This book was written by an eight year old girl some time around the turn of the century. It is a story of courtship. The author had read many of the clasic novels on the subject. Combined with the experiences of a child, the result is a book filled with unintentional humour.

The result is that her characters are at once children and adults. When taken for a ride in a cariage, her heroin kneels on her trunk and looks out the window, bouncing up and down in her excitement. When Mr. Salteena, whose ambition it is to be a "real gentleman," is presented at court the Prince of Whales offers him ice cream. When he goes to visit London, Mr. Salteena sees nothing improper about sending the heroin to stay with the hero, unchaperoned. They fall in love and marry, much to the disapointment of Mr. Salteena who loves her too. He consoles himself by eating some of the wonderful deserts at their wedding supper.

This is one of the funniest books ever written.

When the book begins, you are taken into Jane's childhood, and given a sense of what it's like to have no love, and no hope of the future. You can actually see the pain on Jane's face. Then at Lowood, you learn with her, and grow with her. Finally, on the night she arrives at Thornfield Hall you are overcome with anticipation for Jane. What is this life going to be like? Then when Edward Rochester appears, you hate him. You can't believe that he talks to her that way. After a while though, things soften, and Miss Bronte introduces a new feeling. Love. The painting seems complete when Jane and Mr. Rochester confess their feelings, and you wonder, what could possibly be better than this? The ending,(which I won't give away)is absolutely breathtaking. I cried for a half an hour when I read it. It was at four in the morning mind you,(the book was so good I could not put it down.)

The characters in the novel are whole, they seem like real people. Charlotte Bronte uses her pen to paint a wonderful picture, one can not help but be engulfed in the color. The book has lasted almost 200 years, I see no reason why it could not last forever. If you ever want to read a classic love story that defines the power of women in literature, then Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is it. I'm 16 years old, and if a teenager can be moved to tears while reading, it must be quite a piece of literature. I walked away feeling like I had taken an amazing journey, and found a new friend in Jane Eyre.

I was assigned to read this book for an AP English class. Although I love to read, class-assigned books had a dubious history with me. Most, I felt, were boring or too pessimistic to find favor with me. I had heard many people talk about the book favorably after having read it in middle school. I put my hope in their past experiences and began to read. Although the first pages did not entirely confirm the praises the book had recieved, the book so far surrpassed my expectations that I finished the book in only a few days time! I would have read non-stop if it had been within my means to do so. When I did get the chance to read, I read as much as I could to the exclusion of food and family sometimes!

You may be wondering what about this book could make me such a fanatic. Well, I could give you deep literary criticism about the symbolism, the metaphors, or the imagery, but that doesn't really help you enjoy the story more, it only rounds out the meaning. Instead, let me tell you why you want to read this book.

This book combines passion and logic. An odd combination that don't often go together. Jane Eyre starts out in life full of passion and emotions, through torture and schooling, she learns to control her feelings and be ruled by logic. As she moves through life she struggles to find a balance between what her emotions tell her and what logic demands. Logic helps her through times when she feels abandoned and emotions guide her back to love when the tables are turned.
This book skillfully combines elements from nearly all genre and is sure to please anyone. It has action, romance, comedy, suspence, even the supernatural! This book is sure to put cracks in YOUR binding

I cannot express in words how this novel has touched my heart. The musical nor the movie will never ever return the stirring of emotion that I felt for Jane's character while reading it from the creative and romantic mind of Charlotte Brontë. I did cry when Jane witnessed the death of her very best friend, Helen Burns, in Lowood School. I felt bitter and angry when Mr. Rochester did not tell Jane about his first wife, but I also felt relieved when Jane and Mr. Rochester rekindled their love to face a new life together.

If there is one novel that will ever touch my heart, look at my life as a woman, and respect the heroics that women of past ages have undergone, this is the novel.

Jane Eyre: this will be a novel respected for ages to come.

Damn straight, sister! I gotta tell you, read this book in the *summer time*. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, read this in the gloom of winter, as I stupidly did.

The epic story of Catherine and Heathcliff plays out against the dramatic backdrop of the wild English moors, and presents an astonishing vision of fate and obsession, passion and REVENGE.

This classic book is a bummer. Not that it's bad writing, but my oh my.. it makes you so sad! Your heart just goes out for Heathcliff and the depression he faces. But also, the um... "inter-breeding" (*blush*) is quite disturbing!! One cousin marries one other cousin and they have kids who marry their other cousins, I was just surprised that the whole lot of them weren't, "messed up".

I really wouldn't recommend this book for happy people. If you want some romance and a historical novel, read "Gone with the Wind". My favorite.

I'm glad I overcame my aversion to read this excellent portrayal of eros defiled. Heathcliff is the focus, fulcrum and prime mover in this story. He is dragged of the streets and taken in by a wealthy gentleman from the provinces. This man showers great affection on the young street urchin and demands equal treatment from his two natural born children.

The eldest, a son, resents this upstart, so when the father dies, he relegates poor Heathcliff to the status of neglected servant. Catherine, the younger, has become a close friend of Heathcliff and follows him into the relatively untethered but savage life of the servants' children. Growing up unsupervised they develop the manners of the low born, and but develop a strong bond of love that transcends the facile distinctions of filial versus romantic.

Alas, when Catherine comes of age, the duties of her birth beckon and she is taken from Heathcliff and marries someone of higher station.

It is this love, never fulfilled, that sours in Heathcliff makes him a despicable tyrant.

This is the dark side of romance, and Romance as viewed from the man's vantage point.

Worth reading.

I did learn a few things from this book--for example, the history of horror in the theater was mostly new to me, and probably will be to many genre addicts. On the whole, though, the author simply knows less about his subject than most of his readers will.

The text follows a linear train of thought as it goes from the Graveyard Poets to more modern movies. As it progresses, the author continues to link how a particular book or film borrowed an element or two from a previous work. From this, all horror sounds formulaic and was stolen from some place else. This is misleading. Most works borrow from others. The thrill comes in mastering the elements or giving them a twist. I was disappointed that more was not said of H.P. Lovecraft, but that's just my wish.

After reading this book, I feel that the same came be done for most genres. Every genre has particular conventions and cliches that are used to get a specific response from the reader. Crypts create a sense of terror. A quest means growth or coming of age. A sandy beach at sunset means romance is brewing. This is what makes a genre a genre.

One of the benefits of the book is the bibliography. Any fan of horror, gothic or slasher, will learn of more books to read.

I would not recommend the book for casual reading. I would recommend it if you are a horror enthusiast looking for new authors.