Scan barcode
A review by maleika
Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.0
Don’t read this if you like Jane Eyre.
The concept of this book is great: examining how Adèle Varens might have turned out after her unique upbringing. Especially in the first quarter of the book, this is the main focus of the story. I really like how the author describes Adèle’s experiences as a little girl raised in a Parisian brothel, who suddenly has to adapt to life in England with her cold, harsh father.
However, I feel like the author took way too many creative liberties with the original story, all in order to make the rest of the book plausible.
There are lots of little differences to „Jane Eyre“ that just irked me, notably:
- In this book, Mrs Fairfax is basically not mentioned at all, even though in „Jane Eyre“, she was portrayed to be a sort of grandmotherly figure to Adèle
- Adèle‘s maid and only french companion, Sophie, does not exist at all???
- This book’s Adèle acts VERY different to the original Adèle (tbh they’re basically entirely different people)
I could have overlooked all those little changes, but what I can’t overlook is this: the character of Jane Eyre herself gets fundamentally changed and mischaracterised in a way that had me horrified.
This book‘s version of Jane is everything the original Jane is not:
1. She seems insecure about her looks in comparison to Adèle’s??? 💀💀💀 This makes me mad tbh, because yes the original Jane is not pretty, YES she is aware of is and YES she feels insecure about that at one point in her life - when she is directly compared to BLANCHE INGRAM, who is an ADULT WOMAN, and (from Janes perspective at the time, at least) A ROMANTIC RIVAL. The original Jane at no point feels threatened or intimidated by the looks of Adéle, a little girl who she loves and cares for in an almost motherly way.
2. She is in a strange, codependent relationship with Rochester. I cannot stress enough how much this MISSES THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL STORY??? 😭😭😭The original Jane goes back to Rochester in the end because she WANTS to, not because she can’t live without him. There’s literally like 200 pages showing us that while she is hurt and misses him, she CAN AND WILL absolutely prioritise herself and live without him just fine.
⚠️Dear Betsy Cornwell: YOU CANT JUST ERASE THE FEMINIST MESSAGE OF A STORY SO THAT IT SUITS YOUR OWN FEMINIST MESSAGE BETTER!⚠️
I think the biggest flaw of “Reader, I murdered him” is the fact that the author tried to tell two stories at once, and could not find a way to make them fit together.
The first story (the original Adéle’s story) would have worked better without all the changes. There are still so many interesting factors to focus on, for example how much exactly she knew about Bertha Mason.
The second story (the story of Betsy Cornwell’s Adéle) would have been completely fine without her being Jane Eyre’s Adéle. She could have been a girl with a similar story, and it would be fun to read about her life and her murderous antics.
But in trying to make those two Adéles be the same person, the author just ruined two perfectly good stories that would’ve been fun to read on their own.
The concept of this book is great: examining how Adèle Varens might have turned out after her unique upbringing. Especially in the first quarter of the book, this is the main focus of the story. I really like how the author describes Adèle’s experiences as a little girl raised in a Parisian brothel, who suddenly has to adapt to life in England with her cold, harsh father.
However, I feel like the author took way too many creative liberties with the original story, all in order to make the rest of the book plausible.
There are lots of little differences to „Jane Eyre“ that just irked me, notably:
- In this book, Mrs Fairfax is basically not mentioned at all, even though in „Jane Eyre“, she was portrayed to be a sort of grandmotherly figure to Adèle
- Adèle‘s maid and only french companion, Sophie, does not exist at all???
- This book’s Adèle acts VERY different to the original Adèle (tbh they’re basically entirely different people)
I could have overlooked all those little changes, but what I can’t overlook is this: the character of Jane Eyre herself gets fundamentally changed and mischaracterised in a way that had me horrified.
This book‘s version of Jane is everything the original Jane is not:
1. She seems insecure about her looks in comparison to Adèle’s??? 💀💀💀 This makes me mad tbh, because yes the original Jane is not pretty, YES she is aware of is and YES she feels insecure about that at one point in her life - when she is directly compared to BLANCHE INGRAM, who is an ADULT WOMAN, and (from Janes perspective at the time, at least) A ROMANTIC RIVAL. The original Jane at no point feels threatened or intimidated by the looks of Adéle, a little girl who she loves and cares for in an almost motherly way.
2. She is in a strange, codependent relationship with Rochester. I cannot stress enough how much this MISSES THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL STORY??? 😭😭😭The original Jane goes back to Rochester in the end because she WANTS to, not because she can’t live without him. There’s literally like 200 pages showing us that while she is hurt and misses him, she CAN AND WILL absolutely prioritise herself and live without him just fine.
⚠️Dear Betsy Cornwell: YOU CANT JUST ERASE THE FEMINIST MESSAGE OF A STORY SO THAT IT SUITS YOUR OWN FEMINIST MESSAGE BETTER!⚠️
I think the biggest flaw of “Reader, I murdered him” is the fact that the author tried to tell two stories at once, and could not find a way to make them fit together.
The first story (the original Adéle’s story) would have worked better without all the changes. There are still so many interesting factors to focus on, for example how much exactly she knew about Bertha Mason.
The second story (the story of Betsy Cornwell’s Adéle) would have been completely fine without her being Jane Eyre’s Adéle. She could have been a girl with a similar story, and it would be fun to read about her life and her murderous antics.
But in trying to make those two Adéles be the same person, the author just ruined two perfectly good stories that would’ve been fun to read on their own.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault