Retellings</p>
<p>Rebecca…Daphne du Maurier</p>
<p>A classic in its own right, du Maurier’s 1938 novel is heavily inspired by Jane Eyre and became her most famous novel. Newly married to Maxim de Winter, the second Mrs. de Winter quickly realizes that she cannot live up to her predecessor, the drowned Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers is a chilling villain as the housekeeper who has a strange hold over Manderley estate.</p>
<p>The Ivy Tree…Mary Stewart</p>
<p>Intricately plotted, Mary Stewart’s novel is another work inspired by Bronte. Moody and atmospheric, it involves mistaken identity, impersonation, and deep loss. Set in northern England in the 1950s, it follows Annabel, a young lady in love with an older man with a mentally-ill wife. Fans praise its rich, poetic language and detailed plot and characters.</p>
<p>Jenna Starborn…Sharon Shinn</p>
<p>Shinn reimagines Jane Eyre as a science-fiction romance tale, with the titular character a bright but impoverished nuclear technician “half-cit” who falls for her employer, Everett Ravenbeck. Shinn follows her source closely, maintaining the original characters and events. In this sense, Jenna Starborn does not deviate much from Jane Eyre, although it employs several clever sci-fi twists (e.g., cyborgs, interplanetary travel, etc.). The heroine is not Ameletta’s (Adele’s) governess, but a scientifically-minded technician. The role of Ameletta’s tutor is taken by Janet Ayerson, whose personal story veers from the original novel but shows another possible fate for Jenna (and echoes Jane Austen). Jenna even addresses her “Dear Reeder,” a high-tech recording device that she uses as a digital journal. Jenna Starborn will appeal to science-fiction fans with an interest in classic literature, who like the idea of Jane Eyre in space.</p>
<p>Jane Slayre…Sherri Browning Erwin/Charlotte Bronte</p>
<p>If you frequent bookstores, you’ve most likely seen the quirkily popular Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (slated to become a film). The spoof has spawned a series of books taking works of classic literature (Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters) and tweaking them with macabre monsters and bloody battles. Finally, it’s Jane Eyre’s turn. Interspersed in the original story is the heroine’s struggles to vanquish vampyres. Jane, meet Buffy. Credit (or blame) the series on the wildly popular Twilight books and a resurging interest in vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other mutant baddies.</p>
<p>Jane…April Lindner</p>
<p>Jane Eyre is retold for a young adult audience in this new story. Its tagline, if you will: What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rock star? Orphaned college student Jane Moore must take on a nanny job for pop star Nico Rathburn. Fans of Bronte’s novel will know what to expect, but the tale of forbidden romance and haunting secrets of the past will surely entrance new teen readers.</p>
<p>Rochester: A Novel Inspired by Jane Eyre…J.L.Niemann</p>
<p>Rediscover Jane Eyre…from Edward Rochester’s perspective. Niemann takes on Rochester’s dark, brooding, Byronic character and his all-consuming love for the meek, plain governess. Expect sensuous, passionate language in this masculine retelling, the first in a planned trilogy.