What is the subtitle printed with Jane Eyre on its first edition title page?

The subtitle printed with Jane Eyre on its first-edition title page was An Autobiography.

The full original title was Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, and the book was presented as if its story came from Jane’s own life. Charlotte Brontë published it under the pseudonym Currer Bell, so the first edition’s title page credited the work to “Currer Bell” rather than openly naming its author.

The subtitle suits the novel’s first-person form. Jane narrates her experiences from childhood through her education, employment as a governess, emotional struggles and eventual independence. It does not mean the book is a literal autobiography: Jane is fictional, although Brontë drew on aspects of her own life.

Smith, Elder & Co. published the novel in London in 1847. Readers sometimes confuse the subtitle with a genre label such as “A Romance,” but An Autobiography is the wording associated with the first edition and its original publication.