April 2016 saw a whole host of anniversaries - 400 years since Shakespeare died, 90 since the Queen was born and, on the same day (but celebrated with much less fanfare), 200 since the birth of Charlotte Brontë.
Handily, this was excellent timing for the Brighton Festival and Tracy Chevalier, the author of The Girl With A Pearl Earring and writer-in-residence at the Brontë Parsonage, who has edited a collection of short stories inspired by Brontës most famous line ('Reader, I married him') from her most famous book, Jane Eyre.
To this end, Chevalier and fellow writer Esther Freud (Sally Vickers, also billed, was absent due to personal reasons) gave an interesting talk on both the novel and its legacy, as well as Brontë's enduring appeal to fans.
Both authors read to a packed audience. Chevalier, especially, is an engaging speaker, presenting her subject with an enthusiasm and knowledge befitting someone who has spent the past year living and breathing everything related to Yorkshire's most famous literary family.
Laced with fascinating facts and titbits about Brontë and her writing, this was a fitting tribute to one of Britain's best-loved novels.
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