Jane Eyre (Seasons Edition -- Summer) Hardcover – June 30, 2020

It has been years since I last read Jane Eyre; long enough to have forgotten some of the details. This reread was a joy and the narration is top notch.

The book that came in the mail is the kids version of what is in the picture.

Jane Eyre - An Education in the Art of Sublime ProseBy Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)Novels can be revered for their intriguing plots, their well-developed and believable characters, their themes/morals, their history lessons, or simply for the beauty of their prose (here defined as their choice of words, metaphors, similes, vocabulary and their sentence structure, which aggregate to enable the reader to experience scenes, thoughts, and emotions as only iconic wording allows). Truly great "prose", defined in the foregoing manner, is virtually non-extant in the world of 2014. Jane Eyre subsumes, cleanses and bathes us in it. When first written, it turned British society quite on its ear, and it continues to sell well to this day.While the plot and themes of Jane Eyre are only average and somewhat predictable, her prose, oh, her prose, is straight from paradise, so moving as to make it almost impossible to put the novel down. With rare exceptions, we can find such prose only in "the classics" and, even there, far from all classics offer truly great prose; greatness comes in many forms and beautiful wording is only one form of literary Elysium. Charlotte Bronte's vocabulary and imagery paint pictures and define feelings that no artist's brush could generate; and her ability to get inside the human mind and bring it into clear vision, via dialogue or the character's thoughts, inspires the reader's veneration. Her characters tend too far in one dimension, but we must forgive that as then thirtyish-Charlotte surely still suffered from a tad of idealism, which in no way diminished the stunning profundity of her characters' thought-processes. Realism predominates nonetheless, as Charlotte Bronte's short life mirrored large parts of those auto-biographically attributed to her similarly Plain Jane-student-governess-teacher, Jane Eyre. As with all great authors, we find them within their characters.Most authors, it has been often asserted, have one central theme which is recurrent in all their works. Having read only one work of Charlotte Bronte's, I cannot so conclude as to her. However, Jane Eyre offers such a central theme: heterosexual love that is based primarily on chemistry (physical appearance) will generally be short-lived, while such love based upon the mind and character of one's mate, and the mental similarities between mates, will last. Logic dictates this, but the hormones of youth consistently ignore this patent truths. Bronte also adds hope for those who are average in appearance ("Plain Jane's", such as the aptly-named Jane, who even becomes an "heir"/Eyre), who finds a Romeo-and-Juliet level of love with her Edward Rochester, and who is even the object of a marriage proposal from a handsome missionary, St. John Rivers, whose name echoes his virtue and positive flow (river) of his efficacy. Mercifully, for herself and her transfixed Reader, Jane makes the prudent choice. (Having found such constant love myself, I can confirm its existence, and, happily for the author, she putatively found it some seven years after she published Jane Eyre, although, sadly, this was only one year before she fell prey to a fatal strain of typhus and dehydration while pregnant, at the then tender age of 39.)Published in 1847 by a poet and authoress incredibly then only 32, Jane Eyre became an overnight sensation and remains a popular classic to this day. It was the first of Charlotte Bronte's several novels, before she died in 1855, at age 39. Writing in the era where novels by women were not acceptable, she wrote under several male-pennames. Initially, she self-published with her similarly savant sisters (Emily and Anne), one of whom, Emily, wrote the ever-popular "Wuthering Heights". Sadly, all three of the famous, polymathic Bronte sisters died in their thirties, as had their mother; yet their legacy is among the greatest in all Western literature.For readers who want to elevate their literary tastes to a new level, Jane Eyre is a perfect place to start. Treat yourself to it; read Jane Eyre; no, don't "read" it; savor it, slowly, and re-read many her arresting passages, lest you miss the latent profundity and subtle beauty and the powers of observation that emanate only from genius. If you do read it, and study and ferment its nuances with assiduity, your mind will soar and grow with Charlotte Bronte. While some found her to be a diminutive, plain, diffident and taciturn scholar in person, whoever she was, she had an abundance to teach us. I, for one, remain in her debt for many hours of intriguing reading filled with incredible insights which have enhanced my ability to see and enjoy the subtle facets of all that life has to offer. BookAWeekMan (leelovett.info)

Jane Eyre is a wonderful novel. I'm not much of a romance reader, so I can't say I enjoyed all of it, but much of this plot is not about romance at all, but a young girl's struggle to find her place in the world and be happy. It definitley kept me reading, and I admire Jane's determination to be strong and do what's right, even when she wants to do the opposite. And it has a happy ending. I love books that end happily. It has a lot of closure. All the main issues in the book are resolved, and beautifully.

