Jane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte (Currer Bell)

"A PREFACE to the first edition of "Jane Eyre" being unnecessary I gave none: this second edition demands a few words both of acknowledgment and miscellaneous remark. My thanks are due in three quarters: To the public, for the indulgent ear it has inclined to a plain tale, with few pretensions. To the press, for the fair field its honest suffrage has opened to an obscure aspirant..." [from preface by Currer Bell, December 21, 1847]