Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage.
She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester.
However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors. Ultimately the grand passion of Jane and Rochester is called upon to survive cruel revelation, loss and reunion, only to be confronted with tragedy.
Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Canterbury Christ Church University College. J
Editorial Review(s)
''At the end we are steeped through and through with the genius, the vehemence, the indignation of Charlotte Bronte.'' --Virginia Woolf
About the Author
Charlotte Brontë, best known for her novel Jane Eyre, was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, the daughter of an Anglican clergyman. After the death of her mother, Charlotte was left with her sisters Anne and Emily and her brother Branwell to the care of their strictly religious Aunt Elisabeth. During a somewhat unhappy childhood the children created imaginary worlds as an escape from their everyday life. She attended the Clergy Daughter s School at Cowan Bridge but returned in the same year due to the harsh conditions, which she later suggested as the cause of her elder sisters deaths and her own melancholia. In 1839 Charlotte was governess with the Sidgwick family at Skipton, and in 1841 with the White family at Rawdon, however her attempts to earn a living as a governess were constantly hampered by her terrible shyness, her ignorance of children and her longing to be with her sisters. Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and achieved immediate success. She dedicated the book to W.M. Thackeray. It is the story of a penniless orphan who becomes a teacher, obtains a post as a governess, comes into an inheritance from an uncle and finally marries the Byronic hero, clearly reflecting an autobiographical influence. In 1854 Charlotte married her father s curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. She died during her pregnancy on March the 31st 1855. Over the past fifty years her reputation has risen greatly, and her work has been shown to speak up for oppressed women of all ages.
![“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s witty comedy of manners—one of the most popular novels of all time—that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. "Pride and Prejudice seems as vital as ever," writes Anna Quindlen in her introduction to this Modern Library edition. "It is a pure joy to read." Eudora Welty agrees: "The gaiety is unextinguished, the irony has kept its bite, the reasoning is still sweet, the sparkle undiminished. [It is] irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."
This volume is the companion to the BBC television series, a lavish production aired on the Arts and Entertainment Network.
Introduction by Anna Quindlen](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-ezptpblrxu/images/stencil/500x659/products/821/1377/PrideAndPrejudiceModernLibrary__09603.1659821004.jpg?c=2 "“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s witty comedy of manners—one of the most popular novels of all time—that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. \"Pride and Prejudice seems as vital as ever,\" writes Anna Quindlen in her introduction to this Modern Library edition. \"It is a pure joy to read.\" Eudora Welty agrees: \"The gaiety is unextinguished, the irony has kept its bite, the reasoning is still sweet, the sparkle undiminished. [It is] irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be.\"
This volume is the companion to the BBC television series, a lavish production aired on the Arts and Entertainment Network.
Introduction by Anna Quindlen")
