Skip to main content

The Ultimate Jane Eyre for Brontë Bibliophiles

The ultimate Jane Eyre for Brontë bibliophiles is to be published in December and is an essential shelf sitter for any self respecting Brontë fan.

This gorgeous collector’s edition of the classic novel is being printed as a facsimile copy of Charlotte’s original handwritten manuscript and will also feature etchings by Edmund Garrett which have been taken from an edition of Jane Eyre which was published in 1897 fifty years after the manuscript was written.

Published by the French press Éditions des Saints Pères this facsimile publication of Jane Eyre will join several other similarly styled collector’s editions of classic novels including Madame Bovary, Les fleurs du mal and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and according to the publisher, this particular fair copy is “neat, with most notable revisions and corrections centred around her portrayal of Jane’s encounters with Mr Rochester”.

After receiving a letter of rejection from publisher Smith and Elder in August 1847, rejecting her first novel and suggesting a “a work in three volumes would [be met] with careful attention” Charlotte replied by sending them an 824-page manuscript of Jane Eyre which they snapped up and published in October of that year.

Presented as being written by Currer Bell ( Brontë’s pen name) the manuscript which is the only copy in the entire world, is kept at the British Library and shows Brontë’s attention to detail in everything she wrote.



Claire Harman author of Charlotte Brontë: A Life believes that this beautiful book will prove to be a must have for all Brontë bibliophiles:
“What we see is the end of a long process for Charlotte Brontë,” Harman said, “the last edits and adjustments to a story that had been with her for several years and that she wanted to present in an almost perfect condition to bowl over the publishers who had been intrigued but ultimately dissatisfied with The Professor. The manuscript shows justifiable pride in her work and control of it – and carefully hides the hard graft she had gone through to get there.”

The idea for producing these uniquely beautiful manuscript facsimiles came to Tretiakow’s co-founder Jessica Nelson after she had seen an exhibition of manuscripts and first drafts in Paris a decade ago. “We were totally moved and astounded by what we saw. We already had a passion for literature but we were astonished,” she said. “Nicholas said that in 10 years’ time we would create our own publishing house and specialise in the production of manuscripts, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Print runs of this spectacular edition of Jane Eyre will be limited to between one and two thousand copies and each book will retail at around £200 with the publishers planning on releasing more English language manuscript facsimiles in the future. Jessica said of the plan to make more facsimile styled novels available “There is a sense in this ever increasingly digital world that the value of handwriting and handwritten craft has never been so precious. It’s another reading experience – you really feel something very intimate, you create an intimacy with the writer, even a writer who has been gone for centuries. A particular bond is created when you discover a manuscript.”

If the idea of owning one of these ultimate Jane Eyre collector’s editions appeals to you then why not take a look at Éditions des Saints Pères website for more details on where to get a copy.



Leave your vote

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.