The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)

by Jasper Fforde, Jasper Fforde

Paperback, 384 pages

Published July 19, 2001 by New English Library Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-0-340-73356-1

(10 reviews)

Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

3 editions

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next) by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next (1))

Review of 'The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

A book set in an alternate reality where a literary detective chases after a criminal into the world of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, sounds like an awesome idea for a book. I love books about books, and adding a detective should have been a recipe for success. Sadly this wasn’t the case for The Eyre Affair, which is book one in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. While some people like the mix between fantasy and humour, I could never really get into this book. It was a light read with nothing that really appealed to me. While a lot of people loved these books, I’ve found it a little too smug and in need of a rewrite. It was missing the right formula for a good fantasy or detective novel.

patchworkbunny reviewed The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next) by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next (1))

Review of 'The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Reading The Eyre Affair is like slipping on a comfy jumper, made just for book lovers. It's set in an alternative past where the Crimean War never ended and literature is revered enough to get its own branch of law enforcement. It's full of 'in-jokes' and word play that kept me smiling throughout. I think a basic knowledge of Jane Eyre is required to get the most out of it, even if you just read a plot summary first.