3.5 stars Jane was an orphan, raised by an aunt who really didn't want to raise her. At 10 years old, Jane was shipped off to a boarding school for orphans. At 18, after she'd been teaching at that school for a couple of years, Jane became a governess. The story continues to follow Jane through other events in her young life. It was good, though there were parts that dragged a bit for me and I found my mind wandering. I could have done without the religious stuff, but I enjoyed the turns that Jane's life took. Unfortunately, the book did feel long, and it took me a long time to read. In part, I can blame the holidays, but even the time I spent reading, it took longer to read a certain number of pages than it often does for me. However, overall, I enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it.

Read my review of Brontë's work on my blog at: http://8bookcases.blogspot.ca/2012/04/jane-eyre-by-charlotte-bront.html

Jane Eyre was born poor. When she was very young her parents died and her uncle, who was wealthy, had her come and live with his family. However her uncle died and Jane was not wanted in the household. Her cousins were not kindly towards her and she suffered abuse from her male cousin and aunt. Fairly soon she was sent off to a boarding school. The boarding school was austere but Jane loved to learn and 'turned out' fairly well. After finishing school she stayed to teach but soon grew bored and placed an ad for a position of governess. She found herself as a governess to Mr. Rochester's ward at Thornfield. But all is not as it seems, there is a very strange woman servant who works in the attic. A strange man appears one day and disappears with Mr. Rochester only to turn up injured. The doctor visits to patch him up and he then is spirited away. Jane grows steadily in love with Mr. Rochester. This novel was written in the 19th century when women were little more than a man's possession. Jane is a strong-willed feminine character. She is not afraid of going it alone and has strong principles. There were several situations where it would have been so much simpler to just give in. Even the male characters have something to learn, mostly humility. I had never read this book before and was enthralled. It is an ageless book full of strong characters, good and evil, romance and mystery.

Jane Eyre being classic it feels like if you don't like it you have no taste. For me I enjoyed it at certain points while at others it just felt like it was too long. (And it was a long book, my copy was over 600 pages.) The characterization in the novel is amazing and definitely the high point of the novel. Though the intrigue and mystery is also really good, too. Overall, I liked it but it just took me such a long time to read.

Classic. Although I'm not a fan of Mr.Rochester, i love the story.

So I I'm sure I will get the WHATS WRONG WITH YOU stares for this rating but I have to say that I really didn't like this book. The reason I wanted to read this is because I read Jane by April Lindner and I LOVED that book and I know that was a modern retelling of Jane Eyre so I thought I would love this book as well but all I got was a bored out of my wits mode. I really wanted to like this and by all the amazing reviews I had some high hopes but this book fell flat for me, sorry everyone I know this is a major classic and it seems everyone but me liked this book but I don't. I think one of the main problems was the fact this is a very old book and I don't do well with those but I wanted to give it a shot anyway and I'll try some others in the futur as well but this book was a miss for me. :0)

It's such a shame that most main characters in modern literature don't have the audacity, willpower or strength of character that Jane Eyre seems to have in surplus. A well-crafted novel with great magnitude and a fantastic voice, this book was what really got me into classic literature. If you think classic literature is boring - or if you're just reading these reviews to pass English class - I highly suggest you pick this book up ASAP. It will change your outlook on History and modern life.

Jane Eyre is a beautiful story, both tragic and bittersweet. The story is written in a sort of journal format. Jane Eyre basically is telling the reader her life story which includes the ravishing, and hauntingly Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester. The story is dark and beautiful, and with strange events occurring it makes you want to keep on reading.

Returning to a novel years later often brings about startling revelations, not only about the work in question, but our own evolution and perspectives. Returning to Charlotte Bronte’s much-loved Jane Eyre is no exception. This recent reading is my fourth or fifth (memory fails). I first read Jane Eyre as a young girl at boarding school (Havergal), and I remember being swept away in the comparative study of the Bronte sisters. Perhaps it was because the melodramatic romance appealed to a young girl’s impressionable (little say hormonal) ideals of love and relationships. I suppose that response was no different than today’s young girls swooning over the pages of the Twilight saga. However, at the age of 55, ears all dry, with a modicum of cynicism and experience clearing my vision, I found myself sorely disappointed with Jane Eyre. This comes as an enormous surprise to me. I adore 19th century writing for the most part. So why this time disenchanted with this epic love story? I suppose I found the religious undertone unpalatable. That Charlotte Bronte should have written with such evangelic fervour shouldn’t startle; she was the daughter of an Irish Anglican clergyman. And given much of the foundation of Jane Eyre is likely autobiographical (raised by a disinterested aunt, attended an indigent girl’s school), Charlotte Bronte likely clung to Christian tenants as solace and anchor. Then there was the question of author intrusion and lack of subtlety. Where Charlotte’s sister, Emily Bronte, demonstrates a more subtle hand in Wuthering Heights, and generally allows her characters to tell the story, Charlotte prefers an iron frying pan over the head, not just once, but continually so that she not only hits her readers with the obvious, but bludgeons them. In style of prose once again Charlotte resorts to a heavy hand, indulging in pontificating asides and convoluted phraseology, so that she uses the medium of her novel more as a vehicle to voice her own opinions and prejudices, than as a literary medium. Certainly that penchant for soapbox isn’t unique to Charlotte Bronte. Many writers of the 19th century (and even today) deliver warnings and spotlights on the state of society through their prose. There is a difference, however, between illuminating an aspect of society, and preaching. So, would I recommend you read Jane Eyre? Absolutely. Go now, purchase a copy, whether in print or digital format, and consume every word. Why? Because you should. Because in reading Jane Eyre you discover another element in the genesis of modern romantic writing, a lens on 19th century English life, and a fascinating discovery of the author herself.

I first read this book when I was in Grade 8 and have read this book a few times since then. One thing I like about the story is that while the story ends up in a fairy tale manner, the two main characters are anything but what we imagine our "fairy tale" characters to be like. Jane is a plain individual, who has a difficult past and who is trying to escape it by any way imaginable. Mr. Rochester isn't the dashing man who has money; he is moody and temperamental, with secrets of his own that he wants to desperately to hide at all costs. While I have read this book only a few times, the book still remains one of my favourites and would recommend it to anybody who loves to read and needs a good read for the summer or hasn't read a piece of classic Victorian literature. Highly recommended.