Ron Charles
f you know Jane Eyre and love it, don't deny yourself the pleasure of this intense little companion book. South African-born Sheila Kohler…sinks deep into the details of Bronte's life to re-create the atmosphere of her tragic, cloistered family. Parallels between Charlotte and her famous heroine are an irresistible subject of critical inquiry, and even if those parallels are sometimes drawn too baldly in Becoming Jane Eyre, Kohler's novel remains a stirring exploration of the passions and resentments that inspired this 19th-century classic.—The Washington Post