Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre - Hardcover

Ross, Stewart; Van Nutt, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670874868 ISBN 13: 9780670874866

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1997

Synopsis

Through an exploration of the characters in the classic novel Jane Eyre, the real-life story of its author, Charlotte Bronte+a5, is presented to young readers, enhanced by full-color illustrations.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?Attractively designed and featuring full-page, colorful illustrations, this is a well-written biography. The audience for it, however, is a bit unclear. Although Ross claims that the book is for those who have read Jane Eyre and want to know more about its author, as well as for those who had found the classic intimidating and might be inspired to try again, it's unlikely that those readers would find a picture-book format (albeit an elegant one) satisfying. Nevertheless, those who are familiar with the movie or have an interest in literature, writers, or women's biographies will find the book worthwhile. It traces Charlotte's early life, her intense relationship with her siblings, her brief but brilliant writing career, and the tragic early deaths of all of the Bronte children. A chronology and further reading list is supplied, as is background information about the era. There is no index. A full chapter is devoted to a description of Jane Eyre, and an afterword traces the history of the novel. The stylized illustrations add a period flavor. This book is more informative than Catherine Brighton's The Brontes (Chronicle, 1994), and more focused on Charlotte than Paula Guzzetti's A Family Called Bronte (Dillon, 1994), which is for slightly older readers. Michael Bedard's picture book, Glass Town (Atheneum, 1997), has a broader focus. Ross's book is a useful purchase for most collections.?Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Ross (Shakespeare and Macbeth, 1994) takes a look at Charlotte Bront‰'s life and how it influenced the writing of Jane Eyre, hoping to inspire readers to tackle that novel. Lovely full-color and black-and-white illustrations bring readers powerful images of both Charlotte's and Jane's lives, which contained many similar themes, e.g., Jane Eyre's cruel experiences at Lowood School reflect Charlotte's unhappiness at the Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School. In addition to the parallels between Charlotte and her fictional creation, Ross focuses on how the writer developed her craft: She read widely, indulged in ``scriblomania,'' wrote make-believe fantasies lifting herself ``out of the small world of Haworth,'' and studied with Monsieur Constantin Heger in Brussels. Ross also discusses Jane Eyre, and why it was unique when it was published (it was neither Gothic horror nor a tale of domestic manners). The insert in which that is disclosed and other inserts--on fatal diseases, Victorian England, etc.--are interesting, but also interfere with the flow of the story. Still, this is a creative approach to biography, certain to encourage readers to take longer looks at Charlotte Bront‰'s novels and her life. (chronology, further reading) (Nonfiction. 8-11) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0670874868
• ISBN 13: 9780670874866
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 46