Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Well! Jane was quite a read. I begin with a confession: it was my school set text in Year 8 and I read no further than Chapter 8, all year, and answered the entire exam on other people's revision notes only.

Do I recommend this as a course of action? No.

Do I see why I stopped reading at Chapter 8 back in 1998? YES.

Oh my goodness how bleak is the beginning? More orphans (is Roald Dahl obsessed with orphan stories? Or were there only ever orphan stories published? What is the deal with all the orphans?), really badly treated. Then the most horrendously deprived school. Chapter 8 sees Jane punished unfairly and left standing on a chair on top of a desk all day, with no meals, even after everyone else has gone to bed. I can see exactly why I did not have any inclination to carry on reading.

Anyway, now I've finished it and what did I think? A wild ride, with completely crackers characters! Mr Rochester suddenly posing as a fortune teller? What is going on, Charlotte? And then Jane runs away and lives in a cave for a few days? Then gets conveniently taken in by the very people who can give her an inheritance...? (Dickens also obsessed with surprise/hidden inheritances - Roald, you have a theme on this reading list.) AND THEN goes back to Rochester who is like oh but I've been horribly harmed in a fire and ONLY THEN is Jane like ooh cool just what I've always wanted, I'll marry you.

Very odd all round. And quite a lot of chat about Paris opera mistresses. Jane is superbly stubborn, however, and willing to take zero nonsense. Quite liked that.

Overall: Would I recommend this to Matilda today? No, but I reckon Year 7/8 could handle it (I guess my teachers were right) on a language level. And by age 11 you're ok to discuss all the mistresses etc. There's violence and psychological warfare but not really any other worrying content for a child reader.

Would I recommend a TV adaptation or abridged version? Sure!

So, on to my next read, which I have never heard of: Gone to Earth by Mary Webb. I am JUST GUESSING it has an orphan in it. Maybe a surprise inheritance. Also I think I need to speed up. Matilda read this entire list in six months and I've only read four books January to April... Chop chop!