I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will

– Jane Eyre, Volume 2, Chapter 23

This day, on October 16 in 1847, the quintessential Victorian novel “Jane Eyre” was published in London. It was originally published in 3 volumes – divided into chapters: 1 to 15; 16 to 27; and 28 to 38.

This work of Gothic literature written under the pseudonym “Currer Bell,” by Yorkshire/England-born novelist Charlotte Brontë (1816-55) is widely considered a classic that emphasise love and passion, love versus autonomy, religion, social class…

As for me, it is a love story between the reader in Me and Jane Eyre, a woman so poor and plain but with an indomitable spirit.

Of the various movie and TV adaptations of Jane Eyre, versions in our collection are:

Jane Eyre   (20^th Century Fox, 1944, Dir: Robert Stevenson) – Screenplay by Aldous Huxley-Robert Stevenson and John Houseman, Starring: Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles, Margaret O’Brien, etc.

Jane Eyre   (BBC TV Mini-Series, 10-12/1983, Dir: Julian Amyes) – Dramatised by Alexander Baron, Starring: Zelah Clarke, Timothy Dalton, Carol Gillies, etc.

Jane Eyre   (BBC One, 2006,      Dir: Susanna White) – Scripted by Sand Welch and Starring: Ruth Wilson, Toby Stephens, Lorraine Ashbourne, etc.

Jane Eyre (BBC Films, 2010, Dir: Cary Joji Fukunaga) – Scripted by Moira Buffini and  Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, etc.

Notes:              

1. Image 6 above: From Jane Eyre starring: Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.   
2. The Books and DVD/Blu-ray of the movies referred are available with amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and other leading dealers.
3. Book sleeves credit: amazon.com, amazon.in

(© Joseph Sébastine/Manningtree Archive)