Jane Eyre The novel has also been the subject of a number of significant rewritings and reinterpretations, notably Jean Rhys's seminal 1966 novel "Wide Sargasso Sea". "Jane Eyre"'s initial reception was in stark contrast to its reputation today. In 1848, Elizabeth Rigby (later Elizabeth Eastlake), reviewing "Jane Eyre" in "The Quarterly Review", found it "pre-eminently an anti-Christian composition," declaring: "We do not hesitate to say that the tone of mind and thought which has overthrown authority and violated every code human and divine abroad, and fostered Chartism and rebellion at home, is the same which has also written "Jane Eyre."" Literary critic
Jane Eyre with the sisters, but St. John remains aloof. The sisters leave for governess jobs, and St. John becomes somewhat closer to Jane. St. John learns Jane's true identity and astounds her by telling her that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her his entire fortune of 20,000 pounds (equivalent to just under $1.7 million in 2018). When Jane questions him further, St. John reveals that John Eyre is also his and his sisters' uncle. They had once hoped for a share of the inheritance but were left virtually nothing. Jane, overjoyed by finding that she has living and