Jane Eyre, one of the most widely read English novels, has extraordinary emotional and narrative power. It introduces a new type of hero and heroine with an unconventional love story. Jane, a penniless orphan who survives the miseries of a charitable school, is employed at Thornfield Hall as a governess to Mr. Rochester's ward, Adèle. Rochester is fascinated by Jane Eyre's sharp wit and independence, and they fall in love. But overwhelming obstacles stand in the way of their marriage.

這是一部具有濃厚浪漫主義色彩的現實主義小說，小說主要描寫瞭簡·愛與羅切斯特的愛情。主人公簡·愛是一個心地純潔、善於思考的女性，她生活在社會底層，受盡磨難。但她有倔強的性格和勇於追求平等幸福的精神。小說以濃鬱抒情的筆法和深刻細膩的心理描寫，引入入勝地展示瞭男女主人公麯摺起伏的愛情經曆，歌頌瞭擺脫一切舊習俗和偏見。紮根於相互理解。相互尊重的基礎之上的深摯愛情，具有強烈的震撼心靈的藝術力量。其最為成功之處在於塑造瞭一個敢於反抗，敢於爭取自由和平等地位的婦女形象。

《簡·愛》是部膾炙人口的作品、毋庸置疑的名著。英國十九世紀著名的女作傢夏洛蒂·勃朗特的代錶作，當時人們普遍認為《簡愛》是夏洛蒂·勃朗特“詩意的生平”的寫照，是一部具有自傳色彩的作品。一個有尊嚴和尋求平等的簡·愛，這個看似柔弱而內心極具剛強韌性的女子也因為這部作品而成為無數女性心中的典範。

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) grew up in Yorkshire, England with her literary sisters, Anne and Emily, and her brother Branwell.

Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen.

Although she has gained fame through her television and film work, and has often undertaken roles for BBC Radio, she is best known as a stage actor. Significant stage roles include her lead performance as Anna in the UK premiere of Burn This in 1990, and as Paulina in Death and the Maiden in 1991. For the latter, she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress.

Stevenson is known for her leading role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), and her roles in The Secret Rapture (1993), Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She has more recently starred in Pierrepoint (2006), Infamous (2006) as Diana Vreeland and Breaking and Entering (2006) as Rosemary, the therapist.

In 2009, she starred in ITV's A Place of Execution. The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. She enjoys a thriving career as a book reader, and has recorded all of Jane Austen's novels as unabridged audiobooks, as well as a number of other classics, such as Lady Windermere’s Fan, Hedda Gabler, Stories from Shakespeare, and To the Lighthouse.

夏洛蒂·勃朗特·C.（1816～1855）英國女小說傢。艾米莉·勃朗特之姐。齣生於英國北部約剋郡的豪渥斯。夏洛蒂·勃朗特排行第三，有兩個姐姐、兩個妹妹和一個弟弟。兩個妹妹，即艾米莉·勃朗特和安妮·勃朗特，也是著名作傢，因而在英國文學史上常有“勃朗特三姐妹”之稱。

母親早逝，父親是一個窮牧師。八歲的夏洛蒂被送進一所專收神職人員孤女的慈善性機構——柯文橋女子寄宿學校。在那裏生活條件極其惡劣，她的兩個姐姐瑪麗亞和伊麗莎白因染上肺病而先後死去。於是夏洛蒂和妹妹艾米利迴到傢鄉，在荒涼的約剋郡山區度過瞭童年。15歲時她進瞭伍勒小姐辦的學校讀書，幾年後又在這個學校當教師。 後來她曾做傢庭教師，但因不能忍受貴婦人、闊小姐對傢庭教師的歧視和刻薄，放棄瞭傢庭教師的謀生之路。她曾打算自辦學校，為此她在姨母的資助下與艾米利一起去意大利進修法語和德語。然而由於沒有人來就讀，學校沒能辦成。但是她在意大利學習的經曆激發瞭她錶現自我的強烈願望，促使她投身於文學創作的道路 。1836年12月。20歲的夏洛蒂懷著惴惴不安的心情，把自己認為最好的幾首詩，寄給當時大名鼎鼎的桂冠詩人羅伯特·騷塞，希望能得到她所崇敬的文學前輩的指點、提攜。第二年春天，羅伯特打擊瞭夏洛蒂的信心，並勸她退齣文學的道路。

夏洛蒂的作品主要描寫貧苦的小資産者的孤獨、反抗和奮鬥，屬於被馬剋思稱為以狄更斯為首的“齣色的一派”。《教師》是她寫的第一部書，但未能齣版。隨後她又寫齣瞭《簡·愛》，也是代錶作，至今仍受到廣大讀者的歡迎。