Jane Eyre

At Last! Jane Eyre Made Palatable

One of the most curious facts in all of English literature is that in the late 1700s, possibly as early as 1787, when she was just a wickedly intelligent teenager, Jane Austen began satirizing the Bronte sisters, who would not be born until many decades later. Austen's Juvenilia, particularly Love and Freindship [sic], and her more mature work Northanger Abbey, stand collectively as a glorious spoof of all that Charlotte Bronte would write about with deadly earnestness sixty years later in Jane Eyre: Gothic horror, blood and gore, mists and moors, screams and terrors in the night, madwomen locked away in attics, swoonings and faintings galore. Bronte, who romanticized suffering to the highest possible degree in her personal life as well as her writing (who else but a Bronte could manage to die of morning sickness while pregnant?), presents Jane Eyre as a Romantic sufferer extraordinaire. Jane is humorless, beaten down by fate and her own moody fits of passion at every turn, until finally Rochester, her love object, is so much more beaten down than she is that she can finally consent to be his wife. The whole thing is so completely without humor or any consciousness of its own absurdity that it works ONLY if you look at it with Jane Austen's winking eye, imagining how fun it would be to satirize.

This production succeeds in doing just that. The story is so perfectly distilled to its essential Gothic-horror elements, complete with amazing sound effects, that it would make the perfect Halloween listen. The script is perfect, the acting impeccable, the production values and editing flawless. I never thought I'd say this of ANY production of Jane Eyre, but I'm sure I'll listen many more times. Highly recommend.

14 sur 23 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Great performance but very quick

Jane Eyre is one of my favorites but I completely appreciate the need to abridge it for a full cast performance. That being said I think too much was taken out, giving it an incredibly rushed feel.

3 sur 5 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Excellent dramatization

Very well acted - the voice actors and background sounds do a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. Very abridged, but it still captures the essence of the story.

Breathtaking

wanted to hear the classic..but due to limited time wanted an abridged version .wow what a story!
..an emotional rollercoaster very intense..

love it every time i listen! tom burke is perfect.

love it! tom burke is the perfect mr. rochester. this will always be my favorite.

2 sur 4 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Classic well performed

One of my favorite classics performed by talented actors with great sound effects. Acting the story out required abridging some content, but the emotional telling made up for that. Good job!

2 sur 4 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Excellent classic!

Performance and story were excellent! I would highly recommend. Very similar to the film versions.

1 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Wonderful Jane Eyre Dramatization

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would because it does a great job of putting the listener in the gloomy setting. It's also very well acted out by the whole cast - especially Amanda Hale and Tom Burke who are compelling together as Jane and Rochester.

What other book might you compare Jane Eyre to and why?

Since this was a dramatized version of Jane Eyre I would recommend BBC Radio's complete dramatization of Jane Austen. For a full unabridged version of Jane Eyre I highly recommend the one read by always excellent Juliet Stevenson.

What about Amanda Hale and Tom Burke ’s performance did you like?

Amanda Hale and Tom Burke have excellent chemistry as Jane and Rochester. Amanda Hale successfully portrays the controlled passion of Jane while Tom Burke is a smoldering Rochester.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not any extreme reaction. I was very happy to have a great dramatization that captures all the moodiness and internal struggles of one of my favorite novels.

Any additional comments?

A few odd bits of Jane narrating the action while it's happening that sounded a bit chaotic. Doesn't distract from the overall performance. All the supporting cast were excellent and the build up to the key scenes were well done.

1 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Best dramatized audio

I enjoyed listening. I'm grateful for those who did this. The characters were splendid. Great listen!

0 sur 1 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

A good dramatization of the book, but cut too much

This was a very good dramatization of the book but the story was cut way too much. I wish I had noticed the length of this before buying this version.

0 sur 1 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.