Some spoilers are inevitable below, if you don't already know the basic plot.As part of a new series of Goodreads challenges, it was required of me to read Jane Eyre, and I wasn't too thrilled. I've started it before and never penetrated too far. But it was in exchange for the other person watching half of Firefly (it's a shared challenge - two of us read a book apiece in exchange for all the episodes), so ... I will do a great deal for Mal Reynolds, I said.I have a paperback, somewhere, but wound up reading it via literature.org for some reason - where, I should warn, there are a great many typos, and a startling use of all caps where I believe the original uses italics. It's odd to see Mr. Rochester exclaim in the manner of a web post.I was surprised at how very much I enjoyed this. The language has proven a barrier in the couple of times I've started it in the past - no patience for it, or something. But this time having to read it out of Browncoat devotion combined with the right mood and receptivity, and I clicked with it. The sense of humor of Jane and therefore of Charlotte Brontë was a wonderful surprise; there was a snark and sarcasm and a touch of simple silliness which for some reason I never suspected in either Brontë or book. My prejudgment of the book was purely as a girl's dark and Gothic "tale of woe", built with archaic language - and that is a big part of it, yes. (After all, Helen at fourteen is given lines like "she gives me my meed liberally" and "collecting all she says with assiduity", which simply leaves me wondering if children actually did speak this way in 1847, and my goodness has civilization degenerated if they did). But it's also fun, especially when Jane converses with Mr. Rochester."Am I hideous, Jane?""Very, sir: you always were, you know.""St. John dresses well. He is a handsome man: tall, fair, with blue eyes, and a Grecian profile."(Aside.) "Damn him!"--Jane as a child: Poor little precocious wretch. She's obviously much smarter and sharper and more thoughtful (in terms of giving thought to things more than solicitous; she is that, but not overwhelmingly so) than everyone around her - never an easy situation even for someone with a sweet disposition. Jane does not have a sweet disposition. This is undoubtedly due in part to how she's been treated all her life by the Reeds, but she fights fire with fire, no question. She's mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.And that's kind of a surprise. I haven't read so very much 19th century literature, but I have some familiarity with the stuff - and in my limited experience there weren't very many pre-Jane heroines like Jane. I'm thinking of course of Little Nell, the sweet and uncomplaining little orphan of The Old Curiosity Shop, who may or may not be the archetype, and also the much put-upon Fanny Price.Jane Eyre ain't no Little Nell. In fact what just struck me is that she is, in many ways, identical to the pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter. (Someone somewhere has to have done a study of orphans in young adult literature, a comprehensive list and investigation into why they're so prevalent. I can think of half a dozen immediately - Jane, Harry, Anne, Heidi, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield - and Pip. Seven. And then there are all the poor motherless ones, who are probably double in number.) Jane doesn't blow up her aunt, but she does attack her cousin. Her presence was resented, only tolerated out of duty to the dead, and she was ill-treated by everyone in the house to one degree or another, particularly by her male cousin. School came as a surprising solace - at least I was surprised, because again the impression I had formed was a terrible one, all Snape and no Gryffindor. And it actually wasn't. Even at its worst it was well-intentioned and there were positives; once it received reforming attention it improved drastically.It is in some ways so very much a product of its time, with its solid Christianity and its xenophobia ("a sound English education corrected in a great measure her French defects") - but Jane is a creature of the book's future. Mr. Rochester was incorrect: Jane was not a fairy. She was a time traveler. (Now I want to write that version. Never mind Jane Slayr, this is better.) She is independent, or wants very badly to be, and she is strong in ways women are not expected nor really desired to be in 1847. She has wings, and wants to spread them; the horizon line is too confining for her. And somehow it feels very modern that she is uncertain of her footing when people are kind to her, that she is in some ways more comfortable with rudeness, and can stand up for herself quite well in its face.At this remove, without a lot of research, I don't know if the Gothic themes in this book would have been something its contemporary audience would have been familiar with; my impression is that they would. The "madwoman in the attic" was apparently a time-worn plot device even then. In a way it was more fun reading it with a fair idea of the ending - even though I've never read it before I knew much of the plot. Even knowing the spoilers, it had some deliciously creepy moments, and Jane never succumbed to the usual behaviors of the swoon-prone Gothic heroine. She acquitted herself quite well.

