alisarae's review against another edition
I loved this retelling of Jane Eyre sooo much! Imagine if Jane Eyre wasn’t a pushover and instead she pushed back. Fun and fierce.
Also, the language felt naturally of that era. You know how sometimes you read a historical fiction and the language mixes contemporary expressions with old-fashioned words? This book was good at not doing that.
Also, the language felt naturally of that era. You know how sometimes you read a historical fiction and the language mixes contemporary expressions with old-fashioned words? This book was good at not doing that.
agirlsnightbookbash's review against another edition
5.0
Inspired by Jane Eyre and Nicholas Nickleby, Jane Steele takes similar story telling trends from her namesake. Absolutely riveting from the first page to the last. I really don't have the words to probably express my happiness that I read this, and read it with a friend so we have been able to gush over the pages.
jmatkinson1's review
5.0
Jane Steele is a huge fan of the novel 'Jane Eyre' and in its pages she finds some form of solace from her own life. Orphaned at a young age, disliked by her aunt and harassed by her cousin, Jane is sent to Lowan Bridge School to be educated. The only problem is that Jane murdered her cousin and, after many years of torment at school she murders her headmaster and flees to London. Surviving the best way she can, Jane racks up another two murders before returning to her childhood home as a governess, and then the real adventures start!
There is genre of novel that I have a real love for and that is the Victorian pastiche, books written with a real love for the classics but with a clever and modern twist on them. It is an incredibly hard thing to do, to get the balance right and here Lyndsay Faye has done it brilliantly. Her love of the Brontes, Dickens, etc shines through, Jane Steele is the anti-Jane Eyre and a completely twentieth century heroine but the settings and plot twists are pure Victorian Gothic. There is such a joie-de-vivre about this book and loads of little in-jokes to keep the intelligent reader chuckling - Mr Thornfield (Thornfield Hall), Patience Barbary (Miss Barbary), Quillfeather (Inspector Bucket) - as well as an understanding of the Punjab and the integration of Sikhs into British society. All in all this is a wonderful book to read, I kept thinking how clever it all was and then there was another turn, plotting is tight, language authentic and characters larger than life - I'm sad I've finished it!
There is genre of novel that I have a real love for and that is the Victorian pastiche, books written with a real love for the classics but with a clever and modern twist on them. It is an incredibly hard thing to do, to get the balance right and here Lyndsay Faye has done it brilliantly. Her love of the Brontes, Dickens, etc shines through, Jane Steele is the anti-Jane Eyre and a completely twentieth century heroine but the settings and plot twists are pure Victorian Gothic. There is such a joie-de-vivre about this book and loads of little in-jokes to keep the intelligent reader chuckling - Mr Thornfield (Thornfield Hall), Patience Barbary (Miss Barbary), Quillfeather (Inspector Bucket) - as well as an understanding of the Punjab and the integration of Sikhs into British society. All in all this is a wonderful book to read, I kept thinking how clever it all was and then there was another turn, plotting is tight, language authentic and characters larger than life - I'm sad I've finished it!
carstensena's review against another edition
4.0
Everything I had hoped it would be. Wonderfully written, with plenty of humor and suspense. Can't wait to start recommending this!
rebekel89's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
abeth_parker's review
3.0
This book is both brilliant and disturbing. I would have been happy with a Jane who's main concern was getting back to her childhood home, and schemed to do only that. The characters who inhabit Highgate House when Jane returns as an adult are fascinating to no end. Having Jane with so much death on her hands is not terribly appealing to me. There's more than one way to be made of steel. I have to say, though, that this is a truly unique take on the "Jane Eyre" story.
laurenbaggy's review
3.0
After the first 100 pages, I really thought I would love this book. For the rest of the first half, I was convinced it would be a 5 star read. After that though, it went downhill. I think I really liked the characters and the writing style, but the second half of the book was dedicated to a mystery that I was completely uninterested in and I think because I wasn't invested, it lost me completely.
As I said, the characters were good. I liked the world and the premise that was explored in the first half, but after that it lost its way.
As I said, the characters were good. I liked the world and the premise that was explored in the first half, but after that it lost its way.