JANE EYRE, ar. For its day Eyre,' published in 1847, was a most unconventional novel. It came in the wake of multitudes of sentimental novels in which the heroines were perfect and lifeless beings, and the heroes were all handsome and correct in their conduct. Against this unreality, Eyre' was a pro test, highly emotional, not to say hysterical. The author, Charlotte Bronte, the daughter of a Yorkshire clergyman, had grown up amid the hard surroundings of a bleak parish on the moors, and of boarding schools where the chil dren were ill treated and ill fed. At the age of 30 she decided to put her own rebellious spirit into a novel, which should also follow in some degree the details of her own life. In stead of being rich and beautiful, Jane Eyre. is a poor and obscure girl, very small and plain in stature, with pale cheeks and green eyes. But she has a keen intelligence, and is thoroughly honest, outspoken and brave. In this heroine of a new type, Charlotte Bronte sought to de pict a young woman who should be true to her opinions, true to herself, under all circumstan ces, whatever might be the consequences to her self or to others. Likewise the hero, Edward
Rochester, was of a kind new to fiction. He was unshapely, his features were large and dis torted and he had had an unsavory past. Nevertheless Jane Eyre fell in love with him, to the consternation of readers. There had never been in fiction any proposal of marriage like Rochester's, nor any acceptance like Jane Eyre's, on that moonlit night which ended in thunder and lightning and a deluge of rain.
Though the novelty of Eyre' has par tially worn away, it still remains a most inter esting story. It was admired by Thackeray, to whom the second edition was dedicated; and Trollope praised itsjust balance between the 'ordinary incidents of real life and extraordi nary occurrences such as gti interrupted mar riage, strange premonitions, dreams and a spec tre. Eyre' was a sincere book written by the sincerest of women.