Jane Eyre, the story of a young girl and her passage into adulthood, was an immediate commercial success at the time of its original publication in 1847.

Its view of the underside of domestic life, and religious hypocrisy, drew both praise and bitter criticism, while Charlotte Brontë's haunting expose of poor living conditions for children in charity schools as well as her devastating portrayal of the limitations faced by women who worked as governesses sparked great controversy and social debate.

Brontë's best-known novel, Jane Eyre, remains an extraordinary coming-of-age narrative, and one of the great classics of literature.