In October we usually read some sort of classic horror, thriller, or suspense novel since it is around Halloween and the Fall season lends itself to those spooky feelings. This year we are slightly shifting from that to read a famous gothic novel that has all the spooky/creepy/autumn feels (if you think I’m joking…just wait). We are going to read Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte’s most beloved novel. I have read this one a few times and it is very dear to me.
This year I put out a few polls for you all to vote for a couple of books and this was the first one you all voted for (and if I remember correctly, Jane won in a landslide).
I read Jane Eyre fairly early in my reading life (which, if you know my literary history, wasn’t until I was an adult). For a long time it was one of my favorites and it still holds a place close to my heart. I remember walking around the streets of Chicago while largely pregnant with my eldest child reading this book. And for the record, I was not listening to the audiobook (or even reading on the kindle), I was literally walking and reading a small copy I still own. I must have been quite the sight to see (and thankfully I never got hit by a car). I have very fond memories of that summer. I read this right on the tails of Pride and Prejudice (August 2024) and it did take me a bit to get into it because Bronte has a much different feel than Austen. But once I got going I couldn’t put it down (obviously, see story above).
As long as you don’t go in expecting a Jane Austen novel (like naive 22 year old me), then I think you will come to love this book. Jane is inspiring, the plot is captivating, and there’s some good melancholy thrown in there to make sure we get all the foggy gothic vibes.
Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the beginning of the novel:
(Jane is a little girl and being interviewed by the (mean) headmaster of a school she is going to be sent to)
“No sight so sad as that of a naughty child,” he began, “especially a naughty little girl. Do you know where the wicked go after death?”
“They go to hell,” was my ready and orthodox answer.
“And what is hell? Can you tell me that?”
“A pit full of fire.”
“And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?”
“No, sir.”
“What must you do to avoid it?”
I deliberated a moment; my answer, when it did come, was objectionable: “I must keep in good health and not die.”
And I will leave you chuckling with that scene…
There is a Close Reads HQ podcast series on Jane Eyre with guest (who recently published an annotated copy of Jane Eyre as well). I will be sure to get those podcast links to you when we start the book.
I asked fellow Book Club member to tell us why she loves this book. Brittney is one of our longest running book club members and one of the most avid readers I know. She is quiet, but when you get her talking she has great insights. I knew if I got her writing she would have a lot of beauty to share. Here’s what she has to say about Jane Eyre:
The various ways we come to find those things in life that draw us deeper into the mystery of what it is to be created in the likeness of God lend themselves as little salvations on the path to our ultimate Salvation. Charlotte Bronte’s novel is, for me, one of these microcosms. I can recall very little of the circumstances in which I first encountered this book, but the light it shed on my perception of the eternal, colors my sight to this day. Jane Eyre, poor, obscure, plain and little, lives in my mind much as those stories and legends of the great saints that inspire and encourage us toward holiness. It is her spirit that addresses my spirit in her faithfulness to truth, her reverence of beauty, and her devotion to goodness. So, while Gothic novels, such as this one, are known for their elements of darkness, that which is found in this story is not one of an absence of light, but the sensation of darkness we have as our eyes are adjusting to the brilliance of a brighter light.
If you missed September (Part 2), here it is!
Stay tuned for November featuring new friend of the Substack (and hopefully newest book club member) and her lovely husband sharing about an author I am enraptured by, with a special guest appearance of …
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This might be the kick in the pants I need to finally reread Jane Eyre. Just FYI - you might want to amend the reference to Karen Swallow Prior's place of employment. She left Liberty several years ago and I believe, most recently was at Southeastern Seminary, although it's been about a year since she left.