Claire O'Callaghan reviews Deborah Lutz's This Dark Night: Emily Brontë. A Life for History Today: In telling the story of Brontë’s life, Lutz’s method is demarcated by two commitments. First is her interest in Brontë’s world and her place in it. To pursue this, she reconstructs what Brontë ‘wore, saw, heard, smelled, and felt along her skin’ using, among other things, weather reports, the diaries of her neighbours, and local newspapers. This attention to the everyday and the senses offers a thoughtful (and relatively new) approach in Brontë biography, and it is one well suited to Lutz’s established interests, which readers of her 2015 work, The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects, will recognise. The second is that This Dark Night joins an established tradition that frames Brontë in relation to the natural world and foregrounds the environment as context for understanding her. For Lutz, as for many before her, Brontë ‘brought the open sky, birdsong, and the peat bogs to life on the page’. The imagery is vivid and compelling, participating in a romantic imaginary that tries to enter the inner mind of a woman who conjured some 200 poems (or thereabouts, that we know of and survive) and, of course, Wuthering Heights. At the same time, Lutz’ environmental emphasis also opens onto Brontë’s preoccupation with darker worlds, such as the dungeons, caves, and graves that dominate her writing, as well as ‘the mortal body’. Neither strand is, in itself, entirely new, but the way Lutz binds them together through sustained sensorial attentiveness feels fresh and it sharpens our historical understanding of Brontë as a multifaceted and complex woman. Importantly, This Dark Night delves into territories that earlier biographers have overlooked, such as, for example, the practical question of how the Brontë sisters managed menstruation, which Lutz answers by drawing on broader health histories rather than evidence specific to the Brontës. This kind of detail may not deepen our understanding of Brontë as a writer, but that is not its purpose. Rather, it is a reminder that the sisters were flesh-and-blood women negotiating a monthly cycle that shapes women’s lives – a seemingly obvious fact that can easily be forgotten amid the iconography and fandom that surround them. It is these reflections that exemplify This Dark Night at its best: Lutz’s care for the material, embodied conditions of Victorian womanhood, which lends biography historic specificity.
The Yorkshire Post publishes a photo gallery of the Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever event that took place in Haworth last Sunday: Wuthering Heights: 500 people gather at Penistone Country Park in Haworth for celebration. Participants gathered at Penistone Country Park in Haworth for Actually the Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever on Sunday - a celebration of all things Wuthering Heights, Kate Bush and Emily Brontë. The gathering was in the stunning setting of the Haworth moors. 500 people took part in the mass 'Wuther' in a joyful, windswept, red-dress sea of Cathys dancing for charity, supporting Women’s Aid. (DanieL Sheridan)
Hindustan Times publishes a variation on a classic logical puzzle: Irresistible, isn't it? Eleven classic novels stand in a row on a bookshelf in a library. I find each of them tempting, but in the end, I pick up only one of them.(1) The horror classics Frankenstein and Dracula both stand to the right of the book I chose. (2) Moby Dick and Animal Farm both stand to the left of the book I chose. (3) Two of the books are by Jane Austen. Of these, Pride and Prejudice stands somewhere right of Emma. (4) Pride and Prejudice also stands somewhere right of Frankenstein. (5) There are two titles by two of the Brontë sisters, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, with two other books (not by the sisters) standing between them. (6) Two books stand between Wuthering Heights and Moby Dick (7) Great Expectations (right) and Animal Farm (left) stand on either side of Wuthering Heights. (8) I notice two children’s favourites, with Heidi standing somewhere to the left of Oliver Twist. There are seven books between these two. (9) Six books stand between Dracula and Wuthering Heights. (10) The book I finally choose stands in the middle of the row of 11, i.e. sixth from either left or right. (Kabir Firaque) Many news outlets cover the Haworth event, or the Folkestone (Kent) one or the Bunbury one or...: London Now, WION, Bunbury Herald, The Independent, Kent Online, Kent Live, La Razón, Corriere della Sera... Collider lists 'romance books that are perfect from the first to the last page":
