Escaping Mr. Rochester

November 1, 2023
Jane Eyre teams up with Bertha Mason to defeat the real enemy--Mr. Rochester. In this retelling of Charlotte Bront�'s novel centering queer Black characters, 19-year-old Jane has left Lowood School in Lancashire, England, for Thornfield Hall, where she'll be a "right and proper governess" to Ad�le Varens, the young light-brown-skinned ward of white Englishman Edward Rochester. Jane feels a sense of freedom in pursuing her new role, leaving behind employment under a cruel headmaster--though she misses the comfort and support of her lover, Helen. The story alternates between the first-person perspectives of Jane and Bertha (Rochester's wife), a format that gives Bertha voice and agency denied her in the original iteration. Bertha is imprisoned in the upper floors of the house; Rochester only married her for access to her family's wealth. His debts have mounted, and he previously pursued marriage with Ad�le's late Parisian mother, who had a fortune of her own. This book nails the atmosphere of the brooding historical setting in which "punishment and pain" seem "to lurk around every corner." The love story between Jane and Bertha, which is also developed through their secret letters, is a refreshing addition. Bertha, who is from New Orleans, shares multiple flashback scenes, adding depth to her character. Unfortunately, readers may find the culminating twist a disappointment. A sinister gothic romance revamped with mixed results. (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from December 11, 2023
McKinney (the Nightmare-Verse series) critically examines Jane Eyre through a Black, sapphic lens in this incisive remix. To escape her uneasy existence as an outcast at Lowood School in Lancashire, England, 19-year-old Jane Eyre—an orphan whose only crime is to have been born with “the wrong lineage, the wrong hair, the wrong skin, the wrong features”—takes a job as governess for Edward Rochester. Within the decaying walls of broody Thornfield Hall, Jane’s fate becomes inextricably linked with that of the deceptively charming Mr. Rochester, his fearful 10-year-old daughter Adèle, and the secretly confined Bertha Mason, the New Orleans–born wife of Mr. Rochester, who tries to escape her cruel imprisonment at every turn. As Mr. Rochester’s intentions toward Jane grow murkier, her suspicions about her employer skew ever darker, and Bertha’s dire situation grows increasingly precarious. But Bertha has one daring final escape plan up her sleeve—and it involves “stunning” and enchanting Jane. McKinney’s portrayal of Rochester—as rendered via Jane and Bertha’s alternating POVs—as a handsome devil in disguise is as revolting as it is beguiling, and the author’s depiction of Thornfield culminates in a perfectly disquieting setting for the women’s journeys to freedom in this thrilling, compulsively readable novel. Ages 13–up.

Starred review from December 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Jane Eyre is an unapologetically self-possessed, shrewd young woman with a fiery temper. It seems she has met her match in Edward Rochester, her employer. However, she soon finds he has more secrets than the rooms of his sprawling estate can contain, least of all Bertha Mason, a woman imprisoned in the attic. From their first meeting, what is kindled between Jane and Bertha grows as they conspire to escape through secret correspondence, the culmination of which brings new meaning to "burning love." Chapters alternating between each woman's perspective, in addition to their letters, reveal deep wounds, longing, and a stirring sentimentality true to the spirit of Jane Eyre. In the immersive world of McKinney's Thornfield Hall, Jane and Bertha are thoroughly vivid and compelling. About half the length of Charlotte Bront�'s classic novel, McKinney's retelling is a deeply satisfying companion and a highly accessible entry point for a contemporary audience. Both Jane and Bertha are cued as Black or mixed race, one of several welcome updates to a story that has been told and retold many times in the 175 years since Jane Eyre's first publication. McKinney breathes new life into a well-worn tale, and the novel's originality shines brightly, yielding surprises for those familiar with Bront�'s version or not.

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March 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Superfans of Charlotte Bront�'s Jane Eyre, readers who have knit that plot into their very bones, should probably stay away from this reimagining of the classic novel. To start, both Jane and Edward are described as strikingly attractive. But for those who can separate themselves from Bront�'s Jane and relax into a new world of Gothic intrigue? A romantic thriller awaits. It's told through two perspectives. There's Jane, the new governess at expansive but shabby Thornfield. And there's also Bertha, who happily married Edward Rochester, the master of Thornfield, only to be betrayed and imprisoned in the attic. Both women experience danger-overtly for Bertha, implicitly for Jane-but their reaction isn't fear. It's rage, pure and vibrating and lovely to behold. Jane is prickly and resourceful, and once she and the iron-willed Bertha make contact, magic happens. Their mutual attraction and vendettas lead to a combustible takedown of the prideful Mr. Rochester. Maneuvering against his one-note villainy perfectly showcases the power of female anger. Both Jane and Bertha are Black. VERDICT A swoonworthy sapphic-tinged YA romance highlighting the beauty of women working together.-Cat McCarrey

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