The Eyre Affair
First edition cover
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| Author | Jasper Fforde |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Thursday Next |
| Genre | Alternate history, science fiction, mystery |
| Publisher | Hodder and Stoughton |
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Publication date
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19 July 2001 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 59513683 |
| 823/.92 22 | |
| LC Class | PR6106.F67 E97 2001 |
| Followed by | Lost in a Good Book |
The Eyre Affair is the first published novel by English author Jasper Fforde, released by Hodder and Stoughton in 2001. It takes place in alternative 1985, where literary detective Thursday Next pursues a master criminal through the world of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.
In a parallel universe, England and Imperial Russia have fought the Crimean War for more than a century; England itself is still a parliamentary government, although heavily influenced by the Goliath Corporation (a powerful weapon-producing company with questionable morals); and Wales is a separate, socialist nation. The book's fictional version of Jane Eyre ends with Jane accompanying her cousin, St. John Rivers, to India in order to help him with his missionary work. Literary questions (especially the question of Shakespearean authorship) are debated so hotly that they sometimes inspire gang wars and murder. While regular law enforcement agencies still exist, new ones have also been created to deal with situations too specialized for traditional police work. These agencies fall under the single organization SpecOps (Special Operations), with more than 20 branches, including SpecOps 12, the Chronoguard, who police all events related to time travel, and SpecOps 27, the Literary Detectives, or "LiteraTecs", who deal with all literature-related crimes.
While the Crimean War has continued, outright battle has been avoided for several years, as both sides are at a stalemate. The war is now fought due to principle, with both sides being too stubborn to call for peace, and the Crimea has been so devastated by over 100 years of war that it is of no use to either side. There is also a peace movement in Britain which is gaining ground in popularity. Meanwhile, Goliath has been contracted to create a new type of handheld weapon, a plasma rifle codenamed "STONK", which threatens to reignite bloodshed, as the Russians have no equivalent, and the weapon is capable of destroying a tank with a single blast. Goliath promises that STONK will soon be standard issue to the British Military.
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