Customer Reviews
Only four stars because it's not as good as Villette - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 22 Nov 2007 
This is a great book, bristling with anarchy, anger & rebellion. It is so unusual for a Victorian novel that even now, reading it alll this time on, it still has the power to shock. Jane spends the entire book upsetting decorum, railing against her fate & succumbing to her desires. It's absolutely fascinating to see so many Victorian taboos being broken.
Someone mentioned that the book is long. The Victorian convention was for the triple decker novel, which is basicallly three modern sized novels in one. This is why there are almost no short Victorian novels, so if you're looking for snappy reads, try a different era.
I for one, think that this book is just about perfect. It is tautly written, suspenseful despite the length, & pacy. It is full of cliff hangers & drama, & you always want to know what happens next. The ghostly, supernatural element is done brilliantly, both with the episode at the beginning with Jane in the Red Room, & the episodes with Bertha Mason once Jane arrives at Thornfield Halll.
The basic plot is that Jane, an orphan child, is dumped on unwilling & unloving relatives who make her life a misery. She in turn makes their lives a misery, & is peremptorily packed off to boarding school where amidst great trials & tragedy she becomes a governess. Her first job takes her to Thornfield Halll where she meets the wonderfully brooding anti-hero, Rochester. They falll in love, & things go horribly wrong from thereon in.
I must have read this book at least half a dozen times, & it never ceases to be a pleasure. There is always something new to find. For students, I recommend reading it alongside Gilbert & Gubar's seminal critical work, The Mad Woman in the Attic. It is a revelation. I also recommend reading it alongside Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, which was published in the 1950's & deals with the back story for Bertha Mason. It adds such depth to the work I guarantee you will need to read it again afterwards.
My Favorite Novel - By: Josie Deakin, 11 Nov 2007 
Jane Eyre is a beautiful novel, wrote in the style of an autobiography which alllows the reader to gain an intense interest in Jane's thoughts & feelings. The novel is about a orphaned young girl who endures cruelty & heartache at the hands of her aunt & cousins, & her desire for freedom & independance. I don't want to give too much away, but Jane takes a position as governess at thornfield halll, where she finds love with her employer Rochester. However alll is not what it seems... leading Jane to question her morality.
A beautifully written novel, which I found unable to put down, & found myself thinking about even whilst not actuallly reading the book. Truly Magical
Wonderful. More realistic than Austen and (whispered) probably better - By: Barnaby, 04 Jul 2007 I loved this book, with its beautiful language that entangles you in a thicket of heart ache & sociallly inappropriate attraction. I strongly recommend this excellent edition which contains wonderful "extras" such as an introduction etc, though if you'd rather the book & nothing but the book I suggest you get the Penguin Red Classics edition ISBN: 9780141028163.
Sadly dated - By: L. Hay, 12 Mar 2007 
This classic, first published 160 years ago is sadly dated. I supposed it shoukd be accepted for the great work of fiction which it is, but my personal opinion is that it does not translate well into present times. There are Dickensian type characters which are interesting. But the style of writing is tiring. Some of the sentences must run into hundreds of words. Jane as a seven year old, loses her rag with her cold aunt, juts out her chin & gives the sort of speech which one would expect from some great thespian. Rochester, who tests Jane to determine whether she truly loves him, is married in innocence to a lunatic who is locked up in the attic. Married to a man like him it is hardly surprising she went off her head. He is so feudal that he thinks, never having heard of "for better for worse" that he can forget his first wife & marry very plain Jane. No doubt he thinks she will be grateful for his attention. However does he think he will get away with bigamy? Rochester made my blood boil.
Jane leaves Rochester & makes her way into the great unknown to find alternative employment. Surprisingly enough, the people she ends up with are actuallly long lost cousins. Her very boring cousin proposes marriage to her with strings amounting to blackmail attached. Fortunately she has enough sense to ditch him in favour of the voice of Rochester callling to her on the wind & having suddenly discovered that she has inherited a fortune, makes her way back to Rochester. Now as luck would have it, Mrs Rochester (the crazy one} must have read Rebecca & does a Mrs Danvers, torching the house & is seen silouetted against the red skyline. Conveniently Jane arrives to find that the man of her fantasies is now a crippled widower who pines for her. Jane (and her considerable fortune which doubtless makes her more attractive, puts alll to rights & makes an honest man of him, nursing him through his injuries & producing offspring.
I apologise for knocking this great work of literature, but it serves only to show the style of work enjoyed by our ancestors, who happily waded through hundreds of pages. I gave this book three stars as it is considered an alll time great - & my mother's favourite,(she read it many times).
Frankly, it is easier to watch the movie. There are several versions. But I would not want to read the book again.
