Status
Available
Call number
Publication
W. W. Norton & Company (4th Edition)
Pages
544
Description
"Jane Eyre follows the titular character as she makes her way through Thornfield Hall as the governess and love interest of Mr. Rochester. The text reprinted in this new edition is that of the 1848 third edition text--the last text corrected by Charlotte Bronte. The text is accompanied by explanatory footnotes and an introduction that explores the influences of the novel and its journey to publication. "Contexts" includes excerpts from Charlotte's early writings and diaries from her time as a governess and beyond. There are many letters to Emily Bronte, Ellen Nussey, W. S. Williams, and Sonstantin Heger, all of which are supported by excerpts from Elizabeth Gaskell's autobiography of Charlotte Bronte. "Criticism" examines the many themes woven into the novel with work by Virginia Woolf, Sandra Gilbert, Susan Meyer, Carla Kaplan, and Kelly A. Marsh. A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included" --… (more)
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1847
Physical description
544 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
9780393264876
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User reviews
LibraryThing member keristars
The new Norton Critical Edition of _Jane Eyre_ is absolutely fantastic. The addition of contextual information just blew me away when I saw it. I have an old Tor copy of the novel that, while quite good, just doesn't compare to this. Among the contexts are letters from Charlotte during her time as
The story of Jane Eyre itself is quite good, I should add. It is, of course, a common assignment in school, but no wonder when it has so much weight in the 19th Century English-language canon, and so much impact on modern romance novels.
Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite novels, and I always find something new and intriguing in it. It is well-crafted and leaves nothing of importance out. (Not that one can say the same of the many movie adaptations...)
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a governess, records from her stay at school (much like Jane's!), and excerpts/descriptions of Bewick's Birds, which plays such an important part in the novel. What a wonderful copy of the book to have!The story of Jane Eyre itself is quite good, I should add. It is, of course, a common assignment in school, but no wonder when it has so much weight in the 19th Century English-language canon, and so much impact on modern romance novels.
Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite novels, and I always find something new and intriguing in it. It is well-crafted and leaves nothing of importance out. (Not that one can say the same of the many movie adaptations...)
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LibraryThing member drruth
With the exception of the religious self-punishment section, which seems more dated than the rest, the novel holds up well and the concerns about women's place in society remain relevant today. And of course the romance story is essential and powerful and effective, just as it always was.
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
Jane Eyre is one of my favorites, and the criticism here is enlightening and worth reading for the most part. As a critical edition, this one succeeds and draws you in even after the story at particular points.
LibraryThing member bromeliad_water
I can't emphasize this enough: Just jump in and give this book a try, even if it's only so that you might see who Jane Eyre actually is. I've read the book a number of times, and yet can never quite get my head around her! Homely and orphaned, but fiercely smart and fiercely independent, Jane is
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forever striving to better her situation and her self while maintaining her own self-respect according to her uncompromising morals. Jane is one of a kind -- a woman of great constitution in literature, who moves with stunning competence and level-headedness through the world, despite her losses and the oppressive rules of a society that does not favor her class or sex. Charlotte Brontë has REALLY created someone special here -- not to mention the gripping, tragic romance that makes the novel such a compelling read to begin with! Show Less
LibraryThing member StephJoan
So romantic I remember my heart beating whenever Mr. Rochester would show up.
LibraryThing member syntheticvox
An utterly touching novel that presents the emotionally deep and ideologically stalwart Jane Eyre to the reader over the course of years. This particular edition, with its introductory and supplemental material, is exceptional.
LibraryThing member Hebephrene
This was extraordinarily pleasurable. It was so utterly delightful that you were, as you had been when you were younger, subsumed in the story of the ugly ducklings that find each other. And that sounds needlessly reductive since it is a novel of great narrative skill. We are throughout privy to
However, since the book is given over to convincing us to rely upon Jane as our sober, self possessed narrator , the elision by which when offered marriage has her forget the events issuing from the third floor of Thornhall , was unacceptable. She can not be on the one hand the uncanny voice of penetrating analysis and a ditz who can't remember the attempt to kill her husband-to-be. It is too inconspicuous. Secondly the idea that she should while hundreds of miles away conveniently find her long lost kin was ridiculous. But I carp and this is 20/20 hindsight. Whereas when you are in it and Jane is rendering the world with her sturdy rationality while being so completely vulnerable, is just so satisfying and rich and splendid that I fear being peevish since I would gladly suffer amnesia to read this again.
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the penetrating clarity of Jane. She is the book and she is worth it almost every step of the way. One of the things that I loved about this edition was the revelation in the companion articles that Bronte was a trance writer. Her ability to imagine a scene by meditation allowed her to create a scene fully in her head. She was, almost, addicted to a fantasy world that provided the vividness and clarity of what she wrote. However, since the book is given over to convincing us to rely upon Jane as our sober, self possessed narrator , the elision by which when offered marriage has her forget the events issuing from the third floor of Thornhall , was unacceptable. She can not be on the one hand the uncanny voice of penetrating analysis and a ditz who can't remember the attempt to kill her husband-to-be. It is too inconspicuous. Secondly the idea that she should while hundreds of miles away conveniently find her long lost kin was ridiculous. But I carp and this is 20/20 hindsight. Whereas when you are in it and Jane is rendering the world with her sturdy rationality while being so completely vulnerable, is just so satisfying and rich and splendid that I fear being peevish since I would gladly suffer amnesia to read this again.
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LibraryThing member marsap
Published in 1847 and written by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative of the title character, a poor, intelligent, independent and strong-willed orphan. The novel, coming-of-age story, goes through distinct stages in Jane's life: Jane's childhood at Gateshead, where she is abused
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by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends; her time as the governess of Thornfield Manor, where she falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester; and her time with the Rivers family at Marsh End. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and Jane has become one of my favorite characters. The first person narratives serves the story well. 4 out of 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member libbromus
Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them. - Italo Calvino, Why Read the Classics?
This is my fourth time reading Jane Eyre. Although the story is known to me, I still find myself
This is my fourth time reading Jane Eyre. Although the story is known to me, I still find myself
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overwhelmed with emotions when reading this novel. At times anxious, at times laughing with delight, at times weeping softly. Jane is a very human superwoman. Her understanding, observations, fortitude, and wisdom are for the ages. For me, she is the ultimate heroine. Show Less
LibraryThing member selfcallednowhere
I've been wanting to read all of the Brontës' books this year because they've been on my mind after I wrote a short story about them, so I started with this one, one that I was assigned in freshman English and loved then but had forgotten quite a lot of in the 19 years since.
Well, on this re-read
Well, on this re-read
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I was happy to find that the book is every bit as marvelous as I remembered. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more on this reading, for two reasons. One of them is that my feminist identity is fully-formed now, whereas when I was 14 it was still in its nascent stage, so that let me be a lot more receptive to those elements of the book. And then the other reason is that this time I was reading the Norton Critical Edition, and I always love those so much! Show Less
Call number
FIC A3 Bro