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is much more than just a love story. The novel follows Jane, an orphan who endures a lonely childhood before becoming a governess at the isolated Thornfield Hall. There, she meets the estate's enigmatic owner, Edward Rochester, whose cold demeanor and mysterious past immediately set him apart from the typical romantic hero. The narrative shows Jane and Rochester growing closer, but their relationship is constantly tested by secrets, painful sacrifices, and impossible moral choices that force Jane to decide whether love is worth compromising her own principles. The best thing about Jane Eyre is that, unlike many romances of its time, it never allows love to overshadow its heroine's individuality. Jane refuses to sacrifice her self-respect and independence, even if that means walking away from the man she loves. That gives the novel a remarkable sense of maturity that has influenced generations of romance writers, but few have matched Brontë's sensibilities. (Safwan Azeem)
Llevaba demasiados años escuchando que Jane Eyre era una de las mejores novelas jamás escritas. Cuando por fin la terminé entendí que no era una exageración. No solo he leído un clásico; he sentido que acababa de descubrir el origen de muchas de las historias románticas y de misterio que vinieron después. Y lo mejor de todo es que, lejos de sentirse antigua, me ha tenido completamente atrapado durante toda la lectura. (...) Cuando cerré Jane Eyre entendí por qué sigue apareciendo en cualquier lista de las mejores novelas de la historia. No es solo una historia de amor inolvidable; es la historia de una mujer que se niega a renunciar a sí misma, incluso cuando hacerlo parece el camino más fácil. Hay clásicos que se leen por obligación o por cultura general. Jane Eyre, en cambio, se disfruta de principio a fin y demuestra que las grandes historias no entienden de siglos, porque siguen emocionando exactamente igual hoy que cuando Charlotte Brontë las escribió. ( Translation)
3. Hathersage Hathersage has strong literary connections - having inspired Charlotte Brontë while she was writing Jane Eyre. The nearby North Lees Hall (pictured here) also became the main inspiration for Thornfield Hall. The Grave of Little John, Robin Hood’s second-in-command, can be found at St. Michael’s Church in the heart of Hathersage. While there is little evidence proving he is buried here, ballads suggest that he originated from Hathersage and settled there again later in his life. (Tom Hardwick)
A few weeks ago, we reported on the concert of Guiem Soldevila at the Fosquets Lithica Festival in Menorca, Spain, performing the songs of his album Brontë. We have been contacted by the communication team of the Festival, which has provided us with a lot of interesting material:
Press Photos - Credits: Joan Carrés
The House Where the Brontës Still Sing
Chronicle of Guiem Soldevila's Brontë concert
Fosquets Lithica Festival, 2 July 2026 (Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain) Guiem Soldevila's sold outinaugural concert, dedicated to the Brontë sisters, captured the spirit of the festival like few others could. The Fosquets Lithica festival is fast becoming an international reference point among world-music festivals in Menorca, and there could be no better fit than a concert by a composer born in Menorca who reaches for the world to prove it. Edition after edition, a carefully curated programme has revealed its identity in an offering that is culture in the fullest sense — not only theatrical, but communal. It is not just the space itself, but how the people who work there inhabit it. From the stonecutters of the past to today's programmers, an unbroken lineage of effort, love and craft. Guiem Soldevila and his group of nine artists joined the expanding ripple of creative energy that was born in the Brontë sisters' house in England in 1845, and which reached us last night in the form of an emotional, vibrant, serene concert. Throughout the concert, writer Carme Cloquells acted as our guide, reading from her logbook of the sea of emotions, painting a literary portrait of each of the sisters. Through thirteen musical settings of poems by the three sisters, we experienced a complete emotional journey. The composition was, without doubt, rich in symbolism. The a cappella trio of voices that opened the concert represented the voices of the three sisters. With Emily Brontë, the music was predominantly built on irregular time signatures, gentle melodies and deep expression. The orchestration, superbly judged, culminated in a small cello-and-flute duet performed by Clara Gorrias and Pau Cardona, evoking the sound of an English Renaissance romance. Anne Brontë, with her soft, clear and committed voice, was represented by a duduk played by Pep Eroles, accompanied throughout by Andreu Marquès's evocative percussion. Perhaps one of the most magical moments of the concert, paired with dance. And yes, magic does exist, and its name is Gêliah. Few people can command the magnetism of attention simply by walking on stage. The cadence of her walk, the lightness of her arms, the intensity of her gaze… Then she dances, yes, or even makes a handkerchief dance, but what she really does is enchant us with her simplicity. When it came to representing Charlotte Brontë, the eldest sister, the music grew more angular, with insistent rhythms, while