To Hold

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

In ‘To Hold’, a woman looks back on her life, which has been defined by three marriages.

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

Joanna Briscoe is the author of five novels, including the
bestselling Sleep with Me (Bloomsbury), published in eleven
countries and adapted as an ITV drama by Andrew Davies.
She has had several stories published in anthologies and
broadcast on Radio 4, has written for all the national newspapers, and worked as a columnist and literary critic for the Guardian. Her sixth novel, When Nobody’s Looking, will be
published by Bloomsbury UK and US in spring 2017. She
lives in London with her family. Joanna Briscoe first read
Jane Eyre while growing up on the moors in Devon, and her
favourite section is when Jane is at Lowood.