Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a Gothic romance novel, written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte. The story explores the personal life and emotional growth of plain, unassuming Jane Eyre, from an abused, precocious orphan, to a witty, yet subdued, new governess at the house of the mysterious Mr. Rochester. The plot thickens when she falls deeply in love with her secretive employer, only to face new struggles. Jane Eyre was originally published with the subtitle, "An Autobiography," which points to the parallels between Jane's life and Bronte's own. The work is largely based on experience: Charlotte attended a school much like Lowood, where she endured tragedy; she later worked as a teacher, and then pursued a career as a governess. Of course, Charlotte eventually became a writer, and was then able to re-imagine her experiences with an amplified sense of drama.