Jane Eyre
Orphaned Jane Eyre passes from the cruelty of her aunt's household to the austerity of Lowood charity school, then becomes governess at Thornfield Hall, where her employer is the brooding, sardonic Edward Rochester. Their attachment grows into a proposal, until a secret locked in the upper rooms of the manor shatters the engagement and sends Jane out alone with almost nothing. Charlotte Bronte's novel is at once a gothic romance, a first-person moral argument for female autonomy, and a founding text of the modern independent heroine.
Where Jane Eyre keeps showing up
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Books in conversation with Jane Eyre
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
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.
Yes. Jane Eyre is widely considered one of the foundational gothic-romantic novels in English literature. The relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester anticipates many later romance tropes, including the brooding hero and the morally complex love interest.
Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte, 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 Bronte, 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.
