The orphaned Jane Eyre has emerged a fiercely independent young woman. As governess at Thornfield Hall, she’s found her first real home—though it stands in the shadow of the estate’s master, Mr. Rochester, and its haunted halls ring with maniacal laughter. For even the grandest houses have secrets.
As much a story about defying convention as it is about coming-of-age, Jane Eyre remains one of the most beloved novels in the English language. Both Gothic and Victorian in its influence and scope, it captures one woman’s determination to live life on her own terms—choosing courage over fear, while finding power in love and compassion.
My Thoughts
I have been on vacation and in keeping with my growing collection of vintage books I attended a festival last night and purchased a 1943 hardbound copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
I often have conversations with others about the books they read and their responses to content vary.
One might wonder if Jane Eyre had been initially published under the name Charlotte
About the Author: The eldest of the famed Brontë sisters, Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was both a lauded novelist and a poet. Born in Yorkshire, England, Charlotte drew upon much of her own experience, both as a student at a reportedly harsh school and as a governess, to write Jane Eyre, her second novel. Like her sisters, Charlotte wrote under the nom de plume “Currer Bell,” publishing numerous pieces of poetry before delving into fiction. In the months after Jane Eyre was published, three of Charlotte’s remaining siblings died, and she was said to have channeled her grief into writing.
After rejecting three suitors, Charlotte eventually married, but both she and her unborn first child died only weeks before her thirty-ninth birthday. Charlotte left behind a literary legacy, including this classic novel that has influenced generations of readers.