Jane Eyre

With her 1847 novel, "Jane Eyre", Charlotte Bronte created one of the most unforgettable heroines of all time. Not only is this the classic story of unforgettable love, but it is also the memorable tale of one woman's fight to claim her independence and respect in a society that seems to have no place for her.

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) was born in Yorkshire, England, one of six children born to Patrick Bronte, an impoverished country clergyman, and his wife, Maria, who died when Charlotte was young. Charlotte and her sisters were sent to Cowan Bridge School for Clergymen's Daughters (the basis for Jane Eyre's grim Lowood), where she endured the harsh conditions that killed her two eldest sisters. Charlotte and her younger sister, Emily, returned home just in time to save their lives. Isolated on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, Charlotte and her three surviving siblings transformed Reverend Bronte's parsonage into their own private literary community. Charlotte was later sent to a far more humane school than Cowan Bridge and was eventually recruited to the teaching staff. She later served in a series of dreary governess jobs before she was able to study at a finishing school in Brussels. When she returned to England, recovering from an unrequited passion for her professor, she "discovered" her sister Emily's poems. She arranged a joint publication in 1846 of Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell (the pseudonyms of Charlotte and sisters Emily and Anne). Though this sold a disappointing two copies, the publication of Jane Eyre in 1847 achieved immediate success, and stirred much speculation about the identity of "Currer Bell." Though she eventually revealed her identity, Charlotte was not able to enjoy her new-found fame. Her brother, Branwell, and sisters, Emily and Anne, all died in quick succession, leaving Charlotte and her father as the only survivors of the Bronte clan. She persevered by writing Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). In 1854 she married her father's curate, Arthur Bell Nichols, but died just a few months later. Erica Jong is the author of six best-selling novels, including Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life, Fanny, and Parachutes and Kisses. She continues to be vocal on subjects of women, writing, and her generation, most recently in her 1995 memoir, Fear of Fifty, and her 1997 novel, Inventing Memory: A Novel of Mothers and Daughters.