s...
   

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