Jane Eyre vs Rebecca: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Married people, Drama, Romance, Fiction
Jane Eyre
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The novel is set somewhere in the north of England. Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends…
Rebecca
“Suddenly I saw a clearing in the dark drive ahead, and a patch of sky, and in a moment the dark trees had thinned, the nameless shrubs had disappeared, and on either side of us was a wall of colour, blood-red, reaching far above our heads. We were amongst the rhododendrons. There was something bewildering, even shocking, about the suddenness of their discovery. The woods had not prepared me for th”
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With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Jane Eyre has the widest readership — 2404942 ratings behind its score.
- Rebecca runs the darker storyline; Jane Eyre stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Jane Eyre | Rebecca | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (2404942) | 4.2 (760384) |
| Hardcover | — | 4.1 (814) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (152) | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (3488) | 4.5 (212) |
Reception
| Jane Eyre | Rebecca | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2404942 | 760384 |
| Editions | 1170 | 200 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1742045 | 820325 |
| Reading it now | 99285 | 30350 |
| Written reviews | 87752 | 55745 |
| Wikipedia attention | 58205 | 41922 |
| Pages | 468 | 366 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Jane Eyre or Rebecca?
Rebecca has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Rebecca 4.2/5, Jane Eyre 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Jane Eyre or Rebecca?
Rebecca is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Rebecca (366 pages, ≈ 6 h 47 m); Jane Eyre (468 pages, ≈ 8 h 40 m).
Which is harder to read: Jane Eyre or Rebecca?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Jane Eyre: Challenging; Rebecca: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Jane Eyre: 5 film adaptations; Rebecca: 5 film adaptations.