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The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde |
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| Publishing Data |
 Published 2002 |
Followed by several sequels:
 Lost in a Good Book (2002) in which Thursday Next must travel to the Great Hall of Jurisfiction to apprentice with Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and infiltrate Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" to release the villainous Jack Schitt in order to exchange him for her husband Landon who has been eradicated from the time stream.
The Well of Lost Plots (2003) in which Thursday, now pregnant, has taken advantage of the Character Exchange Program to live within the pages of a detective novel while she tries to remember her husband Landon, works toward becoming a full-fledged Jurisfiction agent, and tries to solve the murders of several fictional characters, most notably that of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.
Something Rotten (2004) in which Thursday gives up her position as the Bellman of Jurisfiction in order to return to her home town of Swindon with her baby Friday. Accompanied by Shakespeare's character Hamlet, she attempts to restore her eradicated husband Landon to the timeline while at the same time thwarting the fictional character Yorrick Kaine's plot for world domination by coaching the Swindon croquet team to win the Super Hoop. |
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In an alternate version of 1985, Thursday Next, a Special Operations Literature Detective, pursues master criminal Acheron Hades, who has kidnapped Thursday's uncle Mycroft, the inventor of a Prose Portal that allows fictional characters to pass into reality and vice versa.
Aided by her time-traveling father and the Edward Rochester character from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Thursday attempts to bring Hades to justice while pursuing peace in the Crimean War, and attempting to mend her own love life. |
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| Background |
The actual Crimean War was fought between Russia and the allied powers of England, Turkey, France and Sardinia between 1853-56. Its object was to limit Russian influence in the Balkans.
Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854) was written in reference to the battle of Balaklava fought in 1854.
Florence Nightingale gained renown as a nurse during the Crimean War.
The war ended after the fall of the city of Sevastopol, base of the Russian fleet.
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The novel is full of literary allusions. The following information will help you enjoy some of the many literary references:
The Mill on the Floss is the title of a novel by George Eliot.
James Boswell (1740-95) was the biographer of Samuel Johnson. A Boswell is someone who devotes himself to recording the exploits of another.
Pickwick is the title character of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.
Mycroft is the name of Sherlock Holmes's brother.
Acheron and Styx are two of the rivers of Hades, the netherworld of Greek mythology.
Edward Lear mentions a runcible spoon in his nonsense poem "The Owl and the Pussycat."
Bram Stoker is the author of Dracula.
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| Discussion Guide |
| Identify the literary allusions. How do they enhance the story? |
| What happens in Chapter 13? Why? |
| Is enjoyment of the story dependent on the reader having a background knowledge of Elizabethan and Victorian literature? Explain. |
| How does the story handle the time travel paradox? |
| How does the subplot regarding the Crimean War contribute to the story? |
| What does the Goliath Group represent? |
| Compare Thursday's relationship to Landon to Rochester's relationship to Jane Eyre. |
| What does this novel say about the function of literature in a society? |
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Novels
© 2005 Dr. Agatha Taormina
Last Revised:
November 5, 2009
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