Staff Pick
An uncompromising prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Rhys explores madness and betrayal, class and culture, all told from the perspective of Brontë's mysterious "Madwoman in the Attic."
Lovers of Brontë's work will enjoy a new look into her most famous story; however, Wide Sargasso Sea works as a stand-alone novel, so don't worry if you've never read Jane Eyre. Recommended By Nickolas J., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Textual notes illuminate the novel's historical background, regional references, and the non-translated Creole and French phrases necessary to fully understand this powerful story. Backgrounds includes a wealth of material on the novel's long evolution, it connections to , and Rhys's biographical impressions of growing up in Dominica. Criticism introduces readers to the critical debates inspired by the novel with a Derek Walcott poem and eleven essays.
Synopsis
Written over the course of twenty-one years and published in 1966, , based on Charlotte Brontë's , takes place in Jamaica and Dominica in 1839-45.
About the Author
Jean Rhys (1890-1979) is the author of Good Morning, Midnight; Voyage in the Dark; After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie; Quartet; and The Collected Short Stories.Judith L. Raiskin is Associate Professor and Director of Women's Studies at the University of Oregon. She is the author of Snow on the Cane Fields: Women's Writing and Creole Subjectivity.