Books

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)
Tell No One
The Apprentice
Blindsighted
Three Great Novels - The Thrillers: "The Perfect Husband", "The Other Daughter", "The Third Victim"
The Ladykiller
Let It Bleed (Inspector Rebus S.)
Monday Mourning
The Black Book (Inspector Rebus S.)
A Question of Blood
The Winter Queen
The Front
The Phantom of the Opera (Penguin Popular Classics)
The Innocent
Dead Witch Walking
Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus S.)
Jack and Jill
Kill the Messenger
Angels Flight
Blood from a Stone
Dark Fire
Disordered Minds
The Concrete Blonde
The Kills
Just One Look

Average customer rating:

Bad summary!
What a waste of a great idea!
The Eyre Affair
Too Much Swearing
An Affair to Remember

The Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Alternate History | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel
Something Rotten (Thursday Next Novels)
The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime

ASIN: 0670030643
Release Date: 2002-01-28

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, January 2002: When I first heard the premise of this unique mystery, I doubted that a first-time author could pull off a complicated caper involving so many assumptions, not the least of which is a complete suspension of disbelief. Jasper Fforde is not only up to the task, he exceeds all expectations.

Imagine this. Great Britain in 1985 is close to being a police state. The Crimean War has dragged on for more than 130 years and Wales is self-governing. The only recognizable thing about this England is her citizens' enduring love of literature. And the Third Most Wanted criminal, Acheron Hades, is stealing characters from England's cherished literary heritage and holding them for ransom.

Bibliophiles will be enchanted, but not surprised, to learn that stealing a character from a book only changes that one book, but Hades has escalated his thievery. He has begun attacking the original manuscripts, thus changing all copies in print and enraging the reading public. That's why Special Operations Network has a Literary Division, and it is why one of its operatives, Thursday Next, is on the case.

Thursday is utterly delightful. She is vulnerable, smart, and, above all, literate. She has been trying to trace Hades ever since he stole Mr. Quaverley from the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and killed him. You will only remember Mr. Quaverley if you read Martin Chuzzlewit prior to 1985. But now Hades has set his sights on one of the plums of literature, Jane Eyre, and he must be stopped.

How Thursday achieves this and manages to preserve one of the great books of the Western canon makes for delightfully hilarious reading. You do not have to be an English major to be pulled into this story. You'll be rooting for Thursday, Jane, Mr. Rochester--and a familiar ending. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude . . .

Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids . . .

Suspenseful and outlandish, absorbing and fun, The Eyre Affair is a caper unlike any other and an introduction to the imagination of a most distinctive writer and his singular fictional universe. Next up in the Thursday Next series: Lost in a Good Book. Read more about it at thursdaynext.com.

Customer Reviews:

Bad summary!.......2007-05-24

I very much enjoyed this book and found myself laughing aloud at the clever literary allusions. The way Shakespeare is treated is especially amusing. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a light and entertaining, but still fantastic read.

BUT, BE WARNED: The description on the back cover is awful. It leaves out major chunks of the story and addresses only the last third of the book. There is much more to this novel.

What a waste of a great idea!.......2007-05-17

The premise of this book really appealed to me, but the end result was very disappointing.

"The Eyre Affair" is part science fiction, part mystery, and part "alternative historical fiction." In this novel, the setting is Great Britain, circa 1985, but it's very different from ACTUAL Great Britain 1985. Here, time travel is a daily occurrence, dodos are the pet bird of choice, and the Crimean War is logged at 130 years and counting. Also, literature is taken VERY seriously...so much so that there's an entire Special Operative unit devoted to literary detection.

Enter Thursday Next, a SpecOps LitaraTec. When Acheron Hades, one of Britain's most notorious criminals, starts kidnapping characters from major works of literature, Thursday's on the case. Hades eventually sets his sights on Jane Eyre herself, and Thursday must delve into Charlotte Bronte's famous novel to save the day.

There are aspects of this book that I absolutely loved, but those things were overshadowed by the 85% of the book that just dragged and dragged and DRAGGED! I'm not sure if there was just too much going on at once or if author Jasper Fforde included too much unnecessary back-story, but the pace of this novel didn't pick up until the very end, and by that point I had pretty much lost interest. The idea of jumping into famous novels and interacting with such prominent literary characters is fabulous, but Fforde didn't spend enough time developing that element of the story. For example, Thursday encounters Mr. Rochester very briefly several times in the first three-fourths of the book, but the real excitement that takes place in the heart of "Jane Eyre" doesn't begin until the last 50 pages or so...and by that time, it's just too late.

