Staff Pick
An uncompromising prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Rhys explores madness and betrayal, class and culture, all told from the perspective of Brontë's mysterious "Madwoman in the Attic."
Lovers of Brontë's work will enjoy a new look into her most famous story; however, Wide Sargasso Sea works as a stand-alone novel, so don't worry if you've never read Jane Eyre. Recommended By Nickolas J., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Wide Sargasso Sea, a masterpiece of modern fiction, was Jean Rhys s return to the literary center stage. She had a startling early career and was known for her extraordinary prose and haunting women characters. With Wide Sargasso Sea, her last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction s most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre. This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.
A new introduction by the award-winning Edwidge Danticat, author most recently of Claire of the Sea Light, expresses the enduring importance of this work. Drawing on her own Caribbean background, she illuminates the setting s impact on Rhys and her astonishing work.
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