This month’s choice was the classic Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. The famous tale follows the life of Jane, an orphan. It tells of how she overcomes her harsh childhood to become a governess, before falling in love with her employer. However, all is not as it seems, and when she discovers his dark secret, she flees… No spoilers here, so to find out more details, you’ll have to read the book!
As many of us had seen film and TV adaptations of the novel, it was interesting finding out how much more there was to the book than in screen versions.
Everybody at the group enjoyed the book and the quality of the writing. One reader commented on how modern Charlotte Bronte’s writing seemed in comparison to Jane Austen’s (given that there’s only a 50 year gap between their novels). Others found the older style language slightly off-putting. We agreed that while the story was absorbing and easy to read, it had taken some of us a while to finish.
We found the character of Jane likeable, and she definitely develops over time from a bullied child to a strong willed woman. While some people have described the book as feminist novel, we didn’t entirely agree. However the way that Jane stood her ground, through many confrontations and struggles, was admirable and showed depth to her character.
We felt the book had strong themes of justice and morality – with characters such as John Reed (Jane’s bullying cousin) meeting a violent end, and even Edward Rochester (Jane’s employer and love interest) being blinded and losing a hand. Rochester did come across as a rather manipulative character who flirts with Blanche Ingram to make Jane jealous, and also tells her of his previous liaisons, when it should be remembered Jane is only 18. The unequal balance in the relationship between Jane and Rochester evens out by the end of the novel, although looking at it from a 21st century viewpoint, the 20+ year age gap between the two of them is a bit disturbing.
The Derbyshire landscape was central to the novel – Jane herself describing the “great moors behind and on each hand of me; there are waves of mountains far beyond that deep valley at my feet“. This led one of the group to locate a map of the places mentioned in the books (the Hathersage Village trail), as well as look into the inspiration for the less than salubrious Lowood School
We gave Jane Eyre 4.5 stars out of 5, and one reader commented that ‘a classic is a classic for a reason’ which summed up our group’s view.
Described as ‘The most life-affirming, joyful read of the year’ – (Sunday Times), and ‘Winningly heartfelt’ (The Guardian), this is Bob Mortimer’s autobiography.
You may know him from Shooting Stars, Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, Would I Lie to You, or Gone Fishing, but what of the man behind the screen? This book takes you from childhood misadventures, via a punk band and career as a solicitor, to the comedy icon we know today.
Want to find out how he got there? Copies are available to borrow from the Education Centre Library at SWFT. Why not pick up your copy and join our next meeting on Wednesday 17th September at 1pm?
Find out more about our reading groups here
Take a look at the blog posts for our previous reads here.
