1001 Book Challenge - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The story of one of the most astonishing heroines––and her greatest love affair––of all time. The reader is first introduced to Jane when she is aged ten. An orphan, she is packed off to a charity school by her cruel aunt. In the atrocious conditions of the place we see her character emerge: intelligent but plain, respectful yet courageous. All these faculties are tested when she accepts a governess position at Thornfield Hall, where she first encounters her employer––the brooding, tragic, Edward Rochester. To divulge more of the plot would rob it of its twists and surprises. As Jane and Edward fall in love, largely through their playful––yet sensually charged––repartee, the reader is drawn into their world. We discover the Hall’s one secret, which destroys their happiness and when it does Jane must forge an independent life of her own, its end unknowable. The conclusion is a triumph of love over adversity. Until then, Bronte’s astonishing vocabularly and craft dazzle the reader. Jane Eyre, in this reviewer’s opinion, is one of the most perfectly realised novels ever created. jane eyre charlotte bronte