Jane Eyre
The novel is set somewhere in the north of England. Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but also suffers privations and oppression; her time as the governess of Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the Rivers family, during which her earnest but cold clergyman cousin, St John Rivers, proposes to her. Will she or will she not marry him?
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Jane Eyre
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
After a hard charity-school childhood, Jane Eyre takes a governess post at Thornfield Hall and quietly falls in love with its sharp-tongued master. The strange laughter from the third floor turns out to have a name.
Yes. Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 and is in the public domain. Free editions are available legally through Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, and similar archives.
Jane Eyre uses 19th-century English with longer sentences and detailed interior monologues, but the first-person voice is direct and engaging. Most readers find it more accessible than its reputation suggests, with strong narrative momentum.
Yes, many times. Notable adaptations include the 1944 Orson Welles film, the 1996 Franco Zeffirelli film, the 2006 BBC miniseries, and the 2011 Cary Fukunaga film starring Mia Wasikowska. Each takes a different approach to the gothic atmosphere.
Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Brontë, published in 1847 by Fab.
Jane Eyre is 480 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Jane Eyre takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.
Jane Eyre is a standalone novel by Charlotte Brontë, not part of a series.
Jane Eyre is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.