Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: Abridged for Young Readers by Patrice Lawrence

It’s been a long time since I first read Jane Eyre. This version from Walker Classics took me right back to when I read the original (about age 15). Jane is a compelling heroine. She proves herself to be an intelligent young woman with so much to offer yet the world rejects her. Readers can only want the best for her – for her to find a home, family, friendship, love and, ultimately, hope for a brighter future.

I was completely engrossed in this captivating story. Patrice Lawrence’s engaging style makes for an accessible abridged version that will help readers get to grips with the plot, imagery and challenging themes of Victorian Britain. They are introduced to ideas of social class, the supernatural, morality and social critcism in a manner that will really leave them thinking.

Revisiting Jane Eyre prompted me to reflect on our visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Anne, Charlotte and Emily lived through their stories. They understood loss and hardship, what it meant to live away from home to go to school and to work as a governess and how difficult it could be to navigate a world where women were second class citizens – a world where men made all the rules and controlled every decision.

I’m struck by the fact that they never realised the longevity of their writing, the impact they would have on generations or how they paved the way for women to really make a difference. They were the true heroines of their own stories.