Jane Eyre: Éditions des Saints Pères Review
(Please note, this edition of Jane Eyre by Éditions des Saints Pères was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review)
Jane Eyre is one of my favourite classic books, and I’ve reread it many times since first picking it up as a teenager, gaining some fresh perspective or understanding on each return to the novel. After moving to Yorkshire last year, Charlotte Brontë’s timeless tale of passion, betrayal and endurance has become even more significant to me, and I recently made the pilgrimage to the Brontë Parsonage Museum at Haworth, eager to see more of the setting and landscape that inspired such tremendous writing. It was so moving to stand by the table at which Jane Eyre was written and to examine Charlotte’s writing box, as well as the letters, books, drawings and small treasures of the Brontë sisters.
An author’s handwriting offers an irresistible glimpse of their character, and I pored over the examples of Charlotte’s tidy - and often minute - script in the letters and diminutive booklets held at the Parsonage Museum. A few weeks later, imagine my delight when I received an email asking whether I would like a press copy of Jane Eyre, published by Éditions des Saints Pères (SP Books), a French publishing company that specialises in high-quality facsimile editions of the original manuscripts of classic works of literature.
The Éditions des Saints Pères three volume set of Jane Eyre is a true work of art and an incredible possession for any Brontë fan. Published as a limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies, this Jane Eyre is a stunning reproduction of Charlotte’s ‘fair copy’ manuscript which she carefully wrote out between 16th and 19th March 1847 and sent to the publishers Smith, Elder and Co. on 24th August 1847. The new head of the firm, George Smith, received the manuscript and said that ‘the story quickly took me captive.’ Indeed, he cancelled all his plans for the day and read Charlotte’s manuscript from morning til night, taking only reluctant breaks to eat, and finishing the book within twenty-four hours. Jane Eyre was published in October 1847 and was an instant success, numbering even Queen Victoria amongst its many avid readers.
The manuscript of Jane Eyre was kept as a prized possession by George Smith until his death in 1901, and it is now held at the British Library. Usually, I would only be able to dream of turning over each page, studying every crossing out and blot of ink in the original manuscript, but this facsimile edition allows me to do just that. SP Books’ team of specialised graphic designers have faithfully reproduced each line of the handwritten manuscript (over 824 pages long), capturing every detail from the occasional smudge of ink to the crossing out of a line or insertion of a word. The result is a large, beautifully bound, three volume edition, printed on thick, high quality, eco-friendly paper, and presented in its own handmade slipcase.
The facsimile manuscript edition is also special because it features forty-five black and white illustrations by the American artist Edmund Garrett, which originally appeared in an edition of Jane Eyre published in 1897. Garrett is also known for illustrating Pride & Prejudice and other classic works of poetry and prose.
I love how the oversized pages of the Éditions des Saints Pères allow me not only to get lost in the illustrations, but to spot small details within Charlotte’s writing. It’s a thrill to turn to the title page and see her chosen pseudonym ‘Currer Bell’ written down. Charlotte’s script is remarkably tidy: Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte’s friend and fellow author, said that she ‘would wait patiently, searching for the right term, until it presented itself to her.’ Charlotte clearly wished to send off a confident and accomplished manuscript, so the few changes she made are all the more interesting. In a few instances, a word or phrase is altered to improve the style or rhythm of a sentence, and Jane’s exchanges with Mr Rochester are also sometimes slightly revised in order to underline her independence of spirit.
This luxury edition of Jane Eyre would make a stunning gift for any English Literature graduate in your life, or for any devotee of Charlotte Brontë. Éditions des Saints Pères also offer a tempting selection of other facsimile manuscripts and deluxe editions; I have my eye on Lady Susan by Jane Austen and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in particular, but there are more to browse here.
And now I’m in the mood for yet another re-read of Jane Eyre!
