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Becoming Jane Eyre Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,006 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A beautifully imagined tale of the Brontë sisters and the writing of Jane Eyre. The year is 1846. In a cold parsonage on the gloomy Yorkshire moors, a family seems cursed with disaster. A mother and two children dead. A father sick, without fortune, and hardened by the loss of his two most beloved family members. A son destroyed by alcohol and opiates. And three strong, intelligent young women, reduced to poverty and spinsterhood, with nothing to save them from their fate. Nothing, that is, except their remarkable literary talent. So unfolds the story of the Brontë sisters. At its center are Charlotte and the writing of Jane Eyre. Delicately unraveling the connections between one of fiction’s most indelible heroines and the remarkable woman who created her, Sheila Kohler’s Becoming Jane Eyre will appeal to fans of historical fiction and, of course, the millions of readers who adore Jane Eyre.
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"I enjoyed Ms. Kohler's style of writing very much. The story may not be an accurate (fictionalized) account of Ms. Bronte's life, but was an interesting perspective on the writing of Jane Eyre."
— Judy (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Well-written. Kohler gives us a more multidimensional, passionate and temperamental Charlotte than most biographies…connecting the writer with her heroine is intriguing. This novel will likely send fans back to the originals and should inspire those who know ‘of’ the novels to finally read them.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Kohler offers an imaginative recreation of the woman who created this once-scandalous, now beloved classic. Sensitive, intelligent, and engaging… A beautiful complement to Brontë’s masterpiece.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Sheila Kohler moves with assured ease between fiction and biography, between the inner life of Charlotte Brontë as she composes Jane Eyre and the comedy of professional rivalry among the three Brontë sisters.”
— J.M. Coetzee, author of Disgrace and Summertime -
“Bravo! I couldn’t put it down and finished it in the depths of the night.”
— Lyndall Gordon, author of Charlotte Brontë: A Passionate Life -
“Becoming Jane Eyre is lush and filled with dark sensuality and the tension of unsaid things. The style is quite different from Charlotte Brontë’s in Jane Eyre, yet the tone and imagery and spirit remain in the same realm. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and Sheila Kohler one of my favorite writers.”
— Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club
Becoming Jane Eyre Listener Reviews
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" What life might have been for the Bronte family. An easy read bringing back the memory of characters and authors I have not thought about in over a decade. "
— Denise, 2/19/2014 -
" I enjoy novels about the Bronte's life, and this one has a great cover and lots of beautiful and intense emotion throughout. I thought from the title this book would be mainly about Charlotte Bronte, but all except the brother are narrators here, why she didn't include him I don't know. Too drunk and off his rocker I guess? The ending was rushed, with little mention of Charlotte's marriage. I couldn't believe she didn't include that. That's the best part of her story. Her happy ending, just like her Jane. "
— Leslie, 2/18/2014 -
" I'm not finishing this one. I haven't read anything the Brontes wrote, and this book is just not interesting enough for me to want to finish it. Charlotte's father is sick. The nurse narrates part of the story and she was just let go. Charlotte had an inappropriate relationship with her mentor. So far none of the other sisters have had more than mentions. "
— Britney, 2/16/2014 -
" part of me is slightly loathe to enjoy these sort of author-inspired books - mostly because they usually don't turn out very well - but I enjoyed this one for the most part... "
— Natalie, 2/8/2014 -
" I was drawn to this book because I adore "Jane Eyre" and was curious to read a fictionalized story of its creation, but ended up wishing I had picked up a Charlotte Bronte biography instead. "
— Ayne, 1/22/2014 -
" I'm a longtime fan of Jane Eyre, and I loved how this book gave me a brief snapshot of the life of the author. "
— Margali, 1/7/2014 -
" I really enjoyed it. It inspired me to put Jane Eyre on my to-read list. "
— Genie, 1/6/2014 -
" This was a good read, but I don't think I liked it as much as The Secret Diaries. The content was very similar. "
— Amanda, 12/25/2013 -
" purchased on a whim. "fictive" account of the bronte sisters. intriguing & hard to put down since they are my favorite authors. "
— Stephanie, 10/31/2013 -
" The writing was beautiful and I enjoyed the way the author imagined how the book Jane Eyre came to be. "
— Jeanne, 10/30/2013 -
" The style of writing in this book was a little dry, but I enjoyed how the author wove Charlotte Bronte's real life into her fictionalized story. "
— Melyssa, 10/10/2013
About Sheila Kohler
Sheila Kohler was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the author of fourteen works of fiction including the novels Dreaming for Freud, Becoming Jane Eyre, and Cracks, which was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and made into a film starring Eva Green. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and O, The Oprah Magazine and included in The Best American Short Stories. She has twice won an O. Henry Award, as well as an Open Fiction Award, a Willa Cather Prize, and a Smart Family Foundation Prize. She teaches at Princeton University.
About Jen Taylor
Jen Taylor is a voice actress best known for her role as Cortana in various Halo games and as Zoey in Left 4 Dead. In addition to her voice-over work, Taylor is also an accomplished stage actress and has appeared in a number of films and television series.