Jane Steele

G.P. Putnam's Sons

Jane Steele
Lyndsay Faye
2016

The Summary
"A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until she escapes to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her.  After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre 'last confessions' of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement:  Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master, Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess for the nine-year-old ward in his care.

"Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognita, and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents--the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sadar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend.  As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair's violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma:  Can she possess him--body, soul, and secrets--without revealing her own murderous past?"

The Good
As I am an ardent fan of Jane Eyre, I found myself equally enchanted by Lyndsay Faye's Jane Steele, but for entirely different reasons.  Unlike Jane Eyre, who lives with the hand she is dealt, who makes the best of a bad situation, who is uncompromising in her faith and her belief in herself (and, more importantly, holds herself to a rigorous moral standard), Jane Steele is a grievously flawed individual--and, most notably, a murderer.

She takes justice into her own hands, killing those who threaten and torment her.  She's a different sort of person from the quiet, plain Jane Eyre who wins the heart of Edward Rochester; rather, Jane Steele is tough and brazen, she's street smart and savvy, and she's a crafty, witty narrator who refuses to back down from a challenge.

I liked her.

Not as much as Jane Eyre, mind you.  There's something about Miss Eyre that makes her incomparable, something about her stalwart character that appeals to me on a personal level.  She remains true to herself and her heart.  And, for the era in which she lived, she's exceptional in that regard.

But Jane Steele was enjoyable in her own way, because, when she decides to make her own way in the world, she thwarts social convention.  Like Jane Eyre, she stays true to herself (even if it is her more "wicked" desires that manifest).  Perverse and humorous, Jane Steele is an interesting storyteller with a vicious wit and unflinching honesty.  She recounts every gory detail, letting you soak in the viciousness of her character--and the inordinate satisfaction of seeing justice served to those who believe they will suffer no consequence for their actions.

Jane Steele has a smart mouth and a strong (rather foul) vocabulary, and she has an unexpected knack for storytelling.  She's clear, she's concise, and she's candid, which makes her story all the more riveting and the mysteries surrounding her all the more interesting.  I enjoyed  watching her story unfold, enjoyed watching as the mysteries unraveled and the plot came to a bloody climax.

Overall, I was thrilled with the story.  It's certainly given me something to think about in regards to the pair of Janes who both adorn my bookshelf.  I've realized something very important about them:  Jane Eyre is the individual we aspire to be, while Jane Steele reflects who we truly are.

The Bad
Jane Steele falls into much the same category as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Meowmorphosis.  It's a spin-off of a favorite classic, which reflects in the writing.  It has some similar qualities, maybe even familiar names and text; however, I will note that Jane Steele is unique enough and filled with original writing that makes it enjoyable without feeling the work borders on plagiarism.

The Ugly
Murder.  Blood and gore.

It's not really unexpected, since she's a serial killer and she makes a point of warning readers at the very beginning of the book.