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1.11k reviews for:

Jane Steele

Lyndsay Faye

3.91 AVERAGE


Originally posted here.

Hmmm, I am not sure why I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Jane Steele is an historical fiction inspired by Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, and so I was really excited to read this book.

The main protagonist, Jane Steele, loves Jane Eyre and has read it many times because she notices how similar their lives are. Both are unwanted orphans on their aunt's estate and both are sent to a terrible boarding school; and really that is where the similarities end as Jane Steele goes on to have a radically different plot from there. Jane Steele is a murderess and she is quite good at it too, she is certainly not meek or mild, and is very cunning. Despite some similarities, I found her to be quite different from Jane Eyre and I must admit that I wanted Jane Steele to be more of a straight retelling as I adored the original.

Despite that, I was really entertained for the first half of the book but when Jane becomes starts to work as a governess for Charles Thornfield, I just lost interest. Charles is no Mr. Rochester, that's for certain. I was bored stiff by the British politics relating to the Punjab and I just found that I didn't care. I think my main problem was that I desperately wanted Jane to be more twisted than she actually was and I wanted a darker, grittier plot. I wanted something reminiscent of villains such as Johnny Depp's character in Sweeney Todd, you know, that level of depravity and murder.

Anyway, there is no doubt this is a brilliantly crafted story and the writing is of excellent quality, I think it is purely down to my personal taste that I didn't like this book quite as much as I was hoping but I would definitely be interested in picking up the author's other books.
adventurous mysterious medium-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: Complicated

I am really glad that I pushed through and finished this book. It is very ridiculous, and the first third is honestly pretty boring, but after that the story really picks up and it is a lot of fun. There were even a few moments where it surprised me. I really enjoyed it.

I have to say, this book really surprised me. I didn't plan on reading it, but then I saw it at the library and thought to give it a go. And for the most part I really enjoyed it.

It's being classed as a Jane Eyre retelling but I don't know if I would agree. It certainly shares similar events and hits similar beats as Jane Eyre, but at the same time Jane Eyre is a novel that exists within the book, and our main character has read and loved it and draws upon it in her own life.

We follow Jane Steele as she grows up and tries to make her way in an unforgiving world. There's just the little matter that she may have murdered a few people along the way. The first half sees Jane at a boarding school run by a truly despicable human being, Mr. Munt. And I have to say this was my favourite part of the book. It was intense and really awful but I couldn't get enough of it.

Unfortunately, the pace slows down during the second half quite considerably, when Jane reaches her equivalent of Thornfield Hall. I know a lot of people feel the same way, that the story never quite reaches the nastiness of the first half. Murder and shenanigans take a back seat to romance and the mystery surrounding the occupants of her new home.

The mystery, for me, was no where near as compelling as that of the actual Jane Eyre. In fact, it actually left me a bit confused. There were just so many names and sometimes pages and pages of exposition explaining how all these people were connected. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I had trouble wrapping my head around it.

Nevertheless, Jane Steele became a character that I adored in spite of (or maybe because of?) her dark side. Her narration is darkly humorous and satirical and I found it very well written.

I'd say it's definitely worth a read if you're a fan of any Gothic literature.


Nicely written loose re-telling of Jane Eyre. Faye does an excellent job imitating Bronte's prose, but also includes the exciting action and some naughty bits that come along with contemporary fiction. I did enjoy the first part of narrative, prior to Jane's employment as a governess, significantly more (just like it was the case for me with the original). The mystery angle involving India was a little meh, but I still had fun. I will check out Faye's other books if Jane Steele is any indication of her writing style.
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A 19th century serial killer who girlbossed a little to close to the sun, the elusive man who stole her childhood home but actually turns out to be hot asf and funny too (but he’s definitely hiding something in them cellars…), his really cute ward who loves horses and said girlboss actually likes, and the really charming butler who’s a little sus but is so nice to girlboss she doesn’t care. Combined with an abusive aunt, a shitty boarding school, and some queer-baiting, you get Jane Steele!

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My Gothic Book Playlist

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This came highly recommended and I was a little disappointed. This is a retelling of Jane Eyre, and this Jane (Steele) has a violent past. The writing is excellent, very clever and witty. The cover blurb says that this is a cross between Jane Eyre and Dexter, so that got my hopes up...it's not. I was expecting gruesome well-planned murders, which wasn't the case. Since I'm planning on rereading Jane Eyre this year, this story has pushed it to the top of my list.

to-read
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kristy_k's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

100 pages left.
adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes