He is the unloved second son of an old and esteemed family. She is breathtaking and rich but unknowingly carries the seeds of a devastating illness. Their fathers strike a convenient bargain which their children have little choice but to accept. Products of their time, Bertha Mason and Edward Rochester marry for financial security and respectability although they scarcely know one another. At best, they will become comfortable companions who grow to love one another. At worst . . . In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte hints at their early days together and gives a secondhand account of their catastrophic last encounter, but there is more to the story of Bertha and Edward's disastrous union-much, much more. A respectful look at Bronte's characters through their own eyes, The First Mrs. Rochester and Her Husband reveals how the Rochesters live in those shady years between leaving Jamaica and Jane's arrival at Thornfield Hall. Removed from the lush tropical garden she loved as a child and confined to a single room, Bertha struggles to understand the losses of her past and why she is hated and feared by her husband. Meanwhile, Edward crisscrosses Europe, seeking happiness but finding only failed affairs and painful truths. He grows inured to his despair and dissatisfaction until an unusual young woman joins his household and reminds him of the man he had hoped to become. A reckless plan to commit bigamy results in tragedy for everyone around him, and Edward-humbled physically and spiritually-must at last own his mistakes and strive to make peace with himself."