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Wide Sargasso Sea

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( 104,380 ratings, 9,726 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
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, exploring the backstory of the enigmatic Mr. Rochester’s first wife, Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress. Set in the lush and tumultuous landscape of post-colonial Jamaica, it delves into themes of identity, racial tensions, and the complexities of cultural displacement. The novel portrays Antoinette’s journey from her childhood to her tragic marriage, shedding light on her descent into madness.
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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?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy a richly layered prequel to classic literature, offering a new perspective on a well-known character from Charlotte Brontë's famous story. Set in the lush and captivating landscape of the Caribbean, this narrative delves deeply into themes of identity, colonialism, and madness, providing a compelling exploration that adds depth and complexity to Jane Eyre.

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Wide Sargasso Sea

Born into an oppressive, colonialist society, white Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent beauty and sensuality. After their marriage, however, disturbing rumours begin to circulate which poison her husband against her.

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

Jean Rhys's unique prequel to Jane Eyre, a masterpiece of twentieth-century literature.

Jean Rhys's late, literary masterpiece Wide Sargasso Sea was inspired by Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, and is set in the lush, beguiling landscape of Jamaica in the 1830s. Born into an oppressive, colonialist society, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent sensuality and beauty.

After their marriage, the rumours begin, poisoning her husband against her. Caught between his demands and her own precarious sense of belonging, Antoinette is driven towards madness.

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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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?

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea is praised for transforming a 19th-century classic into a 20th-century masterpiece. Critics appreciate the novel's rich modernist and postmodernist motifs, and its subversive approach to revisiting and challenging the narrative of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. It is regarded as a brilliantly multifaceted work.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141185422

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 August 2000

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Andrea Ashworth

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 135g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Jean Rhys was born in Dominica in 1894. After arriving in England aged sixteen, she became a chorus girl and drifted between different jobs before moving to Paris, where she started to write in the late 1920s. She published a story collection and four novels, after which she disappeared from view and lived reclusively for many years. In 1966 she made a sensational comeback with her masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, written in difficult circumstances over a long period. Rhys died in 1979.

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