I am about halfway through reading Jane Eyre. To my shame, I have to admit I have never read it before (though, on the plus side, this has to be a positive for e-readers as I probably wouldn't have read it at all if it didn't come free on my Kobo) however, now I have, I have to speculate whether Miss Bronte would have got beyond the standard rejection letter these days!
I can imagine the criticisms; the unrealistically mature language ascribed to a ten year-old in the school scene; the rather sketchy characterisations and the clumsy plotting and pacing of the novel. I could see poor Charlotte being sent packing with the suggestion that she perhaps should take an access course in creative writing...
Yet this is clearly a classic, with sumptuously rich language and a story to get lost in. I do have a feeling though that CB would, today, have been scrabbling around for a few reviews with her self-published Kindle novel!
I can imagine the criticisms; the unrealistically mature language ascribed to a ten year-old in the school scene; the rather sketchy characterisations and the clumsy plotting and pacing of the novel. I could see poor Charlotte being sent packing with the suggestion that she perhaps should take an access course in creative writing...
Yet this is clearly a classic, with sumptuously rich language and a story to get lost in. I do have a feeling though that CB would, today, have been scrabbling around for a few reviews with her self-published Kindle novel!
Wasn't Jane Eyre rejected originally as was Emily's Wuthering Heights. I agree they'd not fare well in todays publishing marketplace
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