Jane Steele

Lyndsay Faye

Mar 2016 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The reimagining of Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer that The New York Times Book Review calls “wonderfully entertaining” and USA Today describes as “sheer mayhem meets Victorian propriety”—nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

“Reader, I murdered him.”

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 escaping 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.

Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito 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. Sardar 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?
 
“A thrill ride of a novel. A must read for lovers of Jane Eyre, dark humor, and mystery.”—PopSugar.com

Ratings and reviews

This novel is super entertaining. I didn't know what to expect going in, but it's a real treat. I don't always get into historical reads this much, but I was so deep in Jane Steele that I lost track of time on more than one occasion. Jane is an easily loved character and an excellent narrator. She does commit murder several times, but she's like an avenger on the side of good. She can be someone's best friend or worst enemy. The reader can't help but applaud many of her acts. The story begins with her as a young girl so the reader gets to witness her growing up. The first part of the book is her trying to survive and passing through several temporary places to live. It's full of adventure. The second part is after she is a more settled adult. It's full of schemes and mysteries. Jane Steele is historical fiction with a bang. It has humor, heart, escapades, mystique and a lead who's both a lover and a fighter. If you're in the mood for something different, you should try this one.

I couldn't put this book down. My best book in years.

About the author

Lyndsay Faye is the author of five critically acclaimed books: Dust and Shadow; The Gods of Gotham, which was nominated for an Edgar for Best Novel; Seven for a Secret; The Fatal Flame; and Jane Steele. Faye, a true New Yorker in the sense she was born elsewhere, lives in New York City.