After receiving a rather cryptic and uncharacteristic
letter from Mr. Rochester's ward Adele, Jane Eyre begins to
suspect that things are amiss at Adele's boarding school.
When Jane arrives in London to check on Adele, it's only to
see the body of a girl being taken from the house. Worry
over Adele's safety, spurs Jane to disguise herself as the
new German teacher while she works to unmask the murderer.
Ms. Campbell Slan faithfully recreates the Gothic world of
Jane Eyre with every bit of the dramatic, intense emotions
which made the first story popular, but she also manages to
continue the growth of the characters along a logical path.
Jane is still intelligent and scrappy, but now she gets to
use those skills in a new and exciting way. She becomes an
amateur sleuth. This feels like a natural continuation for
her character. It's nice to have beloved characters remain
true to their original form and not morph into completely
modern characters who are unrecognizable. The story feels
and reads like a sequel. The motivations and prejudices, the
characters and setting, the language and syntax are kept
intact without change for a more modern audience. I
appreciated the dedicated attention to the original detail
and believe that it worked well for the classic characters.
I'll admit that I was never a big fan of Mr. Rochester. I
always felt like I would be cheating on Mr. Darcy by giving
some of my attention to another hero. Mr. Rochester isn't
as integral to this story as he obviously was to the first.
He's more likable now, with some of the sharp edges worn
off, but he remains a supporting character to Jane and
their relationship is a driving force for her.
If you're a fan of Gothic and Jane Eyre, DEATH TO A
SCHOOLGIRL will not disappoint. If on the other hand, you
like your historical romance and mysteries with more modern
sensibilities than this might not be the book for you. Jane
is every inch a Gothic heroine which is why she's fabulous.
In her classic tale, Charlotte Brontë introduced readers to
the strong willed and intelligent Jane Eyre. Picking up
where Brontë left off, the year is now 1851, and Jane’s life
has finally settled into a comfortable pattern. She and her
beloved Edward Rochester have married, and have an infant
son. But Jane soon finds herself in the midst of new
challenges and threats to those she loves…
Jane can’t help but fret when a letter arrives from Adèle
Varens—Rochester’s ward and Jane’s former pupil, currently
at boarding school—warning that the girl’s life is in
jeopardy. Although it means leaving her young son and
invalid husband, and despite never having been to a city of
any size, Jane feels strongly compelled to go to London to
ensure Adèle’s safety.
But almost from the beginning, her travels don’t go as
planned—she is knocked about and robbed, and no one believes
that the plain, unassuming Jane could indeed be the wife of
a gentleman. Even when she arrives at the school, the
headmistress takes her for an errant new teacher, and
berates her for her late arrival. Most shocking to Jane is
the discovery that Adèle’s roommate has recently passed away
under very suspicious circumstances, yet no one at the
school seems concerned. Taking advantage of the
misunderstanding, she decides to pose as the missing
instructor—and soon uncovers several unsavory secrets, which
may very well make her the killer’s next target…
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