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Jane Eyre

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It's hard to imagine a better gothic romance than "Jane Eyre" -- gloomy vast houses, mysterious secrets, and a brooding haunted man with a dark past.

In fact, Charlotte Bronte's classic novel has pretty much everything going for it -- beautiful settings, a passionate romance tempered by iron-clad morals, and a heroine whose poverty and lack of beauty only let her brains and courage shine brighter. And it's all wrapped in the misty, haunting atmosphere of a true gothic story -- madwoman in the attic and all.

Jane Eyre was an orphan, abused and neglected first by relatives, then by a boarding school run by a tyrannical, hypocritical minister. But Jane refuses to let anyone shove her down -- even when her saintly best friend dies from the wretched conditions.

But many years later, Jane moves on by applying to Thornfield Hall for a governess position, and gets the job. She soon becomes the teacher and friend to the sprightly French girl Adele, but is struck by the dark, almost haunted feeling of her new home.

Then she runs into a rather surly horseman -- who turns out to be her employer, Mr. Rochester, a cynical, embittered man who spends little time at Thornfield. They are slowly drawn together into a powerful love, despite their different social stations -- and Rochester's apparent attentions to a shallow, snotty aristocrat who wants his wealth and status.

But strange things are happening at Thornfield -- stabbings, fires, and mysterious laughter. Jane and Rochester finally confess their feelings to each other, but their wedding is interrupted when Rochester's dark past comes to light. Jane flees into the arms of long-lost family members, and is offered a new life -- but her love for Rochester is not so easily forgotten...

"Jane Eyre" is one of those books that transcends the labels of genre. Charlotte Bronte spun a haunting gothic romance around her semi-autobiographical heroine and Byronic anti-hero, filling it with brilliant writing and solid plot. It has everything all the other gothic romances of the time had... but Bronte gave it depth and intensity without resorting to melodrama.

Bronte wrote in the usual stately prose of the time, but it has a sensual, lush quality, even in the dank early chapters at Lowood. At Thornfield, the book acquires an overhanging atmosphere of foreboding, until the clouds clear near the end. And she wove some tough questions into Jane's perspective -- that of a woman's independence and strength in a man's world, of extreme religion, and of the clash between morals and passion.

And Bronte also avoided any tinges of drippy sentimentality (Mrs. Reed dies still spewing venom) while injecting some hauntingly nightmarish moments ("She sucked the blood: she said she'd drain my heart"). She even manages to include some funny stuff, such as Rochester disguising himself as an old gypsy woman.

The story does slow down after the abortive wedding, when Jane flees Thornfield and briefly considers marrying a repressed clergyman who wants to go die preaching in India. It's rather boring to hear the self-consciously saintly St. John prattling about himself, instead of Rochester's barbed wit. But when Jane departs again, the plot speeds up into a nice, mellow little finale.

Bronte did a brilliant job of bringing her heroine to life -- as a defiant little girl who is condemned for being "passionate," as an independent young lady, and as a woman torn between love and principle. Jane's strong personality and wits overwhelm the basic fact that she's not unusually pretty. And Rochester is a brilliantly sexy Byronic anti-hero with a prickly, mercurial wit.

Of Charlotte Bronte's few novels, "Jane Eyre" is undoubtedly the most brilliant -- passionate, dark and hauntingly eerie. Definitely a must-read.

Written in 1847 by the woman writer Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre remains a classic of 19th century literature. This novel was one of the finest of its time and what made it all the more incredible was that it was written by a woman. Charlotte Bronte and her sisters, the Brontes, were British women who grew up in Yorkshire, the English countryside. To kill time when they were bored in the domestic and boarding-school ambiance, they wrote great works of literature. It's a must read for young women, but also for men and young males (preferably in the high school or college level) Jane Eyre is ultimately a literary novel and only a literary-minded intellectual can truly enjoy it for the masterpiece that it is. It ranks among the greatest works of English fiction, taking its place with the other male greats- Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Curl up, warm up some tea or coffee, put on some mood music and read this incredibly engaging book. In this edition, we get commentary and preface by noted scholars.

Jane Eyre has been scrutinized time and again. It is understood by many that the heroine Jane is Charlotte Bronte herself. It's partially autobiographical in some portions- Charlotte Bronte did grow up in lowly conditions and was in boarding school that was cold and freezing. Charlotte did love a married man who was older than her, though nothing came of it of course. Jane Eyre, a feisty, spirited young orphan, is taken away from her home where her wicked aunt and cousins mistreat her. She is taken to a boarding school for girls until she comes of age. She lands a job as a governess for the eccentric and mysterious Mr. Rochester, who is hardly ever at home and takes care of his daughter Adele, teaching her to read and write, etc. But the mystery surrounding Mr. Rochester's past becomes a present reality in Jane Eyre's own life. Furthermore, Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre fall in love. A novel that is inspired by Gothic fiction, it is strewn with Gothic, supernatural and suspenseful atmosphere and symbolism. The tree that is struck by lightning is a warning for Jane Eyre to leave Mr. Rochester's mansion, the strange cries in the attic later turn out to be Mr. Rochester's first wife, the crazed Bertha. A fire destroys the mansion and Mr. Rochester ends up diabled and blind. Bittersweet though the ending is, Jane Eyre and the blind Mr. Rochester marry and live happily, after much water under the bridge. This novel is a long read and should take up at least a whole summer, but it's very worth reading. It's a classic. Time and again, it will appear on the list of reading material for high school and college courses. And a bit of advice- dont' just read it to pass a class, get into the story. You will score even more points.

