To Hold: A Short Story from the collection, Reader, I Married Him

Joanna Briscoe is the author of five novels, including thebestselling Sleep with Me (Bloomsbury), published in elevencountries and adapted as an ITV drama by Andrew Davies.She has had several stories published in anthologies andbroadcast on Radio 4, has written for all the national newspapers, and worked as a columnist and literary critic for the Guardian. Her sixth novel, When Nobody’s Looking, will bepublished by Bloomsbury UK and US in spring 2017. Shelives in London with her family. Joanna Briscoe first readJane Eyre while growing up on the moors in Devon, and herfavourite section is when Jane is at Lowood.

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 -