Jane Eyre (version 3 dramatic reading) by Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855)

39 episodes listed below

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Jane Eyre, chapter by chapter, in a cast of voices.

The gist

This LibriVox production splits Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre into one chapter per episode and shares the text among a cast of readers. The chapters sampled here run from a rainy afternoon in the Reed household to a wedding morning with an impatient Rochester, and on to Jane stranded at Whitcross without a shilling.

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About Jane Eyre (version 3 dramatic reading) by Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855)

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is presented here as a LibriVox dramatic reading, broken into episodes that each carry a single chapter. Chapters are introduced by number, and several add a note that the recording is in the public domain. Then the story takes over. The draw is the casting. Rather than one reader carrying every voice, the parts are divided: Elizabeth Barr is credited as Jane, Arielle Lipshaw as young Jane, and Eden Rea-Hedrick as the narrator. Some readers stretch across several roles, so Jared Hess is credited with John Reed, Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Mason, among others. Jane still tells her own story, and at moments she turns to speak to the reader outright. Chapter 1 is the natural way in. Cold rain has cancelled the afternoon walk, and Jane, glad of it, settles with a book of pictures whose fiend and gallows both frighten and fascinate her. She recalls Bessie's winter-evening stories, told over the ironing table by the nursery hearth. Then John Reed bursts in with 'Boo! Madam Mope!', Jane flies at him, and Mrs. Reed orders her locked in the red room. The later chapters sampled here cover a very different stretch of her life. On the eve of her wedding, with her trunks packed and corded, she cannot bring herself to attach the cards addressed to 'Mrs Rochester', and the dress in her closet shimmers like a ghost. Next morning Sophie takes so long over the veil that Rochester sends up to ask why, then greets her as 'Lingerer' and pronounces her 'fair as a lily' while a footman reports that Mr. Wood is already in the vestry. Chapter 27 finds her no longer Edward Rochester's bride, caught in a fierce struggle between conscience and passion over leaving Thornfield. Chapter 28 is the bleakest of the set. A coach sets her down at Whitcross, a stone pillar where four roads meet, with her parcel forgotten inside it and not a shilling to her name. She offers a handkerchief, then her gloves, for bread, and is refused both. The chapter closes more gently, with a warm, dry bed and grateful sleep. In Chapter 32 she is teaching village children, translating German and painting a miniature of Rosamond Oliver, while Mr. Oliver's view of a match between Rosamond and St. John comes into focus. It suits a listener who wants the novel performed rather than simply read aloud.

Made for: Suits a listener who wants Jane Eyre performed with distinct voices for its characters and is happy to follow it one chapter at a time, from the Reed nursery to Thornfield, Whitcross and a village schoolroom.

What sets it apart: The parts are cast instead of being left to one narrator: Jane and young Jane have separate readers, a narrator is credited on their own, and some readers double across several minor characters. Brontë's text still leads, with Jane's first-person voice and her direct asides to the reader.

In their own words

Primarily of the bildungsroman genre, Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of eponymous Jane Eyre, her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester, the byronic master of Thornfield Hall. (Summary by Wikipedia) Cast Narrator/Charlotte Bronte/Louisa Eshton: Eden Rea-Hedrick Jane Eyre: Elizabeth Barr Young Jane/Mrs. Dent/Bread Shop Woman: Arielle Lipshaw Mrs. Reed: Kristingj John Reed/Mr. Lloyd/Robert/John/Mr. Mason: Jared Hess Eliza Reed: Thisbe Georgiana Reed: Diana Majlinger Bessie: Verity Kendall Abbot: <a href="http://librivox.org/re

Why you'd press play

Jane offers a handkerchief for bread, and you may find the refusal harder to shake than Thornfield's shriek.

Press play if you want

  • to hear Jane answer Rochester's demands without surrendering her judgment
  • a midnight cry at Thornfield that makes you listen harder to every locked door
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Jane's childhood in the Reed householdMr. Rochester and Thornfieldthe wedding dayconscience against passiondestitution at Whitcrossvillage schoolteachingSt. John and Rosamond Oliver

Talks about

Best episodes of Jane Eyre (version 3 dramatic reading) by Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855)

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Chapter 14

Jane answers Rochester's authority with composure, and his charm begins to look far less simple.

Chapter 14 treats Mr. Rochester's absence as a quiet source of pressure. Jane sees little of him for several days, noticing only small shifts as he moves from distant acknowledgment to a more gentleman-like ease.

Chapter 20

A moonlit cry, a wounded guest, and Rochester's dawn departure make Thornfield's night a taut Gothic vigil.

