Jane Eyre 2006 is having a well-deserved moment. Digital Spy sings its praises. If you're looking for a Brontë adaptation to whet your appetite ahead of Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights next year, a modern classic has just resurfaced on BBC iPlayer. Starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens, Jane Eyre first aired in 2006 to critical acclaim, even picking up BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. Following a reunion between its lead stars, the four-part adaption has captivated new audiences on iPlayer and can be found on the streaming service's 'New and Trending' section. Wilson stars as the titular character from Charlotte Brontë's 1847 gothic novel with Stephens taking on the role of the mysterious Mr Rochester. Viewers were just as enamoured as critics with the adaptation, with one fan on IMDB calling it "a true masterpiece". Another user called it: "A lavish production in all the right ways (script, cast, direction, location, details), this is a perfect literary adaptation - very much in the heritage of the BBC's 1996 Pride and Prejudice, but perhaps even better." While a third added: "Surely this is the version against which all others must be judged? Outstanding performances by the two leads." Just last week, Wilson and Stephens reunited for iPlayer's Remembers... series where they discussed the adaptation. Wilson revealed that, nearly 20 years on, she still has people coming up to her to talk about her performance, with young girls telling her: "You're my favourite Jane Eyre." The actor only had one screen credit to her name prior to being cast in Jane Eyre and admitted she was "excited and terrified at the same time" when she got the call that she'd been cast. (Stephanie Chase)
RadioTimes sums up all that is known about Chalie xcx's soundtrack for Wuthering Heights 2026. The New York Times includes Chains of Love on a list of '8 New Songs You Should Hear Now'. 1. Charli XCX: “Chains of Love” Wisely, Charli XCX will be following “Brat” with something completely different: a full-album soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s upcoming take on “Wuthering Heights.” The two singles she has released from it are a far cry from the confessional club classics of her 2024 breakout album — a moody, melodramatic collaboration with John Cale (who, to be fair, is brat) and this lush, reverb-drenched pop ballad that brings me back to the best moments of her 2013 debut album, “True Romance.” If “Brat” wasn’t your thing, give this one (and what I hear as its companion piece, her great 2011 single “Stay Away”) a try. (Lindsay Zoladz)
Esquire lists 'The 8 Men's Haircut Trends That Will Be Huge in 2026, From the Baby Mullet to the Army-Grade Buzzcut' and one of them is Mutton Chops No, but seriously. If you haven't seen the trailer for Wuthering Heights, you might not know where we're coming from. If you have seen the trailer for Wuthering Heights, which drops in February 2026, hear us out. In it Jacob Elordi has 17th Century mutton chops. Big, ol' side burns and a shaggy head of hair up top. All his own. Grown out especially for the film, sure, but we weren't mad at him for sporting them throughout 2024. "You'll want long, squared sideburns below the jawline with a soft and natural length on top," says Mills. "Keep it loose, romantic, and slightly wild." (Zak Maoui)
The BookClub has an AI-generated list of '7 Books With the Best Love Stories Ever' which includes both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Rather silly to have AI do what humans have been doing for years on the internet.
An alert for tomorrow, February 27, in Houghton-le-Spring:
Thursday 27 November 2025 at 6:30PM Houghton Library, 74 Newbottle Street. Houghton-le-Spring
Culture House Sunderland is delighted to host a conversation with author Karen Powell about her fascinating historical novel, Fifteen Wild Decembers.
Karen is an author living in North Yorkshire. She read English Literature at Cambridge University as a mature student and now writes full-time. She is currently working on a new novel set in Italy.
Fifteen Wild Decembers is a creative re-imagining of the short life of Emily Brontë, one of England’s greatest writers.
Isolated from society, the Brontë children spend all their time inventing elaborate fictional realms or roaming the wild moors above their family home in Yorkshire. Emily appears taciturn and unexceptional; but beneath the surface her mind is in a creative ferment, ready to burst forth to create a masterpiece that will change the literary world forever.
