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- Moody, cold, and full of yearning
- A Triumphant Ending
- Feverish Reimaginings
- Wuthering Heights Marxist Description
- Recommending Jane Eyre
- More Recent Articles
The Telegraph & Argus features the Brontë Birthplace reopening and the possibility of spending the night in one of their rooms: The Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, Bradford, welcomed visitors in March, marking a major milestone in literary heritage by opening its doors more than 200 years after Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë were born there. Nigel West, fundraising co-ordinator for the Brontë Birthplace project, said: "It is an amazing story of Bradford City of Culture 2025 using their legacy funding and then 770 members contributing and the formation of a Community Benefit Society that will protect the Birthplace for the community. "It is the most important heritage opening anywhere in the UK this year and as significant to this country as Shakespeare's birthplace." (...) In May, following a significant refurbishment, Her Majesty Queen Camilla officially opened the house as a museum and education centre. The site also now offers visitors the opportunity to stay overnight in some of its historic rooms. Public engagement has been at the heart of the project, with the launch of the Be More Brontë campaign dedicated to encouraging children to embrace new life challenges. The house has since become a lively hub of activity, hosting author talks, educational workshops, and theatre performances. Mr West said: “This year has been a dream come true for everyone involved in the Birthplace project. “We cannot wait to see what 2026 will hold for this amazing little house which has provided a lasting legacy for Thornton, Bradford and Brontë fans worldwide.” (Josh Price)
Epigram tries to answer the question: Should you read the novel before watching the adaptation, or not? The case in point is Wuthering Heights: In case you’ve been blissfully unaware of the storm brewing online, the latest film adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2026), directed by Emerald Fennell of Saltburn (2023) fame, is slated for release on Valentine’s Day 2026, and it’s already sparked plenty of controversy. Fans of the novel have taken issue with Margot Robbie (Catherine Earnshaw) being ‘too old’ to play a nineteen-year-old, voiced concerns that Fennell will oversaturate the film with explicit sexual content given her Saltburn-shadowed reputation, and even questioned Charli XCX’s involvement in the score. (...) Historically, Wuthering Heights has enjoyed considerable success on screen. The most infamous adaptation is arguably the 1939 Academy Award–winning film starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, while the 1992 version featuring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, in his film debut, also remains well known. But to appreciate the novel fully, we have to return to its origins. In 1847, before the tragic series of Brontë family deaths, Emily Brontë published Wuthering Heights under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. The novel received a mixed critical response, including disapproval from her own sister, Charlotte Brontë, who dismissed it as the work of a 'wild' younger sibling, unable to recognise its beauty. Following the sisters’ deaths, however, the novel settled into its now-cemented status as a literary classic. Its iconic, windswept West Yorkshire setting, a landscape that mirrors Cathy and Heathcliff’s untameable natures, the nuanced framing of Nelly Dean, and the intricate multi-generational family saga are just a few of the qualities that make the novel so enduring. They’re also why I return to it time and time again, especially at this time of year, something I’ve yet to experience with any of its adaptations. And, notably, I have never seen a film give Nelly Dean (our partial narrator) the importance she deserves. (Millie Hicks and Betsan Branson Wiliam)
The dales and moors of Yorkshire are a well-established muse for writers and visual artists. Most recently, the region has served as the romantic location for “Wuthering Heights” and “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.” The North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the Yorkshire Dales make appearances in both and are a must-see when visiting. Make sure to squeeze in a visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where the Brontë family lived from 1820 to 1861. The historic space offers fascinating insight into the lives of the three Brontë sisters and the world that inspired “Wuthering Heights.” (Jeannette Moses) The Bubble encourages you to read Wuthering Heights this winter break: This classic’s bleakness is both exacerbated by its biting wintery setting and undermined by the burning intensity of Heathcliff and Catherine’s passions. Moody, cold, and full of yearning, this book takes you on a dramatic journey of desire and its devastations. For fans of gothic themes, questionable figures and anything remotely melodramatic. (Autumn Huxtable) Mashable India reviews the film The Housemaid by Paul Feig, which adapts the novels by Freida McFadden: The madwoman