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Our Jane Eyre Book Club, Part Two –

OK, everyone, we are doing this! Looks like a lot of you are going to join me in reading Jane Eyre, which makes me most delighted.

Here is my thought…why don't we all go off and bury our heads in the novel and go about our lives in the meanwhile and then reconvene here on Saturday June 8th (what I am now calling JANE EYRE DAY) to discuss the book for the whole day on this page?

Sounds good?

Bring your observations, your delights, your bits of literary history, your questions, your chilblains (I am deep enough into the story already that I see poor Jane suffers quite frequently from chilblains, poor dear)…it'll be a great crashing spot of fun! And as for those of you clever souls who have read and loved Jane Eyre many times, do please join in the discussion, to welcome us neophytes and set us straight.

SEE YOU THERE, BRONTEPHILES!

PS — thank you so much to Sophie Khan, for her heroic efforts to gather this impromptu book club even closer together, and thank you also to Angela Jessie Nix for introducing me to the terrific concept of "Team Edward (Rochester)." And thank you to everyone who eased my shame by admitting that you, too, have never read Jane Eyre. You guys are all great. Let's DO this!

Mark it in your hornbooks (or whatever) — JUNE 8th!

I remain your humble servant,
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

OK, I'm reading it!

Everyone, I went and found a nice new Penguin hardcover edition of Jane Eyre and I'm already 50 pages in.

Thank you to all who brought Jane to my long-overdue attention. It's WONDERFUL! How did I have this so wrong? How is it possible that I (who so loves 19th century literature) could have avoided this gem all these decades? Why did nobody make me read it before? How did I think it would be dry and moralizing, when in fact it is juicy and savvy and crisp? (Also, it's dedicated to William Makepeace Thackeray! Pretty classy dedication there, Miss Charlotte. NICE.)

So it's on, folks. It's seriously ON.

Who wants to read it along with me? Facebook book club? Facebookclub?

So…Jane Eyre everyone? Anyone? Pull up a chair and cup of tea with me and dive in?

It's fantastic.

Happy reading,

xo
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

AND THE WINNER IS….

Diane Wulf!

Hey everyone —

A few weeks ago, I ran a contest through my LizNews Newsletter (my subscription email newsletter) to give away an early review copy of my new novel, "The Signature of All Things" to one lucky reader.

The contest was this: I asked everyone to answer this question, "Who is your favorite heroine from literary history?"

The answers were such a delight! We had everyone from Pippi Longstockings to Carmen to Emma Bovary as responses. (And I'm guessing that's the first time I've ever mentioned THOSE three names together in the same sentence.)

I read every single entry personally…hundreds of them! I saw some recurring themes, and some recurring favorites. (Thank you very kindly to all of you, by the way, who named "Liz Gilbert" as your favorite heroine of literary history, though I did have to knock those off the list pretty quickly, due to: a) I'm not fictional…at least I hope not!, and b) It would seem a bit suspect to give the award to somebody who picked me! But thank you. Y'all are lovely.)

That said…

Lots of you REALLY love Scarlett O'Hara.

Lots of you REALLY love Jo March.

Lots of you REALLY love Elizabeth Bennett.

Lots of you REALLY love Scout Finch.

I love them all, too…and some of you also loved my two personal favorites: Dorothy Gale and Isabel Archer.

But you know who showed up the most in your responses? And to my great surprise? Jane Eyre. Plain, stalwart, strong Jane Eyre.

And now I have to confess something shameful: I have never read Jane Eyre. (Flinching and wincing now, waiting to be struck down by literary gods…no? I won't be killed? Whew.) But so many of you wrote so beautifully about Jane that now I must read her. And Diane Wulf wrote about Jane Eyre most beautifully of all…telling about being a young Catholic schoolgirl and choosing that book as a school assignment, and about being physically and emotionally unable to express to the nuns how much Jane meant to her, how Jane had entered her and inspired her. I was very touched.

SO…Diane Wulf and Jane Eyre it is!

I gave Diane a choice of which copy of "Signature" she would like — The ivory-colored American version, or the lush green British copy…and being that she is a fan of the Brontës, it may not be surprising that she went for the English version (seen here). I will sign it and send it to her next week.

FUN!

I will be doing a book giveaway contest every month till the novel comes out in October, and each time with a new question. If you'd like to be part of it next time, do sign up for my LizNews Newsletter. Super easy — you can click on the "LizNews" app in the upper right corner of this page, or you can go to my website, www.elizabethgilbert.com and sign up on the opening page there.

And thank you Diane…and everyone who participated! And for those who didn't get a chance to express themselves in the contest…who is YOUR favorite literary heroine?

OK, on to reading Jane Eyre I go!

…and ps: I hope someday you will all love Alma Whittaker as much as these other great creations of literary history.

Blessings,

xo
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

So lovely…blessings everyone!

Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Wishing You a blessed "Buddha Purnima" Elizabeth . keenly waiting for your next book to be published……………hugs and Love from India.

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall