A short story by Francine Prose from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

‘The Mirror’ boldly imagines Jane Eyre’s married life after the novel ends.

Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader, I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte Brontë’s game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Reviews

Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:

‘Dazzling’ DAILY MAIL

‘The success of this book owes much to [Chevalier’s] enthusiasm … it’s quite amazing to see the quality of work on show’ EVENING STANDARD

‘A terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyre’ THE NEW STATESMAN

‘A clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for Brontë's many ardent fans’ KIRKUS REVIEWS

‘Exemplary…written by some of today's best female writers’ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

‘These pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and it’s a reminder that Charlotte Brontë, too, has many sides’ GLOBE AND MAIL

About the author

Francine Prose is a novelist and critic whose most recent
book, Peggy Guggenheim: The Shock of the Modern, was
published by Yale University Press. Her previous books
include the novels Lovers at the Chameleon Club: Paris,
1932, My New American Life, Goldengrove, A Changed
Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the 2001
National Book Award, and the non-fiction New York Times
bestseller Reading Like A Writer: A Guide for People
Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them.
She writes frequently for the New York Times Book
Review and the New York Review of Books. She lives in
New York City.