I having been eyeing that edition of Jane Eyre for a while. I think I have 3 copies of the book already, what's one more..

I having been eyeing that edition of Jane Eyre for a while. I think I have 3 copies of the book already, what's one more..

Ha! That's like me and editions of Dracula. (I haven't picked up the new edition that's illustrated by Jae Lee, because I wasn't *that* in love with the art. Of course, if a remaindered copy turns up at the local Half-Price Books, I may change my mind ...)

I love Jane Eyre.

My main problem with it is that it gave me the overwhelming urge to slap both Cathy and Heathcliff.

I don't know that characters like Cathy and Heathcliff improve with age and perspective

Ha! That's like me and editions of Dracula. (I haven't picked up the new edition that's illustrated by Jae Lee, because I wasn't *that* in love with the art. Of course, if a remaindered copy turns up at the local Half-Price Books, I may change my mind ...)

My worst is Middlemarch. Everytime I see a pretty, old edition, I have to have it. Plus, I have about 3 paperback copies.

Yay Jilli! I'm in the middle of re-re-re-reading Jane Eyre right now (illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg; sadly, none of his Eyre illustrations are Googleable), and loving it (first read it at 10, the age Jane is when it opens, and I still think of Jane as one of my oldest friends). In my current reading, Mr. Rochester has just been rescued from a suspicious fire in his bedroom. Can't wait for... well, everything that comes after. All of it.

It's very, very different from Wuthering Heights (Charlotte and Emily were, after all, rather different writers and different persons, or at least as different as two extremely close siblings in a self-contained family in an isolated region of a small country can be).

If you end up liking Jane Eyre, Jilli, read The Eyre Affair after that. Very fun book on its own, but it adds a lot to have read JE, or at least be familiar with it.

My "want to smack the lead character upside the head for being a dolt" book is Tess of the D'Ubervilles. I literally threw the book across my dorm room in disgust with her when I had to read it for my Victorian Lit class.

I admit, it was Dame Darcy's art that sold me on it. She's so deliciously loopy and over-the-top Gothic Victorian.

Dame Darcy was just in town reading at my friends' store where I work on the weekends. You might be interested one of these lovelies from her that they are selling at their new art toy store (and also online of course):

[link]

If you end up liking Jane Eyre, Jilli, read The Eyre Affair after that. Very fun book on its own, but it adds a lot to have read JE, or at least be familiar with it.

I agree that it definitely adds to have read JE, although I was disappointed by the book as a whole. There were some clever bits, but the writing bothered me. I may have wanted to scream when we got an entire chapter about events Thursday DID NOT WITNESS and every time Thursday told us what OTHER CHARACTERS WERE THINKING. If you're going to do first-person, Fforde, do first-person. Don't cheat. It also bugged me that the Eyre stuff didn't happen for, like, 200 pages.

I haven't read The Eyre Affair. Only Wide Sargasso Sea.

I always list Jane Eyre as my favorite book ever.

Also, JZ is me WRT

first read it at 10, the age Jane is when it opens, and I still think of Jane as one of my oldest friends.