Jane Eyre: An Autobiography

Orphaned, unloved, and punished for having a spirit, Jane Eyre survives a cruel aunt and a brutal charity school to become a governess at Thornfield Hall. Her employer there is the abrupt, magnetic Mr. Rochester, and something laughs in the corridors at night. Jane narrates her own story with a directness that still startles. Poor and plain she may be, but she will not be condescended to, and she will not trade her self-respect for anything, not even love.

Brontë's novel scandalized 1847 and reads today like the birth of the modern first-person heroine. It's a Gothic romance and a mystery and a declaration of independence all at once, and since the whole book is Jane speaking directly to you ("Reader, I..."), hearing it told aloud is exactly how it wants to be received.

At roughly 180,800 words, Jane Eyre: An Autobiography runs about 20 hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The edition linked here is available from Project Gutenberg under its US public-domain listing. Check the edition, translation, completeness and copyright rules where you live. LoudReader lets you browse and download Gutenberg books; they are not all stored on installation. To listen:

1. Install LoudReader on iPhone or iPad, or its iPad app on a compatible Apple Silicon Mac.
2. Search for “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

Speech is generated locally without uploading the book for narration. Download the book and check your chosen voice before travelling offline. Available voices depend on your device; check the in-app voice list. Try every available voice for your first 8 hours of listening. Afterwards, keep a free English voice selection and unlimited book listening. No LoudReader account or word quota.