This novel kept me on the edge of my seat, loving the determined and ever-eloquent Jane and rooting for her through all her ordeals. It also had some profound physical and emotional effects on me. When I read of her time in the orphanage, I swore to myself I would learn to sacrifice more and complain less, when I read of her encounter with the fortune-teller I literally got chills and went back to re-read that part. 
 Does it help that I'm an incorrigible romantic and a god-faring woman with an independent streak? Yes, but this is a 5-star classic in my eyes; one as accessible and inspiring today as it surely was in its day. A special warning to teenage girls with similar temperaments to Jane's: it's fiction. See High Fidelity for an updated account of the average 21st century gentleman.