Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! Throughout the hardships of
her childhood - spent with a severe aunt and abusive cousin, and later at the
austere Lowood charity school - Jane Eyre clings to a sense of self-worth,
despite of her treatment from those close to her. At the age of eighteen, sick
of her narrow existence, she seeks work as a governess. The monotony of Jane's
new life at Thornfield Hall is broken up by the arrival of her peculiar and
changeful employer, Mr Rochester. Routine at the mansion is further disrupted by
mysterious incidents that draw the pair closer together but which, once
explained, threaten Jane's happiness and integrity. A flagship of Victorian
fiction, Jane Eyre draws the reader in by the vigour of Jane's voice and the
novel's forceful depiction of childhood injustice, of the restraints placed upon
women, and the complexities of both faith and passion. The emotional charge of
Jane's story is as strong today as it was more than 150 years ago, as she seeks
dignity and freedom on her own terms. In this new edition, Juliette Atkinson
explores the power of narrative voice and looks at the striking physicality of
the novel, which is both shocking and romantic.