Jane Eyre is April's Reading group book

Charlotte Brontë’s much-loved, much-hated masterpiece should generate some fascinating debate

Following our Reading Group vote, I have to admit some relief in announcing that Jane Eyre has trounced Don Quixote. I am keen to try a tilt at Cervantes one day – but, for now, a familiar Victorian classic feels like an easier bet than a strange 17th-century doorstopper.

Although, “easy” is probably not the best word to use in relation to Charlotte Brontë’s awkward, fiery novel. It’s a book that has always been divisive. While a large majority spoke up for Jane Eyre, others dismissed it with adjectives including “sleep inducing” and even “vintage chick lit”.

Related: My hero: Charlotte Brontë by Tracy Chevalier

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.

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