I read JANE EYRE for the first time when I was thirteen, and again when I was sixteen. I decided to read it yet again, twenty-five years later, so I could discuss it with my daughter after she reads it for a school assignment later this year. What did I find? The same dramatic, thoughtful, persevering young heroine I remembered.
But why, dear reader, did I start imagining paranormal forces working against Jane? A bolder Jane? A fiercer Jane? A Jane who could occasionally laugh in the face of danger, and triumph over not only her own sorry circumstances, but over actual evil in the form of vampyres, zombies, and werewolves? The whole new story unfolded to me as if Charlotte were over my shoulder, re-imagining it with me. She was, in fact, the voice in my head as I wrote, my muse.
I know she wasn't really there. In 1855, she died from severe dehydration and perhaps typhus at age 39, only recently married and pregnant with her first child. But I consulted her, in my mind, as I worked (What would Charlotte do?), and I feel she would be satisfied and even amused with my retelling, which by no means intends to replace the original JANE EYRE, a celebrated and beloved work of English Literature. I only hope I can encourage some new readers to enjoy my version, JANE SLAYRE, and to go back and delight in JANE EYRE all over again, or for the first time. Check back to join in the fun and see what Sherri and Charlotte are up to next. Happy reading!
Look for JANE SLAYRE in Spring 2010 from Gallery Books.
1 comment:
I can't wait!
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