Orphaned and unloved, Jane Eyre endures a harsh childhood, first under a cold-hearted aunt, then at a bleak charity school, emerging as a plain but fiercely intelligent and principled young woman who refuses to bend her sense of self to anyone. Seeking a life of her own, she takes a post as governess at Thornfield Hall, a grand and isolated estate presided over by its brooding, unpredictable master, Mr. Rochester. Drawn to him despite herself, Jane senses that the great house holds something it isn't telling, strange sounds and stranger secrets. Brontë's powerful 1847 novel begins as a quiet woman steps into a place full of shadows.