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The Eyre Affair

Thursday Next Book 1
By Jasper Fforde
Series: Thursday Next
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.88 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 136,436 ratings, 11,973 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is a whimsical and inventive tale set in an alternative version of 1985 where literature is fiercely revered. The story follows Thursday Next, a literary detective, who is tasked with protecting books from being altered or stolen. When a villainous character begins kidnapping characters from classic works, Thursday is drawn into a thrilling chase that blurs the lines between fiction and reality.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you love a clever blend of science fiction, fantasy, and literary adventure. Set in an alternate 1985 where literature has immense power, it follows a resourceful detective trying to save kidnapped characters from the pages of classic novels. With its quirky humour, intricate plot, and a passion for literature, it's perfect for readers who appreciate imaginative storytelling filled with unexpected twists.

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The Eyre Affair is Jasper Fforde's first novel, and the debut of a fresh and delightfully original new voice.

The Eyre Affair is Jasper Fforde's first novel, and the debut of a fresh and delightfully original new voice.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits, and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of Jane Eyre.

In this world, there are no jet-liners or computers, but there are policemen who can travel across time, a Welsh republic, and a great interest in all things literary - and a woman called Thursday Next.

In this utterly original and wonderfully funny first novel, Fforde has created a feisty, loveable heroine and a plot of such richness and ingenuity that it will take your breath away.

Series: Thursday Next

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  • The Eyre Affair
    There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits, and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of Jane Eyre. In this world, there are no jet-liners or computers, but there are policemen who can travel across time, a Welsh republic, and a great interest in all things literary...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One of our Thursdays is Missing
    It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld. Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But a week before the peace talks, Thursday vanishes. Has she simply returned home to the RealWorld, or is this something more sinister? All is not yet lost. Living at the quiet end of speculative...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Pre-order
    Dark Reading Matter
    The final novel in the highly acclaimed and beloved Thursday Next series. Will Thursday find her happy ending? The Dark Reading Matter is a theoretical realm that suggests that the observable bookverse can only account for 20% of the calculated total readable mass. Out there somewhere, possibly, is a larger and more expansive and unseeable 'Dark Bookverse' that contains millions...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    Pre-order
    Out 13 Oct 2026
  • First Among Sequels
    Fourteen years after her last adventure, Thursday Next, literary detective, finds herself in an unusual situation. Her job policing the fictional characters of the BookWorld has been downgraded since her previous escapades are now themselves in print. However, a pressing threat may call her back into action: first Sherlock Holmes and then Miss Marple are found dead, stopping their series...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Well Of Lost Plots
    Leaving Swindon behind her to hide out in the Well of Lost Plots, the place where all fiction is created, Thursday Next, Literary Detective and soon-to-be one-parent family, ponders her next move from within an unpublished book of dubious merit entitled Caversham Heights. Landen, her husband, is still eradicated, Aornis Hades is meddling with Thursday's memory, and Miss Havisham—when not...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Something Rotten
    Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde follows the adventures of Thursday Next, Head of JurisFiction and ex-SpecOps agent, as she returns to her native Swindon. Accompanied by a two-year-old child, a pair of dodos, and Hamlet—who is on a fact-finding mission in the real world—Thursday is tasked with capturing the escaped Fictioneer Yorrick Kaine. Simultaneously, she seizes the opportunity to retrieve...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Lost in a Good Book
    Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde follows Thursday Next, a literary detective and newlywed, as she embarks on an adventure that begins, quite literally, on her own doorstep. It seems that Landen, her husband of four weeks, actually drowned in an accident when he was two years old. Someone, somewhere, sometime is responsible. The sinister Goliath Corporation wants...
    By Jasper Fforde
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is praised for its clever blend of low comedy and high erudition, reminiscent of Monty Python's style. Described as "postmodernism played as raw, howling farce," it's seen as a silly book for smart people. The narrative receives acclaim for its imaginative and humorous nature, drawing comparisons to works by Douglas Adams and Lewis Carroll. It's noted for being potentially the start of a cult following, with anticipation evident among notable authors like Terry Pratchett.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780340733561

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 July 2001

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder Paperback

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 260g

Pages: 384

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Jasper Fforde New Release Fiction Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction Series: Thursday Next

About the Author

Jasper Fforde's first novel was publishing to astonishing critical and commercial success in 2001. Since then he has written 3 other Thursday next novels, and is working on the first in a new series of crime novels. Jasper lives near Hay-on-Wye and flies Tiger Moth aeroplanes as relaxation.

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    The final novel in the highly acclaimed and beloved Thursday Next series. Will Thursday find her happy ending? The Dark Reading Matter is a theoretical realm that suggests that the observable bookverse can only account for 20% of the calculated total readable mass. Out there somewhere, possibly, is a larger and more expansive and unseeable 'Dark Bookverse' that contains millions...
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