Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This is the story of Bertha Mason, the mad wife of Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre, telling her story from the time she was a small child until her death. I am generally of the opinion that an author who takes another author's story is cheating somehow. Current examples would be The Hours, A Thousand Acres, and the absurd Bridget Jones's Diary. This one is somewhat different, however, in that only the very last part is actually taken from the inspiration novel. We learn about the events that shaped Antoinette Bertha Mason, eventually driving her insane, and that Mr. Rochester is not the blameless Romantic Hero we thought him to be. I found it very interesting, though if I had not read Jane Eyre it would have been much less so. The writing is good, and I would recommend this to anyone who has read Jane Eyre, particularly if you ever thought to yourself that Jane deserved better.