The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, Book 1)
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next, Book 2)
The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, Book 3)
Something Rotten (Thursday Next, Book 4)
By: Jasper Fforde
My Rating: Four out of Five Stars
Best for: 16 and up

Brit Lit About Brit Lit…

I’ve been hearing about Thursday Next for years. I can’t even bring up Jasper Fforde without someone asking me about it. My conversations typically go like this.

Me: I just read The Constant Rabbit! It was so cool, have you…
Someone: Ya, but have you read Thursday Next?
Or
Me: I can’t wait for Red Side Story! I loved Shades of Grey and I’ve been waiting for—
Someone: Ya, but have you read Thursday Next?
Or
Me: The Last Dragonslayer was so fun…
Someone: Ya, but have you read Thursday Next?

So, fine. I read Thursday Next. Hope you’re happy.

Because I am.

Thursday Next is just the quirky, Brit Lit solution to scratch the nerdy itches on my book-loving heart.

The story is about British Literary Detective Thursday Next, and is set in alternative-timeline 1980’s England. Time travel is a thing. Genetic cloning is a thing. Combine the two, and you get Thursday’s pet Dodo bird! Book characters can occasionally leave their book worlds and visit Thursday’s, and some real-worlders can occasionally enter a book world. When something goes awry in the world of literature—say, someone sneaks into a Dickens novel to kidnap a character for ransom or to change the ending to reflect their interests—Thursday next and her partners in SpecOps-Literary Division step in to right the wrongs and maintain order.

The story is clever and fun, and it’s packed full of literary easter eggs English majors everywhere will geek out over. As I’ve come to expect from Jasper Fforde, the Thursday Next books are superbly written, and they’re the a perfect tongue-in-cheek hug to book lovers everywhere—especially the ones who love classic British literature the best.

Haters gonna hate, so I’ll leave this note so you don’t enter unawares: Jasper Fforde isn’t for everyone. His books are quirky, silly, and even odd. The Thursday Next stories are written by a Brit for Brits. Do NOT jump into book 1 expecting normal, because you’ll end up adding to the collection of 1-star reviews that drive The Erye Affair’s rating down—even though book 2’s rating jumps way over 4 stars as other like-minded fans of quirky Brit Lit keep reading because they’ve embraced the silly.

There are currently 7 books in the Thursday Next series, with book 8 set to be published in 2024. I chose to stop reading at book 4, as that’s a natural break in the continuing story. Book 5 jumps forward in time by 14 years and begins a new chapter of Thursday’s adventures. I’ll come back to it at some point, but I’m satisfied with my experience for now.

Discerning readers may want to know there are some instances of grown-up language (Sh** and F***), but it’s limited in its use to specific characters. There is no sex or violence to be concerned with. Also, don’t try and love these books if you need your books straight forward and simple. You’ll be disappointed!

If you’re a book-loving nerd like me who enjoys books about books and not taking things seriously, you’re probably going to enjoy Thursday Next, too!

Happy Reading!