Jane Eyre in all of its original splendor has been brought to readable classics. The original version has been adapted only to update the language to make it easier for the modern reader of today to understand. This classic beloved tale of the orphan Jane Eyre will captivate you and keep you reading until the end. Jane Eyre, who is taken into custody by her uncle after her parents death, and ten years after his death sent away to school by her unloving, unkind aunt is everything the original manuscript is. Jane thrives and learns at school. She becomes a teacher and then a governess under her master Mr. Rochester and falls in love only to learn his shattering secret. Her life takes a turn and later reconnects to her past. She finds true happiness where she belongs.

I loved every minute of this book. Though I have read Jane Eyre multiple times before, I was able to see this novel in a new light, due to the let down of a language barrier. Our vocabulary does not consist of the formalities in 1847. We do not converse on the same level, more so we discuss more freely and openly today. The novel in its new form is everything Charlotte Bronte gave to her 1847 readers, but updated for ease in understanding for today’s reader.

This is a must read! I am a firm believer that you should read the original at some point in your life. However, if you have ever read Jane Eye or if you have had trouble understanding the original this readable classic will draw you in and keep you spell bound to the end.  I highly suggest this book to any reader.  It is a wonderful classic novel.   I look forward to reading and expanding my library to include other readable classics.

Reviewed on 05/15/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Tiffany Schlarman

The Readable Classic Jane Eyre was nothing less than a treat to read. Lightly editing the original manuscript so that it is an easier task for today’s reader, Wayne Josephson opens the door for a whole new generation of people to love this classic tale. Mr. Josephson has kept the story true to it’s roots while allowing a easier read for those who are not exactly comfortable with the normal Bronte style.

The classic gothic novel Jane Eyre, a biography of the title character, is a chronological tale of heartache, hardship and love that can bare all things.  A tale, full of sorrow and adversity follows Miss Eyre from an awkward and peculiar child, to an opinionated and strong young woman.  

The story begins when Jane is a small girl living with her aunt and cousins in Gateshead Hall. Orphaned as a baby, Jane has lived with her uncle’s family since infancy. Not long after Jane comes to live with them, her uncle dies, but not before making her aunt promise to keep Jane on as “one of her own.” Her Aunt the menacing Mrs. Reed, despises Jane and her different nature, as she allows her children to torment the girl. It is not long before a painful confrontation with her cousin John, forces a small Jane to defend herself and earning a night in the infamous “red room.”

After that night it is not long that Mrs. Reed sends Jane off to boarding school, the dark and dreary Lowood school for girls, where the girls are forced to live off meager rations of food and hearty helpings of bible study. It is there where Jane makes her first friend, and in doing so feels for the first time in her young life the joy of acceptance.

During her time at Lowood, she begins to grow from odd girl into a self-assured young woman. It is after being there for eight years, six as a student and two as a teacher, that she becomes restless and is ready to embark on her journey into the world. By placing an advertisement to procure a new position as a governess Jane is accepted into the grand estate of Thornfield. There she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester, and in doing so,  is swept away into one of the most famous love stories in literary history.

The Readable Classic Jane Eyre is a story that will captivate your romantic soul. The light editing of Wayne Josephson has allowed the reader to focus on the beautiful tale of one Miss Jane Eyre instead of being tripped up by the sometimes difficult original text.

Reviewed on 02/12/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Andrea Asay

“Jane Eyre” is a narrative of an orphan, raised by a controlling aunt. She becomes a governess, falls in love with a highly mysterious man, who ask for her hand only to have fate intervene. Full of mystery, love, loss, and self discovery. We see Jane come to life in this classic tale, as well as see her come into her own. A true heroine of the story, who has so much to overcome.

“Jane Eyre: Readable Classics” by Charlotte Bronte and Wayne Josephson, is the same story told with a more modern language. Although it still has the same context of the classic story of life, love, and loss, we have fondly come to love I feel that in some retrospect it lost the classic feel. Yes, it is a condensed version with Wayne Josephson leaving out bits and bobs of the story it indeed had the same skeleton although I felt it lack a little heart. Although many readers who struggle to understand the language of Charlotte Bronte’s time will be able to read and enjoy this novel. It would be the perfect book to start off a classic book collection.

Reviewed on 12/29/2009 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Angela Simmons