Probably one of the leading Gothic romance novels of all time, if not THE leading one, --- "Jane Eyre"!!!...

 

   Published in 1847, "Jane Eyre," and written by Charlotte Bronte, --- IS One Of My Absolute Favorite Romance Novels. Charlotte Bronte and her sister Emily invented a whole genre, --- the Gothic Romance... 

   Jane & Mr. Rochester, --- such chemistry, I just adore independent, "plain and little" Jane mixed deliciously with moody, passionate, gorgeous Edward Rochester!!! (He has muscles too and when Jane first encounters him he's riding his stallion in the morning mist. Sigh.) 💪💔💪...

   ...That classy, sexy way with their stiff and formal wing collars and stocks!!!...

   Yes, --- for over 150 years women have been falling in love with Mister Rochester, right along with Jane Eyre!!!... 

   Of course, I consider the "Masterpiece Theatre" version with Toby Stevens, --- in his prime, with those intense green eyes, --- and Ruth Wilson, to be the best in film. 

   Ruth Wilson wasn't too pretty, which is very true to the story. (The point being that Jane, ordinarily, couldn't EVER GET such an eligible bachelor as rich, sexy, --- even a bit annoyingly broody, Mr. Rochester... She wouldn't even EVER have met such a man...  BUT, as governess for his adopted daughter, she DOES, winning his heart over completely with her intelligence, sincerity, courage, tenacity, --- her downright irrepressible SPUNK. 

   Mr. Rochester remarks that she "must be tenacious of life," coming from and simply surviving the horrid, repressive boarding school that she attended, --- and which slowly killed her dear, sweet childhood friend Helen, who dies of T.B.

   We later learn that Mr. Rochester has a wife, beautiful, genetically wild-and-crazy Beatrice, who sets the mansion on fire... Mr. Rochester tries, vainly, to save her and loses his eyesight in the process... BUT, Jane and he eventually wed and he even gives her a daughter...   

   I ordered an illustrated copy of "Jane Eyre," (below) --- looks very, very good. 😚

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...Yummy campy, comic book-style, lowbrow, illustrations by Dame Darcy!!!... SO COOL. I can't wait to get it this edition of "Jane Eyre"!!!

This is also a very cool edition, published by Random House, 1944, with woodblock illustrations, --- the one on the cover being the very depressing restrictive boarding school of Jane's youth.