Synopses & Reviews
Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.
With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte's innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.
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Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
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Synopsis
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of the most loved English Classics of all time. Mystery, hardship - and love. Jane comes from nothing but she desires everything life can offer her. And when she finds work as a governess in a mysterious mansion, it seems she has finally met her match with the darkly fascinating Mr Rochester. But Thornfield Hall contains a shameful secret - one that could keep Jane and Rochester apart forever. Can she choose between what is right, and her one chance of happiness? ***One of the most widely-read and enjoyed of all Victorian novels, and one of the greatest tales of a woman's struggle for dignity and love in a hard time*** Charlotte Bronte (1816-55) is the sister of Anne Bronte and Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights. Jane Eyre appeared in 1847 and was followed by Shirley (1848) and Vilette (1853). In 1854 Charlotte Bronte married her father's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. She died during her pregnancy on March 31, 1855 in Haworth, Yorkshire.
Synopsis
Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte's most enduring masterpiece, the unforgettable tale of an orphan girl's ardent search for a wider and richer life. Originally published in 1847, it was an immediate popular success, but it also caused a storm of controversy. Bronte's firm insistence on the equality of the sexes and her prescient creation of one of literature's most independent heroines shocked many of her contemporaries. This surprisingly modern sensibility, combined with Bronte's magical use of language and her incandescent storytelling, makes the novel particularly rewarding and accessible today. Set in England's lonely moors and peopled with such memorable characters as the brooding Mr. Rochester, passionate yet melancholy, and the keeper of a terrible secret; the hypocritical Mr. Brocklehurst, a dour "black marble clergyman"; Helen Burns, Jane's beloved but doomed young friend; Bertha, the famous madwoman in the attic; and of course, its incomparable heroine, Jane Eyre has rightfully taken its place among our greatest literary works.
About the Author
Charlotte Bronte lived from 1816 to 1855. In 1824 she was sent away to school with her four sisters and they were treated so badly that their father brought them home to Haworth in Yorkshire. The elder two sisters died within a few days and Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne were brought up in the isolated village. They were often lonely and loved to walk on the moors. They were all great readers and soon began to write small pieces of verse and stories.
Once Charlotte’s informal education was over she began to work as a governess and teacher in Yorkshire and Belgium so that she could add to the low family income and help to pay for her brother Branwell’s art education. Charlotte was a rather nervous young woman and didn’t like to be away from home for too long. The sisters began to write more seriously and published poetry in 1846 under male pen names – there was a lot of prejudice against women writers. The book was not a success and the sisters all moved on to write novels. Charlotte’s best-known book, Jane Eyre, appeared in 1847 and was soon seen as a work of genius. Charlotte really knew how to make characters and situations come alive.
Charlotte’s life was full of tragedy, never more so than when her brother Branwell and sisters Emily and Anne died within a few months in 1848/49. She married her father’s curate in 1854 but died in 1855, before her fortieth birthday.