Jane Eyre

About the Author

Charlotte Brontë was born in Yorkshire in 1816, the third of six children. She lost her mother and her two elder sisters to tuberculosis at an early age.

Jane Eyre, published in 1847, is Charlotte Brontë’s best-known work. She also wrote Shirley and Villette. Her sister Emily wrote Wuthering Heights, whilst the third sister, Anne, is best known for The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

In writing Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë draws upon some of her own experiences, particularly when describing events at Lowood. Childhood mortality rates were high in Victorian England, although swift advances in medicine would soon improve this.