Charlotte Bronte and Wayne Josephson, Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte and Wayne Josephson

Readable Classic, Oct 2009

ISBN: 9780615324449

Jane Eyre was orphaned as a young girl, but though starving and the recipient of much cruelty from her aunt she perseveres. She is sent to boarding school where she is victim of abuse, but instead of caving in, she got stronger. Jane obtains work as the governess at Thornfield Hall where she falls in love with her employer, brooding Mr. Rochester. However, instead of a happy ever after, they are forced to separate leaving her poor and alone.

Although purists will complain that if it ain't broke don't fix it, others like Mr. Josephson will disagree that in this case it may not have been broke in 1847 when first published, but is showing syntax rust as languages changes over a century and a half make even a classic read rigid. Just think of how obsolete Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales would be without translations. Although this reviewer was concerned having read the original in high school four decades ago, Mr. Josephson succeeds in doing this with a light touch that does not take way from Ms. Bronte's Victorian saga. Readers will appreciate his deft skill to enable the modern day audience to appreciate a classic.

Harriet Klausner