Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte

Publisher Marketing: Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Bronte. It was published on 16 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London, England, under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Primarily of the bildungsroman genre, Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its title character, including her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester, the Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall. In its internalisation of the action - the focus is on the gradual unfolding of Jane's moral and spiritual sensibility and all the events are coloured by a heightened intensity that was previously the domain of poetry - Jane Eyre revolutionised the art of fiction. Charlotte Bronte has been called the 'first historian of the private consciousness' and the literary ancestor of writers like Joyce and Proust. The novel contains elements of social criticism, with a strong sense of morality at its core, but is nonetheless a novel many consider ahead of its time given the individualistic character of Jane and the novel's exploration of classism, sexuality, religion, and proto-feminism. The novel Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative of the title character. The novel is set somewhere in the north of England, during the reign of George III (1760-1820), and goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but also suffers privations and oppression; her time as the governess of Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the Rivers family, during which her earnest but cold clergyman cousin, St John Rivers, proposes to her; and the finale with her reunion with, and marriage to, her beloved Rochester. During these sections the novel provides perspectives on a number of important social issues and ideas, many of which are critical of the status quo (see the Themes section below). Literary critic Jerome Beaty notes that the close first person perspective leaves the reader "too uncritically accepting of her worldview" and often leads reading and conversation about the novel towards supporting Jane, regardless of how irregular her ideas or perspectives. Charlotte Bronte (21 April 1816 - 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Bronte sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels have become classics of English literature. She published her best known novel, Jane Eyre, under the pen name Currer Bell. Review Citations: Kliatt 11/01/2005 pg. 44 (EAN 9789626343579, Compact Disc) - *Starred Review Ingram Paperback Advance 05/01/2005 pg. 63 (EAN 9781416500247, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2006 pg. 327 (EAN 9780679994312, Library Binding) Kliatt 01/01/2005 pg. 45 (EAN 9780563526414, Compact Disc) Booklist 02/01/2005 pg. 986 (EAN 9780563526414, Compact Disc) Booklist 07/01/2003 pg. 1850 (EAN 9781593080075, Mass Market Paperbound) Library Journal 04/01/1994 (EAN 9780886463519, Analog Audio Cassette) Booklist 01/01/1997 pg. 828 (EAN 9780791040638, Library Binding) School Library Journal 04/01/1997 pg. 143 (EAN 9780791040638, Library Binding) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 110 (EAN 9780679405825, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 728 (EAN 9780679405825, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 67 (EAN 9780679405825, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 889 (EAN 9780679405825, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 91 (EAN 9780679405825, Hardcover) School Library Journal 07/01/2010 pg. 82 (EAN 9781607546672, Library Binding) Contributor Bio:  Bronte, Charlotte The eldest of the three Bront? sisters, Charlotte is best known for her novel Jane Eyre, which was published under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Bront? s works were revolutionary for their time, reflecting a truthfulness about love and relationships that was not common in Victorian-era England. While Jane Eyre was, and continues to be, her most popular work, Charlotte Bront? published numerous works during her short life, including juvenilia, poetry, and the novels Shirley and Villette. Charlotte Bront? died in 1855, outliving both of her sisters, Anne and Emily. Collectively, the Bront? sisters novels are considered literary standards that continue to influence modern writers.