Jane Eyre

By: Charlotte Brontë

Narrated by: Dame Wendy Hiller

Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

When Jane Eyre was published under the pseudonym of Currer Bell in 1847, it received immediate recognition. Thackeray, for one, described it as "the masterpiece of a great genius". And indeed, since that time, Jane Eyre has become one of the classics of English literature. This abridgement of Charlotte Bronte's famous novel traces the story of Jane Eyre from her unhappy childhood as an orphan to her adult life and her eventual happiness.

It is read by Dame Wendy Hiller, whose distinguished acting career has brought her international acclaim.

Public Domain (P)2015 BN Publishing

WORTH IT! Dame Wendy Hiller is transformative.

I read Jane Eyre as a teen and quickly fell in love. I'm in my 40s now and it still remains my all time favorite book. Long ago before CDs were a thing, I picked up an audio version on tape cassettes at a book store, narrated by Dame Wendy Hiller.

There's a reason this lady was honored with the title "Dame".

I knew it was an abridgment, but got it anyway, so I could listen to my favorite book as I fell asleep at night. No sleep was to be had, however, because Wendy Hiller's masterful performance is so gripping. She conveys the gentle but firm tenaciousness held by our heroine. She gives us the Jane that is laid out in the books - her innocence and naivety, but also her tenacity and strength of character. Rochester comes through in full force, passionate, crafty, even violent at times... just so perfectly. I wish I had the words to convince you how wonderfully Dame Wendy Hiller brings this novel to life.

My copies of the cassette tapes disintegrated pretty quickly, probably left in a hot car. When the internet became a thing in my 20s, I remember searching for a copy on used book store websites to no avail. I still have the case for the tape 30 years later because I can't bear to part with it. Everytime I read this book (with my eyeballs) it's Wendy's character's voices in my head. And it's been 30 years since I've actually heard her narrate it, until I found it here.

Imagine my surprise when I was searching for something completely different (a movie) and the name Dame Wendy Hiller popped up. My brain ran into high gear. I hadn't search for it in years, maybe it's here on audible now? (Pretty sure it wasn't here when I first signed up, years ago). I'm absolutely overjoyed to have found it again here on Audible. It's made my day -- probably my year!

I gave the overall 3 stars, because it is very short due to the abridgement.. A horrible thing because when you hear this narration, you will wish that you could enjoy Dame Wendy Hiller give the entire book her magical narration.

Give it a shot -- even though it's abridged. Don't spend a credit on it, it's only a few hours long, but you won't regret spending a few dollars getting this version narrated by Dame Wendy Hiller.

this is NOT unabridged!!

while I loved the reading by Dame Wendy Hiller, this book is NOT unabridged. I was very upset to find this..whole sections of the story removed..please do not falsely advertise.