Beautiful book, very nicely bound and will make a lovely gift. It is a classic. and I don't really have anything else to say about it.

"Jane Eyre" is one of the world's best-loved classic novels for so many reasons.

It's an exciting piece of feminist literature written at a time when feminist literature was little known and even more poorly accepted.

That it is a semi-autobiographical novel written by a staunchly, independent female author who herself was struggling to survive by her own wits and means and stand on her own two feet makes the story all the more poignant and compelling.

While it is a prime example of Gothic romance peppered with the typical fixtures of a Gothic novel - the spectral Thornfield manor that seems to attain a life of its own; the allusions to mythological characters such as ghosts and vampires; the uncanny timing of such weather phenomenon as lightning or a chilling, drenching downpour to accompany major events in the novel - it also breaks new ground in that it avoids some of the typical conventions of Victorian literature.

And, finally, it is a piece of masterful story-telling built around larger than life characters that for over 150 years has enchanted readers of all ages and thrilled watchers of numerous television and movie adaptations.

For those few of you that have yet to read this wonderful novel, the story can be summarized quickly enough. A dying father extracts a death bed promise from his sister to raise his infant daughter, Jane Eyre. The sister, a spiteful and mean spirited woman grows to hate the obligation that Jane represents and soon sends her away to a boarding school. (Did anyone else have flashbacks to Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby when they were reading this portion of the novel?) In spite of the harsh mental and physical cruelty she endures at the hands of the school's administrator and its teachers, Jane survives to become a teacher at the school. Ultimately she leaves to seek her own way in the world and secures a position as governess in the household of Edward Fairfax Rochester.

At this point, most readers will correctly guess that Jane and Mr Rochester fall in love with each other but to tell more of the story would be to spoil the effect of this magnificent novel for first time readers.

Suffice it to say that Charlotte Brontė has woven an enthralling story into the exploration of a multiplicity of themes that will occupy students of the English language novel for decades to come - the interplay of self-respect, morality, conventional mores and religion; the effects of social standing and class discrimination; gender relations in a patriarchal staunchly male-dominated society; legal issues of the day that related to marriage, inheritance and ownership; contrasting extremes of religious zealotry as displayed by Brocklehurst's hypocritical Puritanism reflected against St John Rivers' obsessive but well-intentioned determination to spread Calvinist dogma as a missionary abroad.

While many of these issues have clearly been relegated to the history of the 19th century, it's also a fact that much of the controversy that Brontė has so eloquently built into her characters' lives persist as issues into our own 21st century. Little wonder that "Jane Eyre" has such enduring power in the world of English literature!

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

"Jane Eyre" is one of the world's best-loved classic novels for so many reasons.

It's an exciting piece of feminist literature written at a time when feminist literature was little known and even more poorly accepted.

That it is a semi-autobiographical novel written by a staunchly, independent female author who herself was struggling to survive by her own wits and means and stand on her own two feet makes the story all the more poignant and compelling.

While it is a prime example of Gothic romance peppered with the typical fixtures of a Gothic novel - the spectral Thornfield manor that seems to attain a life of its own; the allusions to mythological characters such as ghosts and vampires; the uncanny timing of such weather phenomenon as lightning or a chilling, drenching downpour to accompany major events in the novel - it also breaks new ground in that it avoids some of the typical conventions of Victorian literature.

And, finally, it is a piece of masterful story-telling built around larger than life characters that for over 150 years has enchanted readers of all ages and thrilled watchers of numerous television and movie adaptations.

For those few of you that have yet to read this wonderful novel, the story can be summarized quickly enough. A dying father extracts a death bed promise from his sister to raise his infant daughter, Jane Eyre. The sister, a spiteful and mean spirited woman grows to hate the obligation that Jane represents and soon sends her away to a boarding school. (Did anyone else have flashbacks to Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby when they were reading this portion of the novel?) In spite of the harsh mental and physical cruelty she endures at the hands of the school's administrator and its teachers, Jane survives to become a teacher at the school. Ultimately she leaves to seek her own way in the world and secures a position as governess in the household of Edward Fairfax Rochester.

At this point, most readers will correctly guess that Jane and Mr Rochester fall in love with each other but to tell more of the story would be to spoil the effect of this magnificent novel for first time readers.

Suffice it to say that Charlotte Brontė has woven an enthralling story into the exploration of a multiplicity of themes that will occupy students of the English language novel for decades to come - the interplay of self-respect, morality, conventional mores and religion; the effects of social standing and class discrimination; gender relations in a patriarchal staunchly male-dominated society; legal issues of the day that related to marriage, inheritance and ownership; contrasting extremes of religious zealotry as displayed by Brocklehurst's hypocritical Puritanism reflected against St John Rivers' obsessive but well-intentioned determination to spread Calvinist dogma as a missionary abroad.