The Bookseller reports that Essie Fox’s Wuthering Heights retelling has been acquired by Orenda Books. Orenda Books has signed Essie Fox’s “dark, seductive gothic masterpiece” Catherine: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights. Karen Sullivan, publisher at Orenda Books, acquired world English-language rights from David Headley at DHH Literary Agency. Publication is scheduled for 12th February 2026. “Essie Fox – Sunday Times bestselling author, queen of the gothic and master of atmospheric, dazzling historical fiction – has reimagined Wuthering Heights from a new angle, in Catherine Earnshaw’s own voice,” the publisher says. “Revealing scenes, moments and emotions Nelly Dean was not privy to, Essie breathes new life into the greatest tragic love story ever told, transforming a gothic masterpiece into a haunting confession of madness, grief, obsession and a love that even death cannot end." Its synopsis reads: “With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw’s death leaves Hindley, Catherine’s brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude. “Desperate to protect him, Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the handsome heir to Thrushcross Grange. She believes his wealth might free Heathcliff from cruelty – but her choice is fatally misunderstood, and their lives spiral into a storm of passion, jealousy and revenge … and ultimately ruin. Now, 18 years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and to seek redemption." Sullivan said: “Essie’s Catherine isn’t just a retelling – it’s a resurrection, a revelation. Nelly Dean told only half the story… there’s more. What if Heathcliff raised the spirit of the woman who has obsessed him since childhood, when he desecrates her grave to hold her in his arms once again? What would the ghost of Cathy recall from her life, from the moments that Nelly Dean was not present to describe? What would she see and feel when she observes the cruelty and wickedness of the man she once loved – with Heathcliff now intent on destroying the innocent daughter who was born when Cathy died? “Bringing gothic richness, profound emotional depth and a modern clarity to this story, Essie has created an extraordinary novel with all the atmosphere, darkness and passion of the original, and from a convincing, devastating new perspective. This is the defining Essie Fox novel – the story she was meant to write, to tell – and we’ll be publishing it as a significant literary event, with the highest-spec hardback imaginable and our biggest marketing campaign ever, two days before Valentine’s Day and the new Wuthering Heights film." Fox said: “I’ve been obsessed with this story since I was five years old, when I first saw the old film of Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Since then, I’ve read the book more times than I can say, and it’s long been my passion to try to write about events that Nelly Dean had never seen, to relate in her account. This is the story of Catherine. But Catherine as a ghost, looking back into her past and her enduring love and passion for the abused and orphaned boy who shared her home at the Heights... then moving forwards as she follows her own daughter through the nightmare of the hell he creates from grief and revenge.” Headley added: “I’ve loved Wuthering Heights since I first read it as a teenager, but Essie Fox’s retelling genuinely astonished me. She brings new depth, urgency and emotional power to Cathy’s story while honouring the soul of the original. It’s both a love letter and a revelation.” (Lauren Brown)
GQ lists the '8 albums to get hyped for in 2026' and one of them is Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX (13 February) Soundtrack albums don’t usually make a big splash, but Charli XCX’s soundtrack album for Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s big, buzzy film with Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, will inevitably be different. It’s already been teased in a Substack post by XCX herself, in which she writes about how the end of the Brat era felt like “squeezing blood from a stone” and working with Fennell was a creative “lifeline”. The first song from Wuthering Heights is certainly not very Brat: “House” features the Velvet Underground’s John Cale reading a poem over screeching strings. Less lime green, more pitch black. (Josiah Gogarty)
Science & Culture Today shares an extract from Neil Thomas’s new book, False Messiah: Darwinism as the God That Failed. [Ronald Hutton in his Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe] also points to the remarkable example of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, whose eponymous heroine, finding herself one night alone and sleeping rough on a moor, is comforted by the thought of Nature, conceived of as a maternal figure, and by that of a loving God, as Nature’s creator. A contributor to Real Simple tells about '11 Books That Sparked the Most Debate in My Book Club' and one of them is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Obviously, there are more than enough new books to read—so why throw back to something you've probably already read back in high school? We found that reading Jane Eyre in a different era of our lives—and without the pressure of prepping for tests and quizzes—had us finding all new levels in the book that were worthy of spirited conversation. (Feel free to think back to all of your other English class assignments for some more book club fodder!) (Lisa Milbrand)
The Eyre Guide presents a new and original card game based on Jane Eyre: “Eyre & Flame” is a new card game I created with some similarities to my previous game “Jane Eyre: Fate & Fortune”. It’s a solo card game, with the goal of having just the Jane and Rochester cards left in your hand. This game though was inspired by the gum box games made my Pack O’ Games because I love how small and portable they are. And I wanted a Jane Eyre game that I could carry in my purse or play a quick round on the couch while I am watching TV. I have such specific requirements for a card game! 😊 This is a very quick game - it takes about 3-5 minutes for one playthrough. And it is mostly held in your hand, so you don’t need much table space. It’s also just 12 mini-cards, so super portable. I’m really happy with this one - the cute size and easy gameplay is so satisfying to me.