Fforde has such a great sense of humor and the concept of this book is brilliant, but he lost me early on because the text was so dry and filled with numerous details that really didn't matter all that much. I hope the other installments in the Thursday Next series are better than this one, but I don't plan on taking the time to find out. If you read this book, stick to the last 50 pages and you'll be delighted, especially if you love "Jane Eyre." Otherwise, don't bother with it.

The Eyre Affair.......2007-05-15

I loved this book. Jane Eyre has always been one of my favorite books, and getting inside it was great. Also, I loved the Fforde's characters and the world he created in this book. Imagine a whole world dedicated to literature. Amazing! It's truly an ideal world and ideal book for an English Major like me.

Too Much Swearing.......2007-05-12

I heard this was a clever book. It would have been more enjoyable if there was less swearing. I made it to page 295 before I gave up (I only made it that far because I was reading it for a book group).

Some people don't care about swearing, but if you do, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. Good luck . . .

An Affair to Remember.......2007-04-25

I'm not sure the book lived up to its hype and all the talk I heard about it but I did enjoy it a great deal for all of that. I thought the book started off fairly slow; it took me a good bit to get into the story and care about the characters but once I had time to sit down for a longer chunk and get myself involved I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Fforde makes lots of sly winks and nods to fellow bibliophiles and word lovers in the names he uses for chapter titles and characters. It was like what I imagine being part of the popular crowd to be like and being able to get the in-jokes. I found myself intrigued enough by the novel, even with the slow start, to purchase _Lost in a Good Book_, the next book in the adventures of Thursday Next. I'm sure I'll be buying more of Fforde's work as well.

Average customer rating:

Only for the severely attention deficit disabled or the intensely acquisitive

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Mystery & Thrillers | Books on CD | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel
The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
The Eyre Affair
The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime

ASIN: 1840328681

Customer Reviews:

Only for the severely attention deficit disabled or the intensely acquisitive.......2007-02-09

This wildly truncated version of the book was quickly replaced with a nearly unabridged version that most audio listeners know as the only version. This one made it to CD, and should be kept there. It's a collectible, and guaranteed to get a bit dusty.

But some of you just know you have to hear this version, too. It's the original British version. I prefer unabridged books in audio, so this one is unbelievably unsuccessful between my ears.

No stars for the story, what's left of it. Five stars for existing, at least in this reality, for a little longer. Check your chronograph at the door if you order it.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic!
A wild trip into an alternative universe.
My inner English Major has found a new favourite...
Finally
Consider me smitten

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: New English Library Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel
Something Rotten (Thursday Next Novels)
The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime

ASIN: 034073356X

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2007-06-07

Quite frankly, I don't know just how Jasper Fforde makes this stuff up; a parallel 1985. A hundred and fifty years of Crimean War. England giving the Isle of White to France. Dodos. But the best most fun part of this world is that the technology that allows the characters to jump in and out of books seems quite plausible.

I also don't quite know how to describe Fforde's heroine Thursday next. She is as special and unique as her name. She's brave and headstrong and nothing ever seems impossible.

It's also equally difficult to pigeonhole the book and its sequels into one single genre. Is it fantasy? Science fiction? Comedy? Adventure? Who knows, but once you pick up the EA you might, like me, not be able to put the darned thing down. I can't wait for my own cloned dodo!

A wild trip into an alternative universe........2005-09-19

Jasper Fforde has a rich imagination that moves in wacky directions, an off-the-wall sense of humor that never quits, and a deep knowledge and love of literature which give shape and substance to this hilarious "thing" he's created. Not really a mystery, sci-fi thriller, satire, or fluffy fantasy, this wild rumpus contains elements of all these but feels like a completely new genre. Fforde combines "real" people from the "historically challenged" world of his plot with characters from classic novels, adding dollops of word play, irony, literary humor, satire--and even a dodo bird--just for spice.