still finding, amid so much strength, moments of serenity. I found the setting of the poem “On the Death of Anne Brontë” especially inspired, with a deep lament performed by Lluís Gener — perhaps a nod to the laments of Purcell and Dowland — over which the elegiac voices of Guiem, Neus and Clara rested. This was a concert to be praised not only for the quality of its compositions, but also for the quality of its performers. At the imaginary dinner table ofthe Brontë house sit Clara Gorrias, Neus Ferri, Pau Cardona, Elena Armenteros, Lluís Gener, Andreu Marquès, Pep Eroles, Gêliah and Carme Cloquells. The Brontës are no longer just Guiem's project; for an hour, they also become the home of these nine artists. In a conversation between friends, while the Brontë project was still taking shape, Clara Gorrias confided in me: “I never thought I would immerse myself so deeply in this world, partly drawn in by Guiem's enthusiasm. I had also never seen myself working under the leadership of a man who does it with such care, listening, respect and openness.” Perhaps it is no coincidence that a concert dedicated to three women who wrote from freedom was born from a way of creating rooted in listening. The way we work, too, ends up making its own sound. Pau Marquès i Oleo
The BBC covers the The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever celebration in Haworth: The sun may be hiding behind grey clouds, but for hundreds of people in flowing red dresses dancing on Yorkshire moorland it'll take more than a threat of rain to dampen their spirits. This is Brontë country, after all, so it's fitting that it's also perfect Brontë weather. The group, swaying in unison, have come together to re-create the music video for Kate Bush's 1978 song Wuthering Heights, inspired by Emily Brontë's novel. Every year, thousands of people around the world don red robes – and in some cases long black wigs – for The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. Events have previously taken place in places such as Sydney, Copenhagen, Berlin, Folkestone and Preston. This particular "Mass Wuther" perhaps has an even stronger claim than most – it's held on Penistone Hill, not far from the famous Brontë parsonage in Haworth, in the Pennines. From the field on a clear day can be seen the ruined farmhouse of Top Withens, believed to be the inspiration for the titular farmhouse of Brontë's novel. (Fiona Callow)
The Spinoff (New Zealand) does the same for the Dunedin event: It’s a bitterly cold Dunedin morning when a bright red wave of Kate Bush lookalikes gathers in the Octagon to dance. By noon, the temperature is a brutal four degrees (feels like -0, according to the weather app), and as the winter sun peeks through the grey clouds above Dunedin’s city centre, the group of dancers dressed in red waits quietly. When the opening piano notes of Kate Bush’s song ‘Wuthering Heights’ burst out, they begin to move in unison, lifting their arms and waving them above their heads. As their crimson clothes blow in the icy wind, Bush sings the famous line that today takes on a new meaning: “Heathcliff it’s me, I’m Cathy, I’ve come home… I’m so cold.” (Tara Ward) Or BBC in Bristol, Euronews, The Jonesboro Sun, The Adelaide Advertiser, Hello Rayo, in Folkestone... Parade reminds us how the song was born: For her debut album called The Kick Inside, Bush’s first official single was “Wuthering Heights.” Inspired by the classic novel of the same name by Emily Brontë, Bush wrote the track in the span of one night the year before, when she was just 18 years old. Still a teenager by the time the song officially came out, Bush’s music was an impressive success and a huge start to her career. In particular, “Wuthering Heights” gained a lot of fans. The song is a story told from the perspective of the character Catherine Earnshaw after her death, when she’s a ghost pleading with her former love, Heathcliff. Just like how she wrote the song in a few hours, Bush also recorded her vocals for the tune in one take. The mixing for “Wuthering Heights” took place over the course of one night as well, starting at midnight and going until around six in the morning. Music engineer Jon Kelly recalled working with Bush on the song. (Devon Forward)
And The Times includes Haworth among the most beautiful places in England: 6. Haworth, West Yorkshire A steam train service arrives at Haworth in West Yorkshire, one of the most beautiful places in England You may not think that you know this Yorkshire town, but you’ve probably seen its steep street, which climbs up the valley of the River Worth, on screen. Haworth is popular with location scouts for film and TV, and many of its lugubrious millstone grit houses have become whimsical shops selling everything from hemlock candles and vintage dresses to “fat tyke” biscuits. The town has one foot in another era, especially when the steam locomotives from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway chunter into its station. The Brontë sisters grew up in the parsonage at the top of the street — it is now a museum that details how claustrophobic and intense their upbringing must have been. Further uphill from the parsonage, the moors beckon anyone who wants to wuther a few heights. We’d recommend staying close to the Brontë parsonage in the thoughtfully renovated boutique guesthouse Weavers of Haworth. (Andrew Eanes)
