Feeling like Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights

Practical Caravan goes on a caravan trip around Calderdale.

We planned to visit nearby Haworth, and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR), the following day. Unless you feel the desire for some quite strenuous exercise, I’d recommend that you park at the Brontë Village Coach and Car Park, at the top of Weavers Hill in Haworth. From there, it’s a short stroll to the main attractions of the village – the Parsonage, the church and the cafés and shops on Main Street. Owing to the long queues, we didn’t go into the Parsonage on this occasion, but we have been before.

This interesting local museum tells the story of the Reverend Patrick Brontë, who brought his family to Haworth in 1820. His daughters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, were to become world-famous writers.

Charlotte has a connection with Kay’s home village, Hathersage in the Derbyshire Peak District, where she stayed with her friend at the vicarage and visited nearby North Lees Hall several times.

North Lees Hall is thought to be the inspiration for Thornfield, the home of Mr Rochester in Charlotte’s 1847 novel, Jane Eyre. Coincidentally, Eyre is a common name in the Hope Valley, where Hathersage lies. (Nigel Hutson)

Reader's Digest features the North York moors.

Literature lovers will delight in recreating their favourite scenes from Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights as they wander the moors, or venturing to Whitby to see the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Who knows, maybe a trip to the North York Moors will make a writer out of you, too! (Alice Gawthorp)

The actual Wuthering Heights moors are in West Yorkshire, though.

Animated Times has an article on how Nicolas Cage felt about being helped early on in his acting career by his uncle Francis Ford Coppola.

According to Cage, growing up he felt like “the poor Coppolas.” He stayed with Coppola but knew the lavish lifestyle didn’t belong to him. Cage vowed to one day buy a mansion in San Francisco to rival his uncle’s. He said Coppola’s wealth made him feel “like Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights” in his jealousy. Even when finding his own success, Cage wanted to distinguish himself from the Coppola name. (Nivedita Dubey)

And Heathcliff is one of the '10 Memorable characters from Books Whose Names Begin with ‘H’' selected by Go Book Mart.

Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)

The enigmatic and brooding character at the heart of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights,” Heathcliff is a complex figure defined by his passionate love for Catherine Earnshaw and his vengeful nature. His turbulent emotions and dark past contribute to the haunting atmosphere of the novel.

Brontë’s portrayal of Heathcliff as a tortured soul trapped in a cycle of revenge and longing raises questions about the destructive power of love and obsession. Heathcliff’s character serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of unchecked emotions.

La crónica de Badajoz (Spain) features writer Ana Carballo and her new novel Palacios de agua.

'Palacios de agua' es «una obra coral en la que cada personaje muestra sus profundidades» y donde hay continuas referencias a obras pictóricas como 'El dormitorio en Arlés' de Vincent Van Gogh, 'La balsa de la medusa' de Théodore Géricault o 'La muerte de Sardanápalo' de Eugène Delacroix, y a libros como 'Jane Eyre' de Charlotte Brontë, que sirven a la autora para reflexionar sobre las diferentes situaciones que viven los protagonistas. (Translation)

Word on Fire interviews illustrator Eileen Ryan Ewen.

What were the books that really captured your imagination as a child? 

[...]

As an older child, Jane Eyre, Where the Red Fern Grows, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were my favorites that I read over and over. I remember wishing they were illustrated! (Haley Stewart)

Derry Now reports that,

The inaugural Ballyscullion Park Book Festival, 11- 12 May 2024, has officially launched. [...]

The inaugural festival is inspired by the period in history when the original Earl Bishop of Derry’s Palace was built at Ballyscullion Park in 1787 as well as the current owner’s, The Mulholland family’s connection to acclaimed authors Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë.

Across the two days, visitors to the festival will enjoy talks and Q&As from eminent writers and historians exploring topics such as the surrounding landscape, gardens, historical personalities, literature, ideas and how people lived.

Scroll (India) features a video by comedian Elise Lamsdale in which she imagines a conversation between Emily Brontë and Jane Austen.