While many of these issues have clearly been relegated to the history of the 19th century, it's also a fact that much of the controversy that Brontė has so eloquently built into her characters' lives persist as issues into our own 21st century. Little wonder that "Jane Eyre" has such enduring power in the world of English literature!

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' has pretty much everything going for it - beautiful settings, a passionate romance tempered by iron-clad morals, and a heroine whose poverty and lack of beauty only let her brains and courage shine brighter. And it's all wrapped in the misty, haunting atmosphere of a true gothic story - madwoman in the attic and all.

A timeless classic - I only wish she had written a sequel! Other books I'd recommend although very different are:

Godstone - The Kairos Boxes

Screwtape Letters

Please do not listen to the reviewer who said this book has no plot. It is a story of emotions, hardship, women's rights, madness, intense love and intrigue. There are many twists and turns - and lots of conflict and pain to come to terms with. It will make you laugh out loud and cry. Maybe the previous reviewer was too young to understand and was disappointed that Jane Eyre wasn't like the plot of 'The OC' or something... If you are looking for a mature and engrossing tale, this is the one. Charlotte Bronte was the most awesome writer and her style never fails to draw in the reader from the first page.

On October 16th, of 1847, "Jane Eyre: An Autobiography", edited by Currier Bell (pseudonym of Charlotte Brontė) was published. It created some controversy at the time, as many believed it was written by a man. The novel was very popular when published, but critical reaction to it varied. Today, it is clearly a classic, the development of a young woman, who does not fit into the stereotype of a nineteenth century woman. She is not submissive, and she struggles to avoid being dependent on others. The original publication was in three volumes, but this Penguin Classics edition is based on the third edition of Jane Eyre, and it is the last edition which Charlotte Brontė edited and corrected.

The story covers Jane's life from her childhood until her marriage. The childhood chapters can be split into two sections, those where Jane, an orphan, was being raised by her Uncle's family, but her uncle has passed away and her aunt does not like her, but was forced to promise to take care of her. The key parts of this section are Jane's being rejected by the closest thing she has to a family, her morality, and her independence, i.e. her refusal to conform. The second part of her childhood is when she is sent to attend a charity school, called Lowood, where the pupils have to make do with substandard food and clothing. Here Jane finds one teacher who treats her, and the other students, well, Miss Maria Temple. One of the key things in this section is the difference between religion and morality, symbolized by Mr. Brocklehurst a clergyman who is mostly responsible for the appalling conditions at Lowood, and Jane and Miss Temple on the side of morality. Also key is Jane's witnessing her friend, Helen Burns, dying from a typhus epidemic, in spite of her goodness and her submission to the standards imposed by Mr. Brocklehurst and Miss Scatcherd, a teacher as cruel as Miss Temple is kind.

The story then picks up many years later, with Jane in position as a teacher at Lowood, but looking to move on. She advertises for a position as a governess and is hired by Mrs. Fairfax. She is to take care of Adèle Varens, a girl who is being taken care of by Mr. Rochester, the master of Thornfield Manor where Mrs. Fairfax is the housekeeper. This section has a lot to do with class, as well as morality. There is the difficulty of Jane falling in love with someone of a different class. There is also the looking down on Jane as being of a lower class, by Mr. Rochester's peers. The morality questions are here to, in the comparison of the higher classes verses that of the lower class. Even Mr. Rochester's behavior is in question, in the events leading up to Jane leaving. Jane also finds out that she does have family left, and when it appears that she is to have everything, she sends a letter to her father's brother. It is this attempt to reconnect with family that causes her to lose nearly everything as it destroys what she thought she was about to have.

The next section details Jane's life after leaving Thornfield Manor. Here she loses almost everything, and is on death's door when she is on the doorstep of Moor House. The Rivers, St. John, Diana, and Mary. It is from this state of having nothing from which she recovers almost everything she could want. Here she recovers her health, she is employed again and regains much of her independence. St. John is in love with a woman, but he will not ask her because he is driven to devote his life to religion. He does find out Jane's true identity though, and this results in Jane learning she has family, and wealth that she didn't know she had. She is pressured by St. John to marry him and join him in his missionary life, but she knows that he doesn't love her. She rejects St. John, and instead goes to find her one love, Mr. Rochester. She now has wealth and family, and she learns that tragedies in Mr. Rochester's life have made what was once impossible possible.

It is a long and winding road which Jane travels in this novel. Probably best classified as a gothic romance, it deals with numerous issues and the strength of Jane's character serves as a good role model for young women, and for that matter anyone. The Penguin Classics edition is filled with supporting documentation as always. There is a wonderful introduction by Stevie Davies, along with a Chronology, suggestions for further reading, notes on the text, opinions of the press, and wonderful textual notes which enhance the reading experience and understanding of the reader.

This book is easily my most favourite piece of literature. I could not put the book down.

This book is one of my favorite books of all time. It is well thoughout and the story line is well developed through the whole book. It is such an interesting story you will never get bored of it. I would highly recommend everyone to read this book if you enjoy an interesting, serious, and creative book!