Jane Eyre

First published in 1847, Jane Eyre was the most popular of the novels composed by the Brontë sisters. The narrative bristles with energy and passionate conviction, and was the first English-language novel written from the perspective of a child.

Jane is an orphan, raised in the household of an unsympathetic aunt, who shows great favor to her own children—but not to Jane. Jane is soon sent to a boarding school, presided over by the harsh and tyrannical Mr. Brocklehurst. She completes her education and works for two years as a teacher before applying to be governess at Thornfield Hall, a rural mansion in Yorkshire.

There, Jane and the master, Edward Rochester, fall in love. A wedding is planned. But the ceremony is interrupted by a claim that Rochester is already married … 

Jane flees over the moor. She spends the little money she has saved, and finds herself homeless and starving in an unfamiliar town. Jane is taken in by the Rivers, who nurse her back to health, and an alternative future begins to unfold. But the voice of Rochester continues calling to her …