For me growing up, classic novels were those things that you had to read at school, were long and laborious and made very little sense.
I resisted reading them at any other time because I refused to believe that I would find one that made me feel any differently.
Then I found myself at a loose end and picked up Jane Eyre.
What happened next can only be described as a revelation.
I found myself hooked in this world - make believe but easily believable.
This character of Jane, the independent governess who survived life's trials alone but desperately seeking a family and security, appealed to me.
Her start in life at Gateshead scared me, and I cheered her on when she was finally able to leave, only for her to land at Lowood, another place that would bring her unhappiness before things changed.
Her decision to strike out on her own as a governess, travelling to a place and people she had never seen showed how far her character had come and the Gothic location of Thornfield was as thrilling for me as any horror film I'd ever seen.
I shouted at Jane when she decided to return to Gateshead to help care for her dying aunt, but saw that she was able to do so on her own terms and show them how she had grown to be stronger, that they had not defeated her.
Despite their belief that she was somehow worth less than them, she finds them all broken in various ways.
The happy ending is dangled before her by the author when she returns to Thornfield, only for it to be brutally taken away.
I struggled with Jane's decision to leave once again, but found that the growing theme of independence was something that really appealed to me and her timely inheritance from her uncle ensures once again that she is making her own decisions.
I like the idea that even in Jane's time, a woman could survive harsh conditions and come out stronger for it.
I was even a little bit sad when I finished the novel - even though this is one of the most complete stories I've ever read, it is definitely one that should have qualified for a sequel (only from the original author!) if only to keep fans like me happy.
The world of the TV adaptation then beckoned but I was less than happy with some of the films produced.
The depth of detail in the novel just cannot be translated onto screen in a 90 minute or even two hour piece.
What should the screenwriter lose? A very difficult question to answer! TV adaptations give more scope.
A mini-series offers more time so there is less of the original lost in translation.
However, it was 15 years before I would see an adaptation that I could be happy with.
2006's BBC version with Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson offered an only slightly abridged version of the story and locations that really captured the atmosphere created by Charlotte Brontë and I'm not alone in thinking this.
Fans from all over the world flock to take part in the Jane Eyre tour that includes many of these great locations as well as important locations in the life of the author.
A must for any Brontë fan.
I resisted reading them at any other time because I refused to believe that I would find one that made me feel any differently.
Then I found myself at a loose end and picked up Jane Eyre.
What happened next can only be described as a revelation.
I found myself hooked in this world - make believe but easily believable.
This character of Jane, the independent governess who survived life's trials alone but desperately seeking a family and security, appealed to me.
Her start in life at Gateshead scared me, and I cheered her on when she was finally able to leave, only for her to land at Lowood, another place that would bring her unhappiness before things changed.
Her decision to strike out on her own as a governess, travelling to a place and people she had never seen showed how far her character had come and the Gothic location of Thornfield was as thrilling for me as any horror film I'd ever seen.
I shouted at Jane when she decided to return to Gateshead to help care for her dying aunt, but saw that she was able to do so on her own terms and show them how she had grown to be stronger, that they had not defeated her.
Despite their belief that she was somehow worth less than them, she finds them all broken in various ways.
The happy ending is dangled before her by the author when she returns to Thornfield, only for it to be brutally taken away.
I struggled with Jane's decision to leave once again, but found that the growing theme of independence was something that really appealed to me and her timely inheritance from her uncle ensures once again that she is making her own decisions.
I like the idea that even in Jane's time, a woman could survive harsh conditions and come out stronger for it.
I was even a little bit sad when I finished the novel - even though this is one of the most complete stories I've ever read, it is definitely one that should have qualified for a sequel (only from the original author!) if only to keep fans like me happy.
The world of the TV adaptation then beckoned but I was less than happy with some of the films produced.
The depth of detail in the novel just cannot be translated onto screen in a 90 minute or even two hour piece.
What should the screenwriter lose? A very difficult question to answer! TV adaptations give more scope.
A mini-series offers more time so there is less of the original lost in translation.
However, it was 15 years before I would see an adaptation that I could be happy with.
2006's BBC version with Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson offered an only slightly abridged version of the story and locations that really captured the atmosphere created by Charlotte Brontë and I'm not alone in thinking this.
Fans from all over the world flock to take part in the Jane Eyre tour that includes many of these great locations as well as important locations in the life of the author.
A must for any Brontë fan.
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