num_pages: 9
description: The word "unique" is overused and frequently misused. Here, however, is an instance where it truly applies. But to call The Eyre Affair a unique first novel featuring a fearless fictional adventurer barely begins to tell the story. When asked to summarize his creation is a single sentence, Jasper Fforde described it as "a literary detective thriller with romantic overtones, mad-inventor uncles, aunts trapped in Wordsworth poems, global multinationals, scheming evildoers, an excursion inside the novel Jane Eyre, dodos, knight-errant-time-traveling fathers, and the answer to the eternal question: Who really wrote Shakespeare's plays?" Swindon, a traditionally tranquil English town, is the ironic setting for most of these oddball characters and peculiar goings-on; the year is 1985. Fforde spins his wildly imaginative crime caper in language every bit as ingenious as the madcap plot; his devilishly clever turns of phrase take the form of verbal puzzles, anagrams, and literary and cinematic in-jokes.Long involved in the movie-making business, Fforde gives a starring role to Thursday Next, a captivating sleuth whose respect for literature matches that of her creator. The essence of Thursday's quest is the capture of Acheron Hades, a wily cad whose dastardly crime is murder of characters from the classics.
language: English
title: The Eyre Affair
titlecomplete: The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)
characters: Spike Stoker, Pickwick, Joffy Next, Jane Eyre, Thursday Next, Landen Parke-Laine, Polly Next, Mycroft Next, Braxton Hicks, Wednesday Next, Thursday's Dad (name unknown), Jack Schitt, Mrs. Nakajima, Emma, Lady Hamilton, Acheron Hades, Edward Rochester
genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Books About Books, Mystery, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy, Time Travel, Adult, Alternate History, Fantasy
ratings_count: 131129
places: England, Swindon, England, Wales
series: Thursday Next
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Locus Award
category: Best Science Fiction Novel, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Dilys Award, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: ALA Alex Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Lincoln Award
publisher: HighBridge Company