Faye hasn't embarked on a retelling of Brontë's masterwork, or anyone else's, for that matter. Her novel pays homage to the greats, yet offers a heroine whose murky past and murderous present remind us that some female behavior in other eras never made it into print.
Jane Steele, an orphan turned governess, is a 'murderess five times over.' Perhaps more unforgivable, her crimes are wonderfully entertaining ... 'Conventionality is not morality,' Charlotte Brontë argued. 'Self-righteousness is not religion. .?.?. Appearance should not be mistaken for truth.' Jane Steele adopts these words as her moral compass, slaying seemingly respectable villains who actually commit heinous deeds.
...a beautifully drawn gothic portrait of a fierce young woman finding her way in an unfriendly world by slaying her demons— both figuratively and literally.
