Anne-marie Greene’s direction gives Sarah Gordon’s 2024 already feisty modern-day revision of the Brontë myth a quick-witted flair. Much of this is due to the clever, knowing portrayal of Charlotte by Alice Scott. She is a pink-haired, elfin dominatrix of the family. Her determination to place herself at the top of the literary tree is expressed by frequent asides through the fourth wall, which draws us onto her side while at the same time slightly repelling us at the unfairness of her treatment of her sisters, Anne in particular. We forgive her, up to a point, partly because of her sparky charm and her knowing comments about the (still) patriarchal publishing game, but also because we buy into her idea that without her there would have been no Brontës. Even Emily, passionately, often angrily played by Nicole Cortese, is sidelined by her.

And what of poor Anne? Anne, the nice one, Anne the modest, self-effacing one who suspends her literary ambitions to become a governess, one of the lowest rungs of the Victorian social ladder, where she is bullied and humiliated by her employers and their nasty children. Somehow, she turns this unhappy experience into a scathing condemnation of abuse within marriage which was revolutionary in her day, and hits the jackpot with her book sales.

But in order to succeed the sisters had to pretend to be men, otherwise they would have been dismissed as mere ‘women writers.’ But this brings a conundrum. By pretending to be men they are, in a sense, beating the men at their own game and are somewhat protected by the mask, provided their true identities remain secret. Once they are revealed they are subject to the very condemnation they challenged in spite of, and because of, their success.

Sarah Gordon’s play doesn't delve too deeply into the books themselves; rather it is the Brontë myth that is explored and its status as a repudiation of patriarchy. Even Branwell Brontë (Connor Bailey), their wayward, drunken brother, who aspired to be a painter though he lacked the talent, is somehow portrayed as a victim of this London-based snobbery. Ironically by working together to create the image of the Bell brothers,  partly in order to protect him from full knowledge of himself, the sisters cannot help but buy into that snobbery.

Charlotte tries to rip the façade off the dominant ideology of the time by making herself into a literary superstar and using her fame to overturn the orthodoxy. It is self-conscious promotion with its roots in the past and its flower very much in the present. The cast, including an excellent ensemble, have great fun with it, playing with a punk / Gen Z theme. The performances are top-notch throughout, the three sisters well balanced in their characters, Charlotte as the apex of a triangle that could only function as a collective. (Nick Le Mesurier)

“I've always loved the book. I love English literature. I first read Jane Eyre at high school when I was 11 or 12 or 13 and I just loved it. I'm very much an Austen and Bronte girl. I read all of them but I always remember Jane Eyre struck me as such a fantastic heroine.

“I think she has such a strong will. She is so passionate and so determined to keep to her values and her morality and her desire to do what is right. I think that fascinated me as a child. You often see in people their kindness or their bravery and she's kind and brave but I think the main thing for Jane is doing what is right. She is willing sometimes to make people a little bit upset but it comes from a place not of weakness; it comes from a place of wanting to do the right thing. I love her strength and I think it is that core that really attracted me to Jane as a person. And I'm really interested to see what resonates with me now. I read it as a young person, and to come back to it again now it's interesting to rediscover it and to see what really resonates now.” (Phil Hewitt)

This time of year, you may come to crave dark, spooky stories, and “The Last Brontë” fits those needs perfectly with its Gothic deliciousness. Think: Daphne du Maurier-type, stormy-night squirms with a dangerously chaste, sweetly romantic girl-meets-girl twist for fun.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve read a Gothic novel, you’re in for a nice reminder of why you love them here. You can almost tick off the must-haves: a novel like this is nothing without a foreboding stone manor with damp walls; stone steps to a dank basement; a mysterious portrait; and a nearby bog, and author Catherine Friend gives readers every one of them. You’d be disappointed if there was no ghost, wouldn’t you? Ha. You can practically feel the cold blow through the attic, right? Yeah, it’s that kind of book.If you’re a fan of the Brontës, you’ll like this novel. If you love Gothic mysteries or Victorian romances, ditto. “The Lost Brontë” is good, no lie. (Terri Schlichenmeyer)

Nowadays, there are plenty of adaptations that blatantly acknowledge the literary classic that it is based on. In just February of this year, a movie adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” hit theatres. [...]

The question becomes, are these adaptations a sign of a lack of creativity or is Hollywood’s ability to take literary classics unknown or disliked by the younger generations a show of creativity and innovative thinking? I’m not quite sure.

UTC junior Lexie Jones, a history and anthropology double major, gave her perspective on the question: “I don’t think it's a lack of creativity. Like ‘Wuthering Heights.’ I haven’t watched the new movie but it was a way to draw in people who probably would have never read the book.”

The movie adaptations may become a way to draw interest from our generation. The prospect of reading the classics, to most, might seem boring and a waste of time, especially if it has nothing to do with your major. The most popular book genres right now are romance or ‘romantasy,’ a term coined by TikTok. Fantasy, thrillers, science fiction and horror are the runner-ups. Classic fiction wasn’t really high on the list.

“Wuthering Heights” was advertised with phrases such as “drive me mad,” “come undone,” and "inspired by the greatest love story of all time.” The movie starred well-known actors Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, and was released on Valentine’s Day. The marketing was directed towards the generation that made romance the most popular book genre.

