The Eyre Affair

A Thursday Next Novel

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Alex Award—YALSA

The first in a series of outlandishly clever adventures featuring the resourceful, fearless literary detective Thursday Next—a New York Times best seller!

In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career.

Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a website that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

Delve into Jasper Fforde's literary universe with the other books in his Thursday Next fantasy/detective series.

©2003 Jasper Fforde (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

“Neatly delivers alternate history, Monty Pythonesque comedy skits, Grand Guignol supervillains, thwarted lovers, po-mo intertextuality, political commentary, time travel, vampires, absent-minded inventors, a hard-boiled narrator, and lots, lots more. . . . Suspend your disbelief, find a quiet corner and just surrender to the storytelling voice of the unstoppable, ever-resourceful Thursday Next.”—The Washington Post

“Fforde’s imaginative novel will satiate readers looking for a Harry Potter-esque tale. . . . The Eyre Affair’s literary wonderland recalls Douglas Adams’s Hitchhikers series, the works of Lewis Carroll and Woody Allen’s The Kugelmass Episode.”—USA Today

“[Thursday Next is] part Bridget Jones, part Nancy Drew, and part Dirty Harry.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

The Eyre Affair

Would you listen to The Eyre Affair again? Why?

I definitely would listen again. It was a complicated story, very entertaining and interesting.

What other book might you compare The Eyre Affair to and why?

It stands alone, it was unique and excellent.

What about Susan Duerdan’s performance did you like?

Her voice was pleasant to listen to, she did the various characters very well and the story flowed perfectly. I think she was excellent.

Crazy, whacky, thought provoking.

Fforde's books are always hugely tongue-in-cheek. With a razor edge. Susan Duerdan did a magnificent job capturing the absolutely deadpan silliness, and the knife edge. Well done.

It's still delightful

I love these books and it was fun visiting it again. If this is your first time I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

big Jasper Fforde fan

big Jasper Fforde fan and Susan does a wonderful job bringing the characters and story to life.

brilliant!

I have read this book twice and listened to it 4 times, I just love it!! The whole series is awesome, but I do prefer Susan's Thursday Next over Emily Gray.s..

Great readership

took me a bit of time to get into the story. Susan Durden did a great Job with the characters.

Smart and imaginative

I loved this book. What a fun premise! The characters are vivid and the "world" is believable.

Good story

Overall, a well written and interesting story. I really liked how different it was. I’m new to sci-fi and fantasy genre so this one didn’t capture my attention as much as other books I’ve tried (Circe or The Midnight Library). A close friend, who is an avid fantasy/sci-fi reader, recommended this book. I would try another of his books.

Wow!

Really adorable and completely all over the face. I would advise the person not to zone out at all during this book or you may have to rewind. Other than that, it's definitely worth the read.

Witty story and smooth narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story is clever and Fforde does a nice job of making the fictional parts of the story blend with the familiar. The protagonist has the qualities we want a good one to have: things we like and admire and she has her flaws. She is tough and human and "real."

What did you like best about this story?

The story moves at a good pace. And I love some of the names (such Bthe character raxton Hicks, Next's aunt and uncle's names, the division where she works). It's a good detective story, with bits of chase scenes, humor and suspense.

Any additional comments?

The narrator does a nice job with character differentiation and her voice works really well for this story. Her pacing is good and I enjoy listening to her read.