Chapter 20 begins with Jane waking under a bright full moon before Thornfield Hall is shaken by a savage cry in the night. A struggle above her room turns Gothic atmosphere into something immediate and physical: Mason is wounded, Rochester leaves to fetch a surgeon, and Jane is…

Chapter 18

A lively Thornfield gathering turns into private romantic scrutiny and a gypsy's tantalizing summons.

Thornfield Hall feels newly awake here, crowded with servants, visitors, indoor games, and the bright social bustle of charades while spring rain keeps the party inside. The narrator studies Miss Ingram's showier attempts to charm Mr.

Chapter 29

Jane's silence becomes the room's most revealing voice before she begins negotiating her return to independence.

Jane Eyre spends about three days and nights in a dim borderland, her body nearly useless while her awareness remains intact. She lies still, hears people come and go, understands what is said nearby, and cannot answer.

Chapter 3

Jane's frightened awakening leads into a nursery shaped by eerie books, sorrowful songs, and casual cruelty.

Chapter 3 takes shape around Jane's frightened return to consciousness, as red firelight, black bars, and muffled voices slowly resolve into the familiar space of her own bed. The arrival of Mr.

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Episodes

  1. 1

    Chapter 36

    In Chapter 36 of Jane Eyre, Jane receives St.

    ·25m·1 clip
  2. 2

    Chapter 32

    Hidden gem

    Chapter 32 of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre follows Jane’s work at the Morton village school, where untaught girls become orderly, capable, and self-respecting under her instruction.

    ·31m·2 clips
  3. 3

    Chapter 28

    Hidden gem

    Chapter 28 of Jane Eyre follows Jane's abandonment at Whitcross, where she has no money, food, luggage, or human contact.

    ·42m·3 clips
  4. 4

    Chapter 19

    ·24m
  5. 5

    Chapter 30

    ·25m
  6. 6

    Chapter 31

    ·21m
  7. 7

    Chapter 33

    ·33m
  8. 8

    Chapter 34

    ·1h 2m
  9. 9

    Chapter 35

    ·30m
  10. 10

    Chapter 37

    ·51m
  11. 11

    Chapter 38

    ·12m
  12. 12

    Chapter 10

    ·26m
  13. 13

    Chapter 2

    ·18m
  14. 14

    Chapter 4

    ·35m
  15. 15

    Chapter 5

    ·30m
  16. 16

    Chapter 6

    ·18m
  17. 17

    Chapter 7

    ·22m
  18. 18

    Chapter 8

    ·18m
  19. 19

    Chapter 9

    ·19m
  20. 20

    Preface/Dramatis Personae

    ·9m
  21. 21

    Chapter 11

    ·39m
  22. 22

    Chapter 12

    ·26m
  23. 23

    Chapter 13

    ·26m
  24. 24

    Chapter 15

    ·33m
  25. 25

    Chapter 16

    ·23m
  26. 26

    Chapter 17

    ·49m
  27. 27

    Chapter 21

    ·51m
  28. 28

    Chapter 22

    ·18m
  29. 29

    Chapter 23

    ·26m
  30. 30

    Chapter 24

    ·45m
  31. 31

    Chapter 20

    Chapter 20 of Jane Eyre opens with a full moon over Thornfield Hall and a scream that breaks the house's silence.

    ·37m·3 clips
  32. 32

    Chapter 18

    Chapter 18 of Jane Eyre turns Thornfield Hall into a charade room, with Rochester directing costumes, curtains, and a marriage pantomime that ends in an Eliezer-and-Rebecca tableau.

    ·36m·3 clips
  33. 33

    Chapter 14

    Chapter 14 centers on Mr.

    ·32m·2 clips
  34. 34

    Chapter 29

    Jane wakes at Marsh End after three days of near-stupor, and Hannah initially treats her like a beggar.

    ·28m·1 clip
  35. 35

    Chapter 1

    ·12m
  36. 36

    Chapter 25

    A dramatic reading of Chapter 25 of Jane Eyre, where the protagonist prepares for her wedding day.

    ·30m
  37. 37

    Chapter 27

    A dramatic reading of Chapter 27 of Jane Eyre, where the protagonist wrestles with her decision to leave Mr.

    ·1h 12m
  38. 38

    Chapter 26

    A dramatic reading of Chapter 26 of Jane Eyre, where Jane prepares for her wedding to Mr.

    ·28m
  39. 39

    Chapter 3

    Hidden gem

    Chapter 3 of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre begins with Jane recovering from her frightening confinement in the Red Room, where she was locked away by Mrs.

    ·20m·1 clip