Rochester: (a)Typical rich boy

A pretty weird description of Jane Eyre in The Hindu today:

Literary enthusiasts would easily discern this as a recurring theme in novels. The brooding Byronic hero who transfigures into Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece is the typical rich boy that Jane Eyre decides to pursue. The only catch, of course, is the ‘mad-woman’ in the attic. (Sana Kamal)

Wide Sargasso Sea serves to feed the social media-oriented obsession with reading many books in as little time as possible. Shemazing includes it on a list of '9 classic books under 200 pages that you could read in a day'.

Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys (176 pages)

This is one that will only make sense if you’ve already read Jane Eyre, but it’s honestly one of my favourite modern classics, purely for the interesting angle and social commentary. The story follows Antoinette ‘Bertha’ Mason, the woman who eventually becomes Mr. Rochester’s ‘crazy’ wife that he locks up in the attic in Jane Eyre. But this time, the story is told from her perspective and we take the journey with her as she struggles through life in the colonies before being transported to a strange land in Britain where no one understands her and her new husband is cruel. Although we know her ending we hope for more for her, and this retelling delivers. (Lulu McKenna)

Newsday (Trinidad and Tobago) mentions Wide Sargasso Sea in a much better approach.

Memories of teenage boys I once taught at the International School of Port of Spain (ISPS) and in YTC (now YTRC) popped up unexpectedly after Paper Based bookstore, which specialises in Caribbean literature, posted a picture of the cover of Wide Sargasso Sea by the late Dominican writer Jean Rhys.

This modern classic, which is a prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, tells the story of the first Mrs Rochester, deemed mad and locked away in an attic by her husband who is pursuing Jane Eyre. Rhys gave that first Mrs Rochester a voice and a life. Much to my surprise, it was a favourite book among boys in both my ISPS and prison English classes.

Like just about everyone else, I doubted boys’ interest in reading when I first began teaching 30 years ago, but that prejudice quickly vanished. (Debbie Jacob)

Times Now News recommends 10 Young Adult Novels That Brilliantly Reimagine Classic Literature including

8. Jane by April Lindner and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

April Lindner’s 'Jane' transports Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' to modern-day America. Jane Moore, an orphan, takes a job as a nanny for rock star Nico Rathburn. Lindner stays true to the spirit of Brontë’s novel while adding contemporary elements that make the story accessible to today’s readers. Themes of love, independence, and self-discovery are central to this engaging retelling. (Girish Shukla)

My Travels with the Brontës has visited William Smith Williams's grave at Kensal Green Cemetery.