Cumbres Borrascosas pertenece a ese linaje, y así se lee mayoritariamente: como una historia de amor imposible entre Catherine Earnshaw y Heathcliff, una pasión tan poderosa que ni la muerte logra extinguirla. Es una lectura legítima pero incompleta porque Emily Brontë no escribió solo una historia de amor. Escribió al mismo tiempo una novela de terror. El terror que Brontë explora es más moderno y perturbador que el terror gótico popular en aquella época: el miedo que puede causar la convivencia doméstica con alguien que nos odia. La diferencia esencial entre Cumbres Borrascosas y sus predecesores en el género del amor obsesivo es que aquí la pasión no se consuma ni se frustra en un instante glorioso: se pudre durante décadas, se transforma en rencor sistemático y aplasta a quienes tienen la desgracia de estar cerca. No hay ningún Romeo que muera joven y hermoso. Hay un Heathcliff que vive demasiado tiempo. La pasión de Heathcliff por Catherine es real e irreductible, y la novela la trata con toda su complejidad, tal y como veremos en el apartado siguiente. Frente a esto, lo que define a Heathcliff como personaje no es lo que siente por Catherine, sino lo que hace con ese sentimiento cuando la sociedad —y la propia Catherine— lo rechaza por su origen. Lo que comienza como un malentendido marcado por la confusión entre lo que Catherine siente y lo que cree que debe ser desencadena en Heathcliff un odio que se vuelve sistemáticamente contra quienes no tienen ninguna culpa: Isabella Linton, su esposa, a la que somete con crueldad calculada; y la segunda generación, a la que manipula y arruina sin remedio. (Read more) (Translation) (Eduardo Antuña Zarzuelo)
Wuthering Heights of Opulence. I visited the English region made famous by Wuthering Heights with old-fashioned villages and celeb-visited hotels. (...) Despite the changeable weather – one minute I’d be battered by gusts that pierced like kitchen knives, the next smothered in mist then bathed in sunshine – I instantly fell head over heels in love with the moors. Emily Brontë and her sisters Charlotte and Anne grew to adore these wilds, right on their doorstep. I hiked to ruined farmstead called Top Withens, said to have inspired Wuthering Heights the fictional home of Cathy. A further trek then took me to the Brontë Waterfall, Brontë Bridge, and Brontë Chair rock (in the shape of a seat), which were all places close to the sisters’ hearts. Back in Haworth, the limestone cottages and cobbled main street lined with gift shops, cafes and pubs had an old-fashioned charm. At the sisters’ old home, now the Brontë Parsonage Museum, I saw the simple wooden table where they used to write. (Fiona Whitty)
Washington Blade announces the upcoming production in Washington D.C. of Brontë Sister House Party: Nu Sass, a company that promotes marginalized genders in all aspects of theater, presents Courtney Bailey’s “Brontë Sister House Party” (Aug. 14-Sept. 12) at Van Ness on Main Street (4340 Connecticut Ave., NW). In life, the Brontë Sisters, Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, wrote their 19th century English lit classics in the virtual isolation of their father’s remote York parsonage. Now, stuck in purgatory, they’re suffering through party after party in an endless time loop. For them, hosting is truly hell, until they finally find a way to make it tolerable. (Patrick Folliard) Libreriamo (Italy) unpacks Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights quote: "I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas: they've gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind." Of course, with a sloppy AI illustration: In conclusione, la citazione ci consegna una straordinaria meditazione sull’interiorità umana. Ci ricorda che siamo anche, e forse soprattutto, ciò che abbiamo sognato. Che non tutto ciò che conta deve essere realizzato per essere vero. Che alcune delle nostre trasformazioni più autentiche derivano non da eventi visibili, ma da visioni invisibili, che attraversano il tempo e noi stessi. Ed è forse proprio in questa alterazione silenziosa che si nasconde la vera poesia dell’essere. (Patrizio Lo Votrico) (Translation)
Times Now News compiles some beautiful and/or brutal love confessions in literature (with a lot of sloppy AI illustrations), quoting Wuthering Heights. AnneBrontë.org posts about when Charlotte Brontë quietly used her connections with publisher George Smith to help friend Harriet Martineau attempt a secret, anonymous return to novel-writing in 1851 — a book that was ultimately never published. A new Brontë-related Ph.D. thesis in Spanish:
by Paloma Ríos Prieto Advisor: Ana Isabel Zamorano Rueda
UNED, 2026
