Jean Rhys' novels and stories are powerful works with poignant and disturbing insights into women's lives. Born in the Windward Islands, Rhys spent WW I in England and the next decade wandering the Continent. She returned to England prior to WW II.

In WIDE SARGASSO SEA, set in Jamaica and Dominica during the 1830s, Rhys imaginatively constructs the girlhood and marriage of Antoinette Bertha Cosway, the mysterious mad woman in JANE EYRE. It is a romantic and tragic novel, intense and spellbinding.

"This is Charlotte Bronte reconstructed from the inside out. Rhys draws you into a childhood dream that turns nightmare...chilling and beautifully realized." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)

• provincial lit1900-1960british lit@library@read 200620th c.fiction