in the attic has been a central plot in literary fiction. The phrase highlights the historical tendency to label non-conforming women as insane, locking them away physically or socially, using ‘madness’ or ‘sickness’ to silence them, their experiences— a theme explored in literary works beyond Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 classic Jane Eyre. The 1966 postmodern novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a perfect example for authors to reimagine the stories centring around the madwoman in the attic. What if it was Mr Rochester after all? A similar theme is followed in The Housemaid. But here, the ‘madwoman in the attic’ refuses to stay silent and decidedly takes her revenge in the twisty tale. Since I have not read McFadden’s book, I cannot compare and state if it is a well adaptation. However, as the plot thickened, the climax was satisfactory. (...) The Housemaid may not be a literary fiction in the tradition of Jane Eyre. But it’s modernised, fun and convincing to watch for the ending that the woman in the attic should actually get. (Madhurima Sarkar)
Now I've Seen Everything discusses literary characters that have changed their looks in the movie adaptations. Concerning Jane Eyre 2011: The director of the film, Cary Fukunaga, said that when he was choosing the actor for the part of Rochester, he realized that there were people that looked more like the book character, but he still felt that Michael Fassbender was a better choice. Charlotte Brontë described Rochester as a man with a heavy brow, dark hair and brown eyes, big nostrils, and a stern face. (Olga G.) Yahoo Entertainment publishes a new biography of Emily Brontë with some mentions of the upcoming 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Cosmopolitan lists a quote from Jane Eyre in a heartbreaking list quotes. A Brontë question is included in the Big Good Housekeeping Quiz of the Year. AnneBrontë.org comes to the ninth day of Christmas: dancing. A hard one. A new paper exploring Wide Sargasso Sea:
Antoinette Cosway’s Martyrdom: Catholicism and the “Triumphant” Ending of Wide Sargasso Sea
Naomi Kim-Yu
MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Johns Hopkins University Press, Volume 71, Number 4, Winter 2025 pp. 742-764
This essay examines Jean Rhys’s often overlooked engagement with Catholicism in her 1966 novel Wide Sargasso Sea. Over and against British Empire and its English Protestantism, Rhys draws on Catholicism to construct a martyr’s tale for her Creole protagonist, Antoinette Cosway. This Catholic framework of martyrdom enables a triumphant reading of Antoinette’s self-immolation—her act of resistance against her English, Protestant-coded husband. In turn, the redemptive Catholicism of Wide Sargasso Sea prompts a rereading of Rhys’s source text, Jane Eyre, to expose the pitfalls that Protestantism poses for Brontë’s bildungsroman.
Hello! is excited by Daryl McCormack's role in the upcoming Wuthering Heights audio sequel Heathcliff: Peaky Blinders and Bad Sisters star Daryl McCormack is set to bring Heathcliff to life in a new audio drama by Audible, which reimagines the three years Heathcliff was missing in a "feverish reimagining of literature’s most infamous romantic villain." (Abby Allen) The Nativity Procession in Haworth - famous for its connection to the Brontë sisters - brings the Christmas story to life. The Nativity Procession started at 2pm on Saturday, December 20, 2025, from the bottom of Main Street and will end on Sunday, December 21. The interactive parade features live storytelling, festive music and real donkeys walking through the village. A procession ended with a short carol service at St Michael and All Angels Church that was open to anyone who wanted to join. (Liana Jacob)
Also in Haworth, The Old Post Office in Haworth is recommended as the 'cosiest place to eat' in The Telegraph & Argus: The Old Post Office in Haworth is where “everything is just a little bit special” according to The Yorkshireman, thanks to its seasonal winter and autumn dishes full of “hearty flavour and local ingredients.” The café on Main Street has a remarkable link with history in the village too, as it still has the original post office counter where the iconic Brontë sisters would send their novel manuscripts to their publishers back in the day. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne were born in Thornton near Bradford but grew up in Haworth. (Molly Court)
Wuthering Heights Based on: Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Release Date: In theaters February 13, 2026 Starring: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie Why We’re Excited: Cue the Kate Bush classic, we’re heading back to the moors. Filmmaker Emerald Fennell is reteaming with her Saltburn collaborators—Elordi starred and Robbie produced—for a take on Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff that we’ve surely never seen before. (Meaghan Kirby)
Elle (Italy) also is excited with the Wuthering Heights 2026 film. The Daily Tribune (Philippines) carries an article about Emily Brontë and Wuthering Heights:
