George Ilsley's Reviews > Mr. Rochester

Have to agree with other reviewers here who found the first section of this novel, about the young Rochester's early education, to be the most rewarding.

Inevitably this book is measured against Jane Eyre, but also competes with Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea which detailed the background to Rochester's first marriage in Jamaica. Rhys in my opinion painted a much more convincing portrait of life in Jamaica.

The second half of this novel I found to be a bit of a slog. We already know, in broad strokes, what is to happen, so all that is left to discover is Rochester's point of view. This book does not make Rochester more appealing or relatable; in fact, he comes across as even more of a scoundrel than he did in Jane Eyre (don't forget, he almost ruined Jane's life by luring her into a bigamous marriage, and you know the weight of that scandal would have fallen on Jane herself, not the wealthy man).

So my enjoyment of this book waned as I trudged along. The heart of this novel is still Jane, which goes to show what a creation the original novel was. This story of Rochester adds little to the original.