It’s a Man’s Life, Ladies

A short story by Jane Gardam from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

In ‘It’s a Man’s Life, Ladies’, a young woman tells the story of her grandmother’s memories of married life.

Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader, I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte Brontë’s game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Reviews

Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:

‘Dazzling’ DAILY MAIL

‘The success of this book owes much to [Chevalier’s] enthusiasm … it’s quite amazing to see the quality of work on show’ EVENING STANDARD

‘A terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyre’ THE NEW STATESMAN

‘A clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for Brontë's many ardent fans’ KIRKUS REVIEWS

‘Exemplary…written by some of today's best female writers’ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

‘These pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and it’s a reminder that Charlotte Brontë, too, has many sides’ GLOBE AND MAIL

About the author

Jane Gardam is an acclaimed novelist who excels in the
short story form. She has twice been awarded the Whitbread/
Costa Prize for Best Novel of the Year and she also holds a
Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime’s contribution to
the enjoyment of literature. She was awarded an OBE in 2009.
Her most recent novel, Last Friends, was shortlisted for the
Folio Prize, and Jane is a recent recipient of the Charleston-
Chichester Award, the only award to recognise longstanding
creativity and achievement in the short story genre.