I am a big fan of Lyndsay Faye, but I couldn’t really pick up her 2016 work Jane Steele until now because I had not read Jane Eyre until late last year. While I’m sure you could read Jane Steele without reading Jane Eyre, I don’t know if you’d really see all that Faye is accomplishing in this work if you did. For that reason alone, I’m glad I waited. I love a quality retelling and Faye is absolutely delivering on that front. Jane Steele borrows the form and style of its predecessor and tells another story of a young woman attempting a life of her own, on her own terms.
While in Jane Eyre we see Jane become an individual and stand up for herself as a person worthy of whatever agency and independence she can carve out for herself, the Jane of Jane Steele is already confident and independent, but still fighting a sense of her own impending doom. Jane Steele is convinced from an early age that the only way to see her dead mother again is to commit a sin so great as to end up in Hell, and knowing herself capable of murder, she leans into this new persona. As her life progresses from child, to teenager, and onto early adulthood Jane falls back onto this skill set whenever a danger presents itself. This only covers the beginning third to half of the book, once Mr. Thornfield arrives in the book broadens its scope.
There is no woman locked in the attic in this book. The subtext of passion and sexuality in Jane Eyre become text in Jane Steele. The dearth of agency and independence that was possible and probable in the mid-1800s is still rife for discussion. This books is just flat out GOOD and I am having trouble finding the words to say exactly how good it is, so I’m going to stop trying after nearly two weeks of fighting with this review and just implore you to read the book.
Scootsa1000 says
March 20, 2019 at 7:08 amYes, yes, yes to all of this.
Malin says
March 20, 2019 at 10:31 amI loved this book SO much when I read it, and your review made me remember just how much it resonated with me. I love how clever a reimagining of Jane Eyre it is, and how it follows its source material, while also doing its own thing entirely. I especially liked the added element of the Indian house staff, and the insight the book gave into a conflict not necessarily covered too closely in a lot of Victorian-set novels.
faintingviolet says
March 24, 2019 at 4:23 pmI agree, I was already falling four stars in love with the book and then when an entire household of of Sikhs and the Thornfield backstory came into play and I was five stars in love. I feel like Faye is very good at finding the detail you don’t know about a time period (and she really seems to love the 1840s) and expand it into her work.
narfna says
March 20, 2019 at 1:25 pmYou’re making me want to re-read!
NTE says
March 25, 2019 at 2:45 pmQuestion – If one did not particularly enjoy Jane Eyre, give this a try, or pass?
faintingviolet says
March 25, 2019 at 5:05 pmI would say it would depend on what about the original didn’t work for you. St. John not your cup of tea? There is no equivalent in this book. Felt the pace a bit sloggy? This one is crisp, but a bit slow on the start.