The movie only covered about half of the original novel, though. Watchers who were enamored by the love story on the screen can continue the story by returning to the novel. Adults who may have never considered opening the novel might just read it now, or at least stop and purchase it at the book store. (Haley Goodfriend)

   

In a couple of days, in Watertown, NY: Tea with the Brontës:

HarmoNNY Performing Arts Community presents

Wild Imaginations - Tea with the Brontës and Friends
by Susan Taghe Smith
The Strand, 136 Franklin St, Watertown, NY 13601, USA

HarmoNNY Performing Arts Community and local writer, Susan Tague Smith, presents “Wild Imaginations: Tea with the Brontës and Friends” on October 3, 4-6 PM at The Strand located at 136 Franklin Street, Watertown, NY 13601.
This event will feature the Brontë sisters, Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, Emily Dickinson, and Jane Austen meeting for tea and sharing their thoughts and writings.
“Wild Imaginations: Tea with the Brontës and Friends” will be a HarmoNNY Performing Arts Community event supporting The Strand, Watertown’s premiere performance venue. Bring your own teacup to this event. Show off that heirloom from the china cabinet.
Only 60 tickets will be available at $35 each and will include this performance, along with service of an afternoon tea consisting of a selection of teas, sweet and savory treats.

Wines and specialty drinks will be available for purchase at The Strand Concession area.

   

Now in its 16th year, the festival ran from September 25 to 29 in Haworth and featured a packed programme of events at the Brontë Parsonage Museum and online, highlighting women’s voices across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and scriptwriting.

Sam Harrison, first-time programmer of the festival, said: "It's been really good.

"This is actually my first time programming the festival this year, and so I was very nervous beforehand"

"The main thing was I really wanted people to come away feeling like they had a really good time.

"Everyone's really enjoying it. The feedback's been really good and the speakers have been great.

"I feel very lucky that we've had such an amazing group of women writers come together."

The festival opened with a sold-out talk by writer Sally Wainwright, who discussed her work including the BBC drama To Walk Invisible, which marked its 10th anniversary this year.

He said: "Sally Wainwright was great, she was sold out and she's become just part of the Brontë legend.

"We're, again, so grateful that she was able to come and be part of the festival and celebrate 10 years of To Walk Invisible.

"It's a film that means so much to so many people still."

The programme included a gothic fiction panel with Essie Fox, Heba Al-Wasity, and Stephanie Bramwell, a discussion on historical novels with Liz Flanagan and Anna Craig, and a poetry event inspired by Emily Brontë’s The Hawk.

The festival also offered online events and workshops exploring themes of literature, history, and the environment.

Mr Harrison said the organisation had partnered with the British Library on the newly produced Wuthering Heights facsimile.

A workshop featuring Anna Chilvers and Clare Shaw also took place, inspired by their Book of Bogs project and aimed at educating people about the importance of peat.

Mr Harrison added, "They are also curating our poetry at the Parsonage event, which is at the end of October as well, so that will be really exciting."

He said, "It's so inspiring to hear these up and coming writers and just listening to their processes of creating.

"I think it's nice because you get so many people who are aspiring writers or creators.

"You hope that they can come and it will just give them a bit of a boost to keep going and keep pushing with their dreams."

As the festival wrapped up, Mr Harrison said even the weather had played its part.

She said: "The weather's also been good, which is very rare for Haworth." (Amelia Short)

Treating it "like capital F fashion," Altuzarra reveals he approached the Old Navy partnership the same way as his eponymous ready-to-wear label. "I often start my own collections with a book as the inspiration," he tells me. "I had just read Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice. I really imagine this collection on a windswept Scottish moor." (Josephine Hadjiloucas)

Reader, I studied it. For Chinese schoolchildren, there will be no escape from now on from the romantic fantasies of early Victorian England. 

Ninth-year pupils across China have begun their last autumn term at middle school to discover that the classic Charlotte Brontë novel Jane Eyre has been added to their compulsory curriculum. 

It was already an option for literature in translation classes. The fact that it has become compulsory, it is being made clear, is out of concern for teenagers’ love lives.

“The innocent, budding stage of first love is a crucial period for shaping a well-rounded personality,” Beijing Daily, the capital’s Communist Party-run paper, told students by way of explanation. “Rather than letting fragmented information occupy a child’s mind, it’s better to help them establish a value system by reading a timeless literary classic.” 

There is a logic to the choice by leading educationalists, who have been standardising the literature curriculum across provinces. Local authorities still have a degree of autonomy in what they teach, in separate maths and English language curriculums, but President Xi’s regime is deeply concerned about national morals, particularly among the young, and keeps a close eye on all cultural influences. 

Young Chinese people are going through two fads, both of them seen as problematic. One, as seen in many societies, is their reluctance to pair up, get married and have children. China’s birth-rate is unsustainably low, in part because of young women’s determination to stay single, pursue careers and eschew motherhood. 

The second fad is a passion, particularly among the same young women, for gothic romantasy novels, many of them gay-themed. Xi, despite the theoretically egalitarian and revolutionary underpinnings of Communism, is a strong promoter of traditional marriage and family values. (Richard Spencer)