"...what you are telling me is that Lowood— that Mr. Brocklehurst —does not sanction the training of witches, but that witches are being trained, and he is only too happy to hire them out if the price is right... There are few respectable occupations open to young women without family, and Lowood’s founder hoped to address that deficiency. Not everyone is suited to be a governess.” [loc. 796-822]
My second novel based on Jane Eyre, following SF romance Brightly Burning: Sharon Lynn Fisher's Salt and Broom retains the original novel's setting in 19th-century England, and presents heroine Jane Aire as a witch. Summoned from Lowood (where she teaches other orphaned girls the elements of herbal medicine and protective spells) to Thornfield, Jane tries to make sense of her brooding, widowed employer. She has been employed to unravel 'the recent mysterious and unsettling events in the neighborhood', but the stories she hears from Thornfield's staff -- about the late Mrs Rochester, about her doctor, about 'fairy pranks' -- hint at something darker.
This was an intriguing reimagining of the original story, with an excellent sub-plot about Jane's unknown parents and how their absence has shaped her character. Fisher's depiction of Thornfield, with its ruined church, poison garden and hawthorn trees, was splendidly Gothic and very atmospheric. Even the (predominantly female) minor characters had personality, and though I was ... let's say 'surprised' ... by a revelation about a cat, it fitted well with the unfolding plot. A few jarring Americanisms (the stoop outside a door, 'huckster') but nothing too egregious: an enjoyable and well-plotted novel with plenty of surprises and some solid herbalism.
Fulfils the ‘The other book with the similar plot’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge. For this pair of prompts I picked transformative works based on Jane Eyre: the first was Brightly Burning.
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