Revamped Hotel Astoria celebrates Brontë connection

Brussels’ link with the Brontës isn’t perhaps acknowledged in the city as much as it could be. There is a planned Brontë Sisters Square in Koekelberg, but the name doesn’t tend to crop up when streets, buildings, etc. are being named. 

 

So what a nice surprise to find that the poshest hotel in town, the recently reopened Grand Hotel Astoria on Rue Royale now rebaptised Corinthia Brussels, has ... a Brontë suite! 

Hotel Cluysenaar, ca. 1840

Brussels Brontë Christmas cheer 2024

On Saturday, 32 of us gathered in the famous (to us) Salle Rouge in our usual Brussels restaurant to celebrate the Christmas season and round off another year for the Brussels Brontë Group. 

 

Unlike the Red Room in Charlotte Brontë’s novel where the young Jane Eyre has such a dismal time, each year the Salle Rouge is the setting for seasonal jollity for Brussels Brontëites. At this time of year it’s the place where we enjoy hearty Belgian fare, good company and a selection of entertainment provided by members. 

Review: ‘The Brontës, My Mother and Me’ by Anna M Biley

The title of this book intrigued and fascinated me, having lost my own mum with whom I had a very close bond and still grieving for this great loss. Anna M Biley’s book was described as “a tender story of mother-daughter love and gentle compassion; reaching out to all who have been touched by grief and loss.” 

I decided to buy the book — “The Brontës, My Mother and Me: Forgetful wanderings of love and loss” — and was looking forward to reading it, hoping that it would help me to deal with my loss and grief.

Sara Zadrozny on nature and emotions – some reflections

It was a real delight (as always) to attend the Brussels Brontë Group talks on 12 October. Joanne Wilcock’s presentation on her various trips to Brontë-related sites was thoroughly enjoyable, but I was especially interested in Sara Zadrozny’s fascinating look at landscape, weather and emotions in Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 

In the footsteps of the Brontës with Joanne Wilcock

On Saturday 12 October, the Brussels Brontë Group enjoyed a morning’s immersion in Brontë-related places, including some fabulous northern English scenery. The first of the day’s two talks explored landscapes and buildings associated with the Brontës, the other focused on the symbolic significance of some of the landscapes in the sisters’ novels.