Reader, I Married Him

by Tracy Chevalier

The twenty-one stories in Reader, I Married Him - one of the most celebrated lines in fiction - are inspired by Jane Eyre and shaped by its perennially fascinating themes of love, compromise and self-determination.

A bohemian wedding party takes an unexpected turn for the bride and her daughter; a family trip to a Texan waterpark prompts a life-changing decision; Grace Poole defends Bertha Mason and calls the general opinion of Jane Eyre into question. Mr Rochester reveals a long-kept secret in "Reader, She Married Me", and "The Mirror" boldly imagines Jane's married life after the novel ends. A new mother encounters an old lover after her daily swim and inexplicably lies to him, and a fitness instructor teaches teenage boys how to handle a pit bull terrier by telling them Jane Eyre's story.

Edited by Tracy Chevalier, and commissioned specially for Charlotte Brontë's bicentenary year in 2016, this collection brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of a game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Retellings, Anthologies, Literary Fiction

295 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2016

About the author

Born:
19 October 1962 in Washington, DC. Youngest of 3 children. Father was a photographer for The Washington Post.

Childhood:
Nerdy. Spent a lot of time lying on my bed reading. Favorite authors back then: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madeleine L’Engle, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Joan Aiken, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander. Book I would have taken to a desert island: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

Education:
BA in English, Oberlin College, Ohio, 1984. No one was surprised that I went there; I was made for such a progressive, liberal place.

MA in creative writing, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1994. There’s a lot of debate about whether or not you can be taught to write. Why doesn’t anyone ask that of professional singers, painters, dancers? That year forced me to write all the time and take it seriously.

Geography:
Moved to London after graduating from Oberlin in 1984. I had studied for a semester in London and thought it was a great place, so came over for fun, expecting to go back to the US after 6 months to get serious. I’m still in London, and still not entirely serious. Even have dual citizenship – though I keep the American accent intact.

Family:
1 English husband + 1 English son.

Career:
Before writing, was a reference book editor, working on encyclopedias about writers. (Yup, still nerdy.) Learned how to research and how to make sentences better. Eventually I wanted to fix my own sentences rather than others’, so I quit and did the MA.

Writing:
Talked a lot about becoming a writer as a kid, but actual pen to paper contact was minimal. Started writing short stories in my 20s, then began first novel, The Virgin Blue, during the MA year. With Girl With a Pearl Earring (written in 1998), I became a full-time writer.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been quite a while since I have read Jane Éyre, maybe too long, because some of these stories I just could not see the connection. In some it was easy because they directly used something from Jane Éyre, a name in most cases. Some of the writing was good, atmospheric but some were just okay, not much of anything. Didn't really have a favorite, though I did like the story with the pit-bull called Mr. Rochester, obvious connection and all. The best part of this was all the well known authors contributing, many of my favorites, and seeing what they came up with. Definitely not one of my favorite short story collection in a year when I have already read so many great ones.

ARC from publisher.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. Although there are some very good stand-alone stories (from Tessa Hadley, Sarah Hall, Emma Donoghue and Elizabeth McCracken, as you might expect), ultimately the theme is not strong enough to tie them all together and some seem like pieces the authors had lying around and couldn’t figure out what else to do with. Think about it this way: what story isn’t about romance and the decision to marry?

A few of the tales do put an interesting slant on this age-old storyline by positing a lesbian relationship for the protagonist or offering the possibility of same-sex marriage. Then there are the stories that engage directly with the plot and characters of Jane Eyre, giving Grace Poole’s (Helen Dunmore) or Mr. Rochester’s (Salley Vickers) side of things, putting Jane and Rochester in couples therapy (Francine Prose), or making Jane and Helen Burns part of a post-WWII Orphan Exchange (Audrey Niffenegger). My feeling with these spinoff stories was, I’m afraid, what’s the point? Plus there were a number of others that just felt tedious.

My least favorites were probably by Lionel Shriver (incredibly boring!), Kirsty Gunn (unrealistic, and she gives the name Mr. Rochester to a dog!) and Susan Hill (the title story, but she’s made it about Wallis Simpson – and has the audacity to admit, as if proudly, that she’s never read Jane Eyre!). On the other hand, one particular standout is by Elif Shafak. A Turkish Muslim falls in love with a visiting Dutch student but is so unfamiliar with romantic cues that she doesn’t realize he isn’t equally taken with her.

In Patricia Park’s story, my favorite of all, a Korean girl from Buenos Aires moves to New York City to study English. Park turns Jane Eyre on its head by having Teresa give up on the chance of romance to gain stability by marrying Juan, the St. John Rivers character. I loved getting a glimpse into a world I was entirely ignorant of – who knew there was major Korean settlement in Argentina? This also redoubled my wish to read Park’s novel, Re Jane. She’s working on a second novel set in Buenos Aires, so perhaps it will expand on this story.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a collection of short stories inspired by Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre".

There were some modern takes on the story and stories based around the line "Reader, I married him".

Some of the stories that stood out the most to me were, "Grace Poole Her Testamony" by Helen Dunmore, "Reader, I Married Him" by Susan Hill, and "The Orphan Exchange" by Audrey Niffenegger.

There should be a story in this collection that appeals to everyone.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of stories. A few very good ones, and a few very mediocre ones. I was attracted to the idea of this being several well-known names writing from a Jane Eyre inspiration. There was, in fact, very little of that, and yet three of the four