Thank you for finding this book and welcome to bookcrossing! Bookcrossing is a wonderful place to share your love of reading with people all over the world.

Please journal this book, describing where you found it, and then what you thought of it. You can remain anonymous if you want to, but if you do you won't be able to get notification each time someone else journals this book.

When you have finished with it please release the book and let it continue its journey. Keep its journey alive!

Following this books travels can be very fun.

Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.

The novel acts as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's famous 1847 novel Jane Eyre. It is the story of the first Mrs. Rochester, Antoinette (Bertha) Mason, a white Creole heiress, from the time of her youth in the Caribbean to her unhappy marriage and relocation to England. Caught in an oppressive patriarchal society in which she belongs neither to the white Europeans nor the black Jamaicans, Rhys' novel re-imagines Brontë's devilish madwoman in the attic. As with many postcolonial works, the novel deals largely with the themes of racial inequality and the harshness of displacement and assimilation.

The opening of the novel is set a short while after the 1834 emancipation of the slaves in British-owned Jamaica. The protagonist Antoinette conveys the story of her life from childhood to her arranged marriage to an unnamed Englishman (implied as Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre). As the novel and their relationship progress, Antoinette, whom he renames Bertha, descends into madness.

The novel is split into three parts:

Part One takes place in Coulibri, Jamaica and is narrated by Antoinette. Describing her childhood experience, she includes several facets of her life.

Part Two is from the point of view of her husband following their marriage and is set in Granbois, Dominica.

The shortest part, Part Three, is once again from the perspective of Antoinette, now known as Bertha, as she lives in the Rochester mansion, which she calls the "Great House". It traces her relationship with Grace, the servant who is tasked with 'guarding' her in England.

This is a must for anyone who enjoyed the story of Jane Eyre. As it is a prequel, you know what is going to happen to 'Bertha' in the end, though it is very interesting to see the journey of how she got there. Personnaly, I ended up feeling very sorry for her. Did she go mad because that was how she was treated? A self fulfilling prophecy perhaps.

Decided to release the book as a ray:

1001 book, paperback: 100g

1. Please journal when you receive the book to let others know it has arrived safely.

2. Please read the book before other books (excluding any rings/rays that arrived first)Try to have this book read within 4 weeks.

3. When about halfway through, please contact the next person on the list for their mailing address.

4. Please journal again when you've read the book to describe what you thought, and again when it is on its way to the next reader.

Participants so far - order may change if others join:
Caroley UK (AUS)
Dancesports AUS (Itnl)
elviraro Romania (EUR) - BOOK TRAVELLING HERE

The person at the end can readvertise in the forum, give to a friend, rabck, etc. etc. It does not matter how it is moved on just keep its journey alive!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Caroley to get the ray started.

Received today thanks!

I'll probably read it over the weekend and get it posted on next week.

I couldn't resist reading it first thing this morning as that haunting picture on the cover was pleading with me to pick it up.

I don't think I'll ever look at Jane Eyre in quite the same light again. It makes you think about it in a whole new light, which is rather clever really, for a book written by someone else. It took a mystery and expanded on it beautifully. I think I may need to reread Jane Eyre now and see how well it did slot in as I haven't read it for some years.

Also, even without the Jane Eyre connection, it was a marvellous book in its own right. It was so descriptive and atmostpheric. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks so much for sharing it bookowl1000.

I'll get it sent on asap.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Dancesports via surface mail today.

Book has arrived safely, I am adding to my tbr bookring pile (there has been a bit of a rush on bookrings and they are all arriving at once, I am making my war through them though - so hopefully it won't be too long before I start it.

I read this one last week, when travelling for work, a good book for plane reading and nice and quick, thanks

On it's way to the next person on the list.