With "real" characters who can stop time or travel back and forth in it, hear their own names (the names here are really terrific!) from 1000 yards away, appear in duplicate before themselves to give advice, travel inside books, and change the outcome of history, the reader journeys through Fforde's looking glass into a different and far more literary universe than the one we know. Thursday Next, a SpecOp-27 in the Literary Detective Division of Special Operations, is looking for Acheron Hades, who has stolen the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and killed one of the characters in it, thereby changing the story forever. Thursday and the Literatecs are trying to prevent him from getting inside Jane Eyre and committing further murders.

If you have not read Jane Eyre recently, your pleasure in this book will be greatly enhanced if you look up a brief plot summary on-line before proceeding too far--the ending of Jane Eyre as we know it is different from the ending of Jane Eyre as Thursday Next knows it, and the differences themselves become a delightful part of this plot. Though some readers seem to feel that the book would benefit from a bit of pruning in order to strengthen its conclusion, that suggestion seems to me to be too much like Acheron Hades changing Martin Chuzzlewit or Jane Eyre--if you do that, something is irreparably lost--and this book is so much fun that I'd hate to lose even a single word! Mary Whipple

My inner English Major has found a new favourite..........2005-02-23

I have never been a fan of fantasy or sci-fi, and yet, this was an incredible read. Anybody who has studied literature will find this and the subsequent others absolutely BRILLIANT. It is hilarious: like a bizarre "alice in wonderland" premise where the reader follows Fforde through books - a wild imaginary ride. If you have ever wanted to enter a novel literally - pardon the pun - this novel makes it possible.

Granted, the love affair development between Thursday and Landen is a bit stale, but that is not the focus of the work. The wonderment of this book is how, in the name of all things sacred, did Fforde come up with this plot and story line?! The character development of Thursday Next allows us to see her for who she is in the context of the story, and we can visiualize what her uncle's inventions are or her annoyance at her father's inability to stay more than five minutes at a time.

This was a good distraction from writing my thesis... now, if only I can get my hands on a couple of those bookworms...

Finally.......2004-08-23

From out of the literary wilderness of today's flaccid, made-for-Hollywood fiction comes Jasper Fforde with a cast of characters from the pages of history (both past and future). How refreshing it is to encounter an author who presupposes the intelligence of the reader and succeeds in making the impossible rather plausible. Falling into the pages of this book is like encountering beloved old friends in new and unexpected places as Mr Quaverley, Rochester, Wordsworth, Jane Eyre and a host of others find themselves threaded into the plot. Mad Baconians, casual vampires, interactive productions of Richard III...it all makes complete sense in the world of the heroine, Thursday Next. One can only imagine how delightful it must be to possess a mind as elegantly agile as Jasper Fforde's.

Consider me smitten.......2003-12-31

This book is my top recommended read of the year. I've forced my copy on almost everyone I know, and every single one of those people has come back looking for more. The Eyre Affair is the pivotal start to the fabulous series featuring Thursday Next, heroine to literary buffs everywhere.

It is rare in this day and age to find an author who not only pays homage to the great writers like Austen, Shakespeare, Dickens, and of course Bronte, but who then also manages to create a genre unlike any other and very much his own. Experience a world where the literary tradition is revered and imagination reins supreme.

This book is an oasis in the otherwise stagnating realm of fiction today... Dive in and Enjoy!

The Eyre Affair; Lost in a Good Book; The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, 1, 2, 3)

Average customer rating:

The Eyre Affair; Lost in a Good Book; The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, 1, 2, 3)
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RC2BBC

Product Description

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books have been compared to the works of Terry Pratchett & Douglas Adams, but really he is unique. Filled with delightful literary allusions, quirky humour, and sly political commentary, they are an imaginative romp of seemingly endless invention. read them and feel clever!

Average customer rating:

One minor complaint

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

General | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1840328630

Customer Reviews:

One minor complaint.......2007-04-03

Overall, I love this recording. The narrator does a great job being Thursday.

The minor complaint? It's a "slightly abridged" recording. There isn't much missing, but even a little is too much! I want every word!

Average customer rating:

The Eyre Affair - A Thursday Next Novel
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1QTSG

The Thursday Next Quartet - The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten

Average customer rating:

The Thursday Next Quartet - The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Hodder and Stoughton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HLYOLI

Product Description

Complete set of Fforde's "Thursday Next" books in their original U.K. publication.

Books:

Books