Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Pages: 507

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead and 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.

Kritters Thoughts:  I am not a reader of classics, so when I found out that it was the 170th anniversary of the publication of Jane Eyre, I knew I wanted to do a week celebrating and I had to start where all these books were inspired from - the source material, so here it goes!

My usual pacing for reading books is a page per minute, meaning I can read 120 pages in two hours, that was not the case with this classic.  I read much slower and I think for a few reasons.  One, I knew that I was going to read books inspired by Jane Eyre after reading this one, so I wanted to really read this one closely so I could see the original in the back of my mind when reading the inspirations.  Also, the language used.  The language in this book wasn't completely archaic, but it was definitely older which made me read a little slower.  

But even though I read this one at a slower pace, I enjoyed it.  I saw some inside jokes that in the past went over my head and realized where they were coming from.  After reading this classic and spending a whole week with inspirational work, it makes me want to do this once a year.  So I am going to try to tackle another classic book next fall and maybe do a week of books inspired by again - this was fun!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 47 out of 50



I am doing a week of Jane Eyre fun to celebrate the 170 anniversary of the publication of this book.  I will be reviewing books each day this week that were inspired in some part or another by this book!