Initially published under the pseudonym Currer Bell in 1847, Charlotte Brontë¿s Jane Eyre erupted onto the English literary scene, immediately showing the devotion of many of the world¿s most renowned writers. Widely regarded as a revolutionary novel, Brontë¿s masterpiece introduced the world to a radical new type of heroine, one whose defiant virtue and moral courage departed sharply from the more submissive and malleable female characters of the day. The immediate and lasting success of Jane Eyre proved Brontë's instincts right. Readers of her era and, even after her time, have taken the impoverished orphan girl into their hearts, following her from the custody of cruel relatives to a dangerously oppressive boarding school and onward through a troubled career as a governess. Jane's first assignment at Thorn field, where the proud and cynical master of the house guards a scandalous secret, draws readers even deeper into a compelling exploration of the mysteries of the human heart. Passionate, dramatic, and surprisingly modern, Jane Eyre is still regarded as one of the world¿s most beloved novels.