Wuthering Heights is passionate, untamed, and haunting, mixing romance with dark, supernatural, and psychological elements. Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff are unflinching in their desires and cruelty. They are morally ambiguous, yet unforgettable. Emily Brontë initially published the novel under the ambiguous pen name Ellis Bell. Her real name did not appear until after her death, in 1850, and many were shocked that a woman had written it. Critics initially recoiled at its raw intensity, but it has survived as a classic nearly two hundred years later, timeless in its ability to stir emotion, imagination, and confront the darker sides of love and humanity. It also addresses classism, racism, and revenge, themes that were groundbreaking at the time and still relevant today. Like the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw haunting Heathcliff, Emily's presence in the 21st century lingers in every line of the book and now in the upcoming film adaptation. She haunts readers and viewers, but she is not unwelcome. Her vision comforts as much as it unsettles. Perhaps it is this very darkness that draws people to her work. Through Wuthering Heights, readers can find recognition even in the harsh manifestations of authentic human emotion, and beauty in the landscapes of grief, intimacy, and truth. Emily Brontë, like Heathcliff and Catherine, is a presence that will not fade — a reminder that even in despair there can be brilliance, and that being seen, even in one’s shadows, is a rare and powerful gift. In 2026, audiences will once again confront Emily Brontë’s tempestuous moors, uncompromising characters, and the ge (Amelia Clarissa de Luna Monasterial)
The Guardian publishes the obituary of the writer Veronica Gosling. Her first novel (...) Love from a Convict (1955), about a young reporter who falls in love while visiting a jail, early evidence of her perceptive storytelling and her lifelong interest in human behaviour. Norman Shrapnel in the Manchester Guardian described it as “something of a tiny Wuthering Heights”. (Miriam Gosling Gage) The Guardian includes a (red herring) Emily Brontë in a question of its Books Quiz of 2025. Onda Cero uploads a podcast, Depradados, where the writer Juan Manuel de Prada discusses Wuthering Heights. Radio Mitre or Pulso (Argentina) also talk about Emily Brontë. The Los Angeles Times Crossword includes a Jane Eyre question. The House of Brontë publishes a new video where "Nick Holland looks at three letters sent by Charlotte Brontë on the death of her younger sister Emily." More Nick Holland, as AnneBrontë.org publishes the eighth Day of Brontë Christmas post: Brontë servants. A new Brontë-related paper:
Ahmad Rizal Abdullah, Universitas Negeri Makassar DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra, 5(4), 5390-5400.
This study examines the representation of social class in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights through the lens of Marxist literary criticism. While previous research has discussed themes such as class hierarchy, symbolic power, and economic determinism, limited attention has been given to how these dynamics are directly embedded in the novel’s dialogue and narrative interactions. To address this gap, this research analyzes twenty selected textual excerpts using key Marxist concepts, including class struggle, ideology, and material conditions. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, drawing on the works of Marx and Engels, Eagleton, and other theorists to interpret how language and character behavior reflect social positioning. The findings show that Wuthering Heights portrays a deeply stratified social environment in which identities, decisions, and conflicts are shaped by class-based power relations. Heathcliff’s marginalization, Catherine’s status-driven choices, and Hindley’s abusive dominance embody recurring patterns of oppression and resistance consistent with Marxist theory. The study concludes that Brontë’s novel not only dramatizes interpersonal tensions but also exposes the structural inequalities that govern them, offering a more nuanced understanding of how Victorian literature reflects and critiques social class. This research contributes to existing scholarship by providing a dialogue-centered, textually grounded analysis that clarifies the mechanisms of class representation more precisely than broader thematic studies.
People lists the books its staff is gifting this holiday season including A special edition of an old favorite Special editions of literary favorites are something of a trend these days: Sprayed edges, designed endpapers and cases adorned with glitter and metallic accents are all some of the beautiful details that highlight the stories within. A collectible edition of your recipient's favorite — perhaps this gorgeous Jane Eyre painted package — will dress up their bookshelf beautifully. (Lizz Schumer)
Book Club has AI-generated content on the '7 Drama Books You Must Read In 2025' (sic), including Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre is also one of several classics chosen by Leadership to 'Enkindle The Familial Bonding of Christmas'. The seventh day of AnneBrontë.org's Twelve Days of Brontë Christmas is all about the Brontë novels. More Recent Articles
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