I read Wide Sargasso Sea in high school and really did not like it – probably a lot to do with me not paying attention in class, but it really put me off reading Jane Eyre. The only reason I forced myself to read this was because I want to read Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and thought I should probably read this beforehand!

BUT I was SO happily surprised – this is a BRILLIANT book. I was gripped from start to (almost finish). The ending is a bit saccharine, but other than that I loved this and can see it becoming that rare kind of book that I read more than once.