The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Just the right amount of ridiculous in this unique alternate history caper. The year is 1985, but not Britain as we know it. Here the Crimean War is still raging with Imperialist Russia after 130 years, time travel is an everyday thing and cloned dodoes the nation’s favorite pet.
In this alternate world, literature is taken very seriously. The forging of famous poets is a criminal offense, “Will-Speak” machines quote Shakespeare on the street corner, plays are acted out with audience participation and the rare talent for jumping in and out of books exists.
In this alternate world, literature is taken very seriously. The forging of famous poets is a criminal offense, “Will-Speak” machines quote Shakespeare on the street corner, plays are acted out with audience participation and the rare talent for jumping in and out of books exists.
Our heroine, Thursday Next, works for the Literary Division of Special Ops in London, so when the precious original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit is stolen without a trace of evidence left behind, Thursday is on the case. And she knows who they are after – a man with a dangerous talent of persuasion, her old English Professor, the third most wanted criminal - Acheron Hades. With the help of a Prose Portal, Acheron Hades sends a henchman into the book to kidnap Mr. Quaverley and have him murdered, eliminating his character from existence. But the Chuzzlewit manuscript is small beans to this villain. He is after one of the plums of the literary worlds – the original manuscript of Jane Eyre. He plans to throw the world into uproar by stealing Jane Eyre right out of the pages. Now, Thursday Next, with the help of her team and Mr. Rochester must stop him.
This delightful, surreal, first -in-a-series novel will please across the board. Fforde has created a believable world with an engaging heroine and down-right evil villain and just the right mix of satire, fantasy and romance.
