to think MrRochester is actually a bit of a shit.

[SheelaNeGoldGig]

He is miserable, grumpy. He leads Jane on, puts her in danger, makes Blanche think he's going to propose to he. Cross dresses. Is a bigamist, imprisons his wife in the attic and an all round cad and bounder.

AIBU?

What's the favourite Jane Eyre movie adaption and the best Mr Rochester?

For me definitely the 80's mini-series with Timothy Dalton, I think he was perhaps too attractive to play Rochester but I thought his acting was incredible, as was the girl who played Jane (Zelah Clarke).

Close second would probably be the lesser-known version shown on ITV3 now and again starring Ciaran Hinds, anyone else like it?

The Ciaran Hinds version was ok, Samantha Morton too as Jane Eyre.

I didn't mind one of the most recent versions, with Toby Stephens as Mr Rochester.

Talking of most annoying characters. Cosette and Marious from Les Misereables. Spoilt, ungrateful brats. Broke my heart when they left an old, broken and lonely Jean Valjean without a second glance. Sobbed and sobbed, it was crazy powerful.

I love Jane. I just hate that she thinks Mr R is All That.

My other heroines...
Becky Sharpe snd Moll Flanders.

Ha you are all nuts, Mr Rochester is lush. And very good in bed, too, you can tell.

Oh and Villette... well you can tell I'm a fan.

My favourite JE adapt is the not-very-well-know 1973 version with Sorcha Cusack and Michael Jayston. He is utterly to die for and the bestest Rochester evar. I lurve him :)

More than a bit of one...

And while we are on the subject - Maxim de Winter?

When I was a teenager Rebecca was one of my favourite books. But I re-read it as a grown woman and wanted to belt Max de W round the head, the selfish, self-centered, insensitive b***d. How could he not realise how difficult he was making things for his wife?

Oh no Maxim de Winter is COMPLETELY different! He's a chilling, horrible psychopath - Rochester is at least basically a good egg, just a patriarchal selfish one.

Rebecca is a rehash of Jane Eye for sure. A good one though, I love a bit of Du Maurier.

Maxim De Winter though is a twit. Why didn't he just say 'my first wife was a complete bitch, boy am I glad she's dead'. Instead of mousey little Mrs de W II wistfully believing he must have been madly in love with her.

Exactly squoosh Just think how much misery and uncertainty she would have been spared. And he should have sacked that housekeeper.

Rebecca is like the total reverse of Jane Eyre - de Winter has ALL the power, and the more powerful and dreadful he's revealed to be, the more under his thumb she falls. And she never even has a name.

Mrs Danvers in the 1940's Hitchcock version of Rebecca scares the absolute bejaysus out of me. How scary is that woman???

YANBU...

Oooh... Rebecca is one of my favourite books/films. I think they did MAxim's character way better in the film, he did come across as more of a dick in the book.

I still need to see an adaptation on Jamaica Inn. Any recommendations?

Yes when you're 12 Rebecca is like the most romantic book ever. And then you read it again when you're 30 and it's turned into a scary psychological thriller :) Some author said that the older you get, the more you sympathise with Rebecca, but she still terrifies me.

I accepted it when I first read JE, but looking back, that cross-dressing scene was utterly bizarre. Wouldn't you run a mile if a man did that?

(imagines Blanche Ingram: AIBU to think this was a bit of an odd dinner party at Thornfield Hall last night? Worse than the PomBears/turps one...)

Personally I never saw the attraction of Mr Darcy, well, except for the 10k a year and finest house in Derbyshire obviously.

I think Mr Bingley seemed like good fun. His mind wasn't on the highest of matters but he liked a bit of a dance a bit of a laugh. That must go a long way when you're stuck in a country estate with someone for months at a time.

I don't like Bingley, too easily swayed by his mates and bitch sisters.

I hate Lydia Bennett the most. She's so annoying and a flirt and she never really gets her comeuppance. Julia Swahala (sp?) plays her to a tee in the adaptation with Colin Firth.

That's my favorite adoption as well Lucysnowe

Nice to see the mentions of Tenant of Wildfell Hall - I read it for the first time a couple of months ago, really enjoyed it. I can see why it was considered controversial at the time though.

I quite enjoyed Jane Eyre, but agree Mr R was a bit of a git. Hated Wuthering Heights, Cathy and Heathcliffe are both horrible characters, with, as far as I can see, no redeeming features.

Sheela I love Moll Flanders, it's one of my favourite books. She is such a good character, and the book is a great read, despite it's age, it seems surprisingly modern.

Tenant of Wildfell is ok, good more accurate. My least favourite of the Bronte books would have to be Shirley.

I agree about Mr Bingley, he seemed like a cheerful and affable fellow, especially with the limited society in the country (risking the ire of Mrs Bennet there ) Mr Darcy's silent brooding might grow wearing after a few years too.

I quite liked that nice Colonel Fitzwilliam for Elizabeth, and I didn't like how his character was altered in that dreadful Death Comes to Pemberley book.

Max de Winter is just a vile human being.

Anyone who loves the Brontes should read 'taste of sorrow' by Jude Morgan. A boigraphical novel of them. I loved it and cried til my pj's were wet!

I think the key to both Jane Eyre and Rebecca is that they are not romantic tales featuring a hero and a heroine who pass through obstacles to come together.

Jane Eyre is a tale of a woman who stands up for herself and refuses to be taken in by the self-centered Byronic until he has done some serious growing up and is able to stand by her side as her equal. He basically needs to free himself of irresponsible patriarchal ideas.

And Rebecca is a totally chilling tale of a woman who does give in and is eaten alive by a psychopath. Remember that first chapter, where we get to see the non-life that is the outcome of their marriage?

Rebecca-awful.

He kills his wife-but she was dying & he goaded her-so that´s OK

He´s foul to his second wife, doesn´t defend her from Danvers, but then she keeps schtum(as does everyone), about him being a murderer.

"I´m asking you to marry me, you fool"-and reader, unfortunately she did!