Jane Eyre lives a terrible life with her spiteful aunt and bullying cousins. When she is sent away to a devout and strict school for orphans, it is actually slightly better than the place she had to call home. Jane does well, eventually even becoming a teacher to the other girls.

But she’s young and bored, looking for adventure, so she applies for a job in a grand house far away – Thornfield Hall. She becomes a governess to a little french girl, and is happy with her new position. Except – there is a strange laughter coming from a room upstairs. Maniacal even. The staff says its just Grace Poole who works there, so Jane tries to ignore it – until she can’t ignore it any longer.

In the meantime, she has met the surly, intriguing and unpredictable owner, Mr Rochester. He is refreshing for her mind, spending hours and hours talking with Jane on all manner of subjects. She is a match for his intellect and they enjoy each other’s company. If only he wasn’t betrothed to another…

Soon her life is tipped off its axis completely, also learning the truth of the crazed voice upstairs, which sends her fleeing from her dreams and Thornfield Hall.

As a fan of Jane Eyre, I was pleasantly surprised to see this much shortened version, which is especially for dyslexic readers (using a font and paper to make it accessible), tell the story so well. It is essentially a love story, set in the mid 1800’s and the author captures the essence of the pain, loneliness, angst, horror and joy, that Jane Eyre travels through. The beautiful language of the time also shines through without being too much for a struggling reader. A beautiful retelling of one of the most loved classics of all time.

Author – Charlotte Bronte (Retold by Tanya Landman)

Age – 12+

(Classic, Bronte sisters, Orphan, Orphanage, Love, Loss, Loyalty, School, Historical, 1800s, Romance, Bullies)