Jane Eyre is a novel that has managed to withstand the test of time. From high school English class to college undergraduate, it is a story that has lingered in our minds and in our curriculum. Like all good stories, it is one that has also inspired many great retellings. We see the specter of Jane in Gothic epics such as Rebecca. But we also see Jane take on more modern characteristics, in novels both graphic and thrilling. Some contemplate the deeper questions and implications presented by Brontë, while others choose a more light-hearted approach. Below, you will find a list of retellings that carry on the spirit of Charlotte Brontë and her literary heroine.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Jane is a broke dog-walker in the gated community of Thornfield Estates. A place where no one will notice a few missing bracelets or discarded tchotchkes and where no one will care to ask if her real name is indeed Jane. But that all changes when she crosses paths with Eddie Rochester, a recently widowed husband and Thornfield’s most elusive resident. Jane cannot help but see an opportunity with Eddie. As they begin to fall for each other, Jane becomes increasingly haunted by the presence of his dead wife, Bea, and the fear that she’ll never measure up to her legacy.
Jane by April Linder
After being forced to drop out of an East Coast college after the death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of a world-famous rockstar slowly making his comeback. Nico Rathburn is broody and magnetic, and Jane soon finds herself in the thrall of a forbidden romance. But Nico has a mysterious past, and Jane is torn between her feelings for him and the agonizing secrets simmering under his surface.
Jane & Edward by Melodie Edwards
In this contemporary romantic reimagining, former foster kid Jane, finds herself working as a temporary legal assistant at a distinguished law firm in downtown Toronto. Everyone at the firm thinks she is destined for failure because her boss is Edward Rosen, a notoriously difficult stakeholder of Rosen, Haythe & Thornfield LLP. But there is something about Jane that interests Edward, and they soon begin to fall for each other. Much like its inspiration, the secrets of Edward’s past begin to threaten their relationship, and Jane must face the repressed ghosts of her past in order to open her heart once and for all.
Re Jane by Patricia Park
Half-Korean, half-American orphan Jane Re has been trying to escape Flushing, Queens all her life. Desperate for a change, Jane becomes the new au-pair for the Mazer-Farleys, two Brooklyn English professors and their adopted Chinese daughter. Jane finds herself the recipient of Beth Mazer’s feminist lectures and Ed Farley’s male attention. But when a death interupts Jane and Ed’s blossoming affair, she flies off to Seoul, leaving New York behind. Reconnecting with her family and struggling to learn the ways of modern-day Korea, Jane starts to wonder if Ed Farley is really the man for her. When she returns to Queens, she must learn to find the balance between two cultures and accept who she really is.
Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna and Illustrated by Ramón K. Pérez
In this graphic novel, Jane always dreamt of escaping her small fishing town and attending art school in New York City. When her dreams become reality, it is hard not to feel out of place in such a vast city. That is, until she starts nannying a young girl named Adele and begins to fall for her charming, sardonic father. But in the world of New York’s elite, secrets are a commodity, and Jane must decide if she should trust the man she loves or do whatever it takes to save Adele from his deception.
Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
Andromeda is a debtera, an exorcist who removes the curse of the Evil Eye. Or she would’ve been if her mentor hadn’t thrown her out before giving her a chance to earn her license. Now her only hope of work is to find a wealthy patron to vouch for her abilities. When a handsome heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, she takes the job. But she quickly learns that not everything is not as it seems, with horrifying manifestations and Magnus hiding more secrets than either of them know what to do with.
Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost by Lindsay Marcott
A young woman is forced to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and murder in this twisty modern retelling. Jane has lost everything, so when a friend calls her to offer her a cottage in exchange for tutoring Evan Rochester’s teenage daughter, she jumps at the opportunity. But nothing is quite as it seems at the Rochester estate. When the ghost of Rochester’s wife appears, Jane cannot help but have a nagging suspicion that he might’ve murdered his wife, and her deepening feelings cannot distract her from the lurking truth of the situation.
Jane, the Fox & Me by Fanny Britt and Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
While this is not exactly a modern retelling, Jane, the Fox & Me ia a graphic novel about the power found in literature and in the core of one’s self. Hélène has been inexplicably ostracized by the girls who were once her friends. Her mother is too tired to be any help. But, fortunately, she has the consolation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. She identifies with Jane and is able to lose herself within the pages of the book. But when she is humiliated in front of the whole class on a field trip, she realizes she needs much more than the comfort of her literary best friend.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Another book that isn’t quite a retelling but continues Jane’s legacy is The Eyre Affair. Thursday Next is a literary detective without fear or equal, patrolling a surrealist Great Britain circa 1985, where time travel is normal, cloning exists, and literature taken too seriously. You can quite literary get lost in a Wadsworth poem. Thursday is a renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone starts kidnapping literary characters. When Jane Eyre is ripped from the pages of Brontë’s novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide.
The Rise and Fall of Jane by Corrie Garrett
The Rise and Fall of Jane combines the story of Jane Eyre with Scottish mythology. Jane Agosto has lucked out on a nanny job for oil millionaire and ocean conservationist, Miles Hayes. She is not shocked by him being an absent father, but she is shocked when he returns and they strike up an unlikely friendship. But the secrets of the Haynes house are deeper than the ocean that surrounds them. Not to mention that the seals are a little more than what they seem.
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a novel that embeds itself deep in your heart and your subconscious. Choosing to pick up a retelling can be a daunting task, given it’s nearly impossible to live up to a literary icon such as Jane. But these modern retellings all have something unique to offer. From graphic novels dealing with growing up to stories about au pairs in American cities, they all have a little something for everyone. Be sure to check them out and add them to your TBR. Happy reading!
Interested in more retellings to add to that ever-expanding TBR? Check out some more recommendations here.
Find these titles and more on our Heart Racingly Good Thrillers and Mysteries shelf.