5+ stars & 9/10 hearts. I LOVED this book. Wow. I did not expect to love it so much! I read it several times as a kid and was profoundly impacted by the setting and storyline. Rereading it as an adult, I was impacted by the themes, messages, and characters.Jane Eyre is often seen as a dark book. I, instead, found it very beautiful and hopeful. I loved Jane. She was so wise and strong and loving. Really, she became one of my favourite female characters ever. Her story is so sad and yet it is hopeful too. I would love to be a Jane—so willing to help, so eager to love, so strong in trial, so full of faith. The way she combats suicide and depression, grief and pain, pressure and cruelty to live the life she knows God wants for her, is wonderfully inspiring.Mr. Rochester was another character I loved. I related to his weakness and his desire to do good but his lack of willingness to try to be good. After all, he had a good heart. He could have done any number of things to the woman he was chained with and yet he did do her the best he could—as he thought. I loved seeing his redemption arc so much. And as a man, he was just a very entertaining, fascinating, interesting person….St. John I strongly disliked. What a hypocritical, supercilious Pharisee. He was a “good” man and yet he was not a good man. He was certain that he and he alone was right. He even tried to play God with Jane. If she had obeyed him, she would have killed herself (no use at all to the Lord) and have run right by her true calling. And he was cruel and harsh to her—while pretending to be as merciful and long-suffering as Christ Jesus. I couldn’t stand St. John. Yet his sisters were lovely!The plot was fascinating. Twisty and unexpected all the way to the end, and so varied—from the luxurious but abusive Reed home to Lowood, first cold and cruel, then warm and nurturing; from Thornfield Hall, so dark and gloomy, haunted by a sinister secret, yet blossoming with love and happiness; to the moors, stern and beautiful, and the little village, simple and hearty… and then, the ending place—damp, lonely, and full of human joy. The messages are wonderful—so many reminders about the seriousness of marriage; about not putting up idols in your heart instead of God; about being yourself but in a holy, temperate way; about true charity, about the foolishness of ranks and caste; about the meaning of true love… While there is sadness and ugliness presented in this book, and Brontë does not shy away from portraying sin (see content list below), everything was well handled and was only used to make redemption and Light stand out. The writing style is simply brilliant and the humour excellent; the other characters are all so alive and varied and interesting; the setting is fascinating and so well detailed… it’s a simply beautiful book with a really beautiful message.Content: drinking; smoking; kissing, touching, hugging, between Jane & Mr. R. before engagement; Mr. R. had many mistresses & an illegitimate child; he tries to get Jane to live with him without being married; attempted bigamy; some language; some theology I don’t necessarily agree with. Recommended age: 18+A Favourite Quote: “I hold another creed … in which I delight, and to which I cling: for it extends hope to all: it makes Eternity a rest—a mighty home, not a terror and an abyss. Besides, with this creed, I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last: with this creed revenge never worries my heart, degradation never too deeply disgusts me, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end.”A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “I saw the fascination of the locality. I felt the consecration of its loneliness: my eye feasted on the outline of swell and sweep—on the wild colouring communicated to ridge and dell by moss, by heath-bell, by flower-sprinkled turf, by brilliant bracken, and mellow granite crag. These details were just to me what they were to them—so many pure and sweet sources of pleasure. The strong blast and the soft breeze; the rough and the halcyon day; the hours of sunrise and sunset; the moonlight and the clouded night, developed for me, in these regions, the same attraction as for them—wound round my faculties the same spell that entranced theirs.”A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘What age were you when you went to Lowood?’“‘About ten.’“‘And you stayed there eight years: you are now, then, eighteen?’“I assented.“‘Arithmetic, you see, is useful; without its aid, I should hardly have been able to guess your age.’”

Must read book, cannot ommit this wonderful classic novel full of human feelings and emotions and the presence of an omnipotent power which we call God.

Book came in very good condition, as described! Thank you.

Les lecteurs du roman de Charlotte Brontë (...) prendront un plaisir de connaisseur au spectacle d'un récit habilement condensé, j'adore...Des petits airs de "mélo horrifique", auxquels se succèdent tour à tour un réalisme social et une poésie picturale digne de la beauté plastique.Les Hauts de Hurlevent" souffle sur cette histoire d'amour tragique marquée par une tristesse et une mélancolie poignantes, et qui évite tous les écueils du mélodrame costumé par la grâce d'une mise en scène stupéfiante d'élégance et de lyrisme, a lire ou a revoir sans modération, je vous le recommande

I love this series in comfortable and decorative flexibound! The quality of the paper and the font is just right for me, too. Very happy with my purchase!