Jane Eyre

As a young governess at Thornfield Hall she meets its moody owner, Mr Rochester, and slowly learns that the house is hiding something. Told in Jane's own voice, the novel caused a sensation in 1847 with its passion and its claim that a poor, plain woman deserves as much dignity and love as anyone. Read it for a gripping story, a touch of gothic mystery and one of the great heroines of English fiction.