On her Etsy shop, you can check it out, and in this video, you can see how to play it. The Mancunion discusses Charli XCX's decision to soundtrack Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights. The follow up to a career-defining album is one of the most challenging projects of an artist’s career. Charli xcx, born Charlotte Aitchison, now faces the problem of producing a work that stands up next to BRAT, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the twenty-first century; an album that sparked the type of monocultural event which is growing increasingly rare in the age of algorithmic media consumption. Her decision to soundtrack Emerald Fennel’s upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights was clever in sidestepping this problem – rapacious fans are satisfied, whilst the question of their acceptance of the album into the official Charli xcx canon can be kept tactically unclear until it is confirmed beyond doubt. That being said, the album’s first offerings suggest that neither her critical appraisal, nor her ethos of artistic innovation are at an end. The lead single, ‘House’, featuring The Velvet Underground legend John Cale, is everything anyone could hope for from such a high-calibre collaboration – brooding, string-laden, and appropriately gothic. The track positions itself as the evil sibling of ‘Everything is romantic’, BRAT‘s techno-inspired centrepiece. Both culminate in a repeated lyrical refrain, but while the former commands its listener to “fall in love again and again”, the new track ends with a foreboding chant by Charli and Cale: “I think I’m gonna die in this house”. Again, the sacred duo of art-pop instrumentation is employed – synths and strings – but to evoke a much darker sonic landscape. The strings creep and scrape instead of gliding, rising to a thundering crescendo rather than a euphoric climax. Here, Charli trades her beloved vistas of Pompeii and Capris for those of the desolate Yorkshire Moors – and she has never sounded better. Follow up single ‘Chains of Love’ is the milder of the two offerings. Producer Justin Raisen, who worked on her debut and sophomore albums, is tapped to co-produce with Charli and Finn Keane. The thudding drums and synth swells recall her earlier work (think 2014 smash ‘Boom Clap’) but this isn’t to say the track feels stagnant. In fact, it is refreshing to hear the songwriter rediscover her aptitude for composing an out-and-out ballad, putting the full theatricality of her voice, which is often minimised on BRAT, to good use. The teasers so far suggest that we can expect the Wuthering Heights soundtrack to be light on serotonin, but heavy on sentiment. As she steps out of the club and into the countryside, Charli XCX demonstrates that she is a musical chameleon whose trademark green is making its transition to murkier hues effortlessly. (Jack Davison)
A contributor to Her Campus has just read Wuthering Heights for the first time. A book that I’d always wanted to read was Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. From its picturesqueness, to a whirlwind romance, to the vast descriptions of the moors of northern England, this novel captures the beauty of the fall aesthetic. The novel explores the complicated love of Catherine and Heathcliff as their dynamic defies social conventions and personal identity. I finally read this famous classic after many years of hearing many tidbits of the story. If you’ve never read it like me, or want to get back into this novel, it’s a perfect one to blend with colder weather. Wuthering Heights invites readers not just for the plot, but for the mood that is haunting and passionate with its characters and depictions of nature. (Sienna Foster) Express includes the novel on a list of 'The top 6 classic fiction books you’ve never read'. Forbes (Spain) discusses the big-screen comeback of classic stories such as Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein and Dracula.
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