Wide Sargasso Sea

Wide Sargasso Sea, first published in 1966, is the book for which author Jean Rhys is most known. The feminist and postcolonial novel, which explores power dynamics between men and women in a patriarchal society, was Jean Rhys's brilliant comeback to the literary stage after over a 20-year absence. Following the publication of Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys produced several more novels, short stories, and other manuscripts before her death in 1979. Wide Sargasso Sea was written as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, from the point of view of Antoinette Cosway, Mr. Rochester’s wife. A Creole heiress from Jamaica, Antoinette’s life story is revealed in three parts–the first focusing on her youth in Jamaica, the second her honeymoon with Mr. Rochester in Dominica, and the third and final focusing on the time she is confined in the attic of Mr. Rochester’s house in England after he declares her mad. The tension Rhys builds between the two prominent cultures and the two prominent characters in her novel creates a poignant and plaintive atmosphere that haunts readers’ minds.

The first edition of Wide Sargasso Sea was published in English in 1966 by André Deutsch in London. The format of the first edition is hardcover, and the jacket art was completed by artist Eric Thomas.

The first American Edition of Wide Sargasso Sea was published in English in 1966 by W.W. Norton in New York. This is a hardcover, octavo book, with jacket art by Bill Logan.