La tesis doctoral que se presenta en este documento pretende ofrecer una panorámica completa de la producción literaria de la escritora del siglo XIX Anne Brontë para demostrar que el tipo de voz, discurso y los enunciados que la autora va empleando progresivamente a lo largo de la vida. Su trayectoria literaria comenzó como escritora de composiciones poéticas contextualizadas en un universo de ficción denominado Gondal y continuó con una poesía confesional que le sirvió como instrumento para expresar todo tipo de sentimientos, ilustrando una proyección autobiográfica de la interioridad, de su yo más íntimo y personal. Mientras que la voz y el discurso inicial de la escritora se focaliza en una atracción por el mundo de la fantasía, la aventura, la sensibilidad por el paisaje y la naturaleza que la rodeaba, su crecimiento personal se corresponde con la evolución o maduración en su discurso, presentando en la poesía que no pertenece a su universo de ficción un discurso aún más intimista, introspectivo y de autoexploración confesional en el que destaca el análisis de la fe o el sentido general de la vida. La escritura de Anne Brontë también comprende un ensayo dialogado entre dos personajes no identificados conocido como Brotherton Manuscript en el que la autora presenta el debate entre la razón y la fe en relación con el origen de la Tierra. Por otro lado, en las dos novelas, Agnes Grey y The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, publicadas con menos de un año de diferencia, predomina el discurso moral y social, pero fundamentalmente didáctico para reformar situaciones de desventaja social y legal para las mujeres y los niños del siglo XIX. Si la voz de la escritora Anne Brontë comenzó con una predilección por la fantasía, terminará sus últimas líneas con un discurso de realismo social con dimensión feminista que la convierte en una figura pionera en el pensamiento de reforma social que resuena incluso hoy en día. La problemática en torno a la figura y obra de Anne Brontë reside en la escasez de documentos de primera mano que se conservan de ella, en la abundancia de leyendas que la han situado en una posición periférica en relación con sus hermanas, además del proceso de censura e incluso silenciamiento que su obra ha tenido hasta el último tercio del siglo XX. Esta investigación aspira a recuperar la voz de Anne Brontë tanto en su producción poética como en la narrativa, revisando de igual manera, la evolución que ha habido en la crítica literaria con el objetivo final de contribuir en el proceso de reconocimiento literario que su obra merece. La difusión y visibilidad independiente de Anne Brontë como pensadora adelantada a su tiempo se hace necesaria para reconocer y valorar su contribución en la mejora de las condiciones sociales, económicas y legales para las personas pero de manera más específica para los niños y las mujeres. Este estudio espera ser una contribución relevante en el conocimiento científico en el campo de los estudios de género en España, al no existir ninguna tesis doctoral centrada de manera exclusiva en la obra y figura de la escritora Anne Brontë.
Just Watch officially declares that ' Wuthering Heights Is No Longer This Year's Most Provocative Film'. Move over, Cathy and Heathcliff, we've got a new band of controversial characters to dissect and discuss as we move into the second half of 2026. Should audiences be careful what they wish for? From the moment of its release on Valentine's Day this year, Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights sold a lot of tickets on the promise of A-lister debauchery, but many fans left the cinema a little disappointed with the level of spice. Perhaps it was fate, perhaps it was creative programming, but a far more provocative movie was premiering at the Berlin Film Festival that very same night: Rosebush Pruning. (Rory O'Connor)
Apart from Haworth's Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, today will also see the same event at Clevedon's Marine Lake and Bristol's College Green, as reported by BBC: Dozens of Kate Bush fans are celebrating her most famous song, Wuthering Heights, with a recreation of the dance from the music video. Dubbed "the most Wuthering Heights day ever", the event at Clevedon's Marine Lake and Bristol's College Green raises money for the charity SARSAS (Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support). The event will take place today, ahead of the singer's birthday on 30 July. "It's enormous fun learning the dance, it's a real challenge as it's not straightforward, and it's not just for the ladies, we welcome everybody," said organiser Bridget Pairaudeau from Bristol. The Clevedon event is believed to be the only one where dancers celebrate on land and in the water at the same time. Last year, the event raised just over £1,000 for SARSAS. "They were delighted that we danced for them," said Pairaudeau. (Jonathan Holmes)
Conciencia (Mexico) has an article on Emily Brontë with a picture of Charlotte Brontë.
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