A review by ninas_unread_bookshelf
Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell

2.0

I preordered the paperback version of this book back in May and eagerly awaited its release for five months. I started reading it almost as soon as it arrived in the mail. I quickly found it to be an interesting expansion of a literary world I had come to know and love. I brought it with me everywhere I knew I would have a moment to read. I enjoyed reading about Adele Varens because it meant I was connecting again with the beloved Jane Eyre. However, I almost stopped reading this book completely when I reached the final four chapters. The way Cornwell completely obliterated Rochester’s character left me feeling extremely upset. Was he a perfect man? No, of course not because no man is perfect. But he was not the monster that Cornwell made him out to be. Yes, I know this is a fictional story and therefore a fictional character, and Cornwell was well within her rights to interpret and expand upon the original story in any way she deemed appropriate, but I personally was just left feeling distraught because it felt like one of my favorite classics had been attacked and was left potentially tarnished in my mind.