What makes Jane Eyre still relevant today? That was a question very much on my mind when I was writing my own Jane Eyre reimagining, 4 Janes, which traces the parallel lives of one soul searching for meaning, connection and a place to belong.
For a character self-described as small, plain and poor, Jane remains larger than life. Is it because of her independence, her intelligence, her endurance, her moral courage? These are admirable traits, but perhaps what makes Jane most relatable is her desire for more, for a bigger life. Jane wants love — who doesn’t — but she will not compromise herself for it. No wonder readers can’t get enough of Jane Eyre.
The roundup below brings together new and earlier reimaginings of Jane’s story. Each uniquely picks up and elaborates upon an important theme in Jane Eyre. Altogether, these retellings are a testament to Jane Eyre as an enduring source of inspiration for both readers and writers.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
First published in 1966, Wide Sargasso Sea gives a backstory to the first Mrs. Rochester, the notorious “madwoman in the attic.” Seemingly the opposite of Jane Eyre, Rhys poignantly shows how they are the same. Antoinette Cosway is a young girl who grows up in postcolonial Jamaica during the 1830s and 1840s. Antoinette’s impoverished upbringing, her status as an outcast in her community, her isolation and loneliness, and her parental neglect, which leaves her in an orphaned state, all reflect Jane’s own experience. But also, like Jane, she harbors a deep need for love, a passionate, imaginative mind and a sensitive, searching soul.
A Marble Column: Jane Eyre in India by Cicely Havely
A Marble Column looks forward in time beyond the ending of Brontë’s novel. It traces the dual paths of Jane’s and St. John’s journeys as one pursues marriage and motherhood while the other establishes a secluded, self-sufficient community farm, school and orphanage in the southern Indian hills. By the time their paths converge in India, both Jane and St. John have suffered tragic losses. Each grapples with grief and despair, but they find a way to help each other. This is a stunning work of historical fiction and a deeply moving story about loss, struggle and healing.
The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester
Natasha Lester’s retelling of Jane Eyre in The Chateau on Sunset highlights one of the most notable but infrequently examined elements in Jane Eyre: the importance of female friendship. Lester’s fresh, bold take centers female friendship in this story of a young orphan girl who comes of age in a famous West Hollywood hotel during the 1950s. Within an environment and climate of female exploitation in the film industry, young, plain Aria finds refuge with two young women who support and encourage her. With their help, she grows into the competent, independent young woman capable of taking on the enigmatic Theo Winchester and his teenage daughter, Adele, who later move into the hotel.
Jane and Edward by Melodie Edwards
Jane and Edward reimagines the love story between Jane and Edward at Thornfield Hall as a contemporary office romance at a Canadian Law Firm. References to Suits, the 2008 financial meltdown and cancel culture give this retelling a contemporary tone while preserving all the feels of Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Melodie Edwards leans into this love story of unlikely lovers, and she does so with wit, humor and warmth. Each suffers from a trauma in the past, so Jane and Edward must first get past each other’s secrets and hidden fears. This Jane Eyre retelling makes clear that being truly seen is what makes Jane and Edward’s love story so compelling and timeless.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Rachel Hawkins’ Alabama-based thriller The Wife Upstairs is a reimagining of Jane Eyre that leans into the dark mystery at the heart of Brontë’s story. When Jane first takes on a job as a dog walker at Thornfield Estates, a wealthy gated community, she is an outsider. But that changes when she meets Eddie, a wealthy resident and widower. Beneath the fairy-tale romance between poor, foster child Jane and wealthy, suburbanite Eddie Rochester is a secret waiting to explode. But Eddie is not the only one keeping secrets, and readers following the twists and turns of Hawkins’ story will appreciate both the suspenseful plotting and Jane’s witty, keen observations on class, privilege and wealth.
Re Jane by Patricia Park
Re Jane is a story about in-between identities, belonging and the search for self. This makes it very much a Jane Eyre story. In this retelling, Korean American Jane Re is an orphan who grows up in her uncle’s home in Queens, NY, but doesn’t feel like she fully belongs there or within the Korean community in Flushing. She takes on a job as a nanny for a wealthy family in Brooklyn, where she develops complicated feelings for her employers, especially the broody, enigmatic Ed Farley. Following a classic theme in Jane Eyre, Jane Re embarks on a journey of self-growth and discovery, navigating, as she does so, the liminal spaces of culture, race and class.
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Unlike many other Jane Eyre retellings, Margot Livesey adapts the full arc of Jane’s story from childhood through adolescence to young adulthood. It is a sweeping Bildungsroman that traces young, orphan Gemma’s formative years at Yew House, harsh schooling at Claypoole and isolated employment in Blackbird Hall in Orkney. There, a love affair with her eccentric employer breaks her heart and sends her on a harrowing flight that tests her ability to survive and, ultimately, to search for family in Iceland. This modern variation of Jane Eyre, set in 1960s Scotland, feels familiar in structure and plot to Brontë’s book, while unfolding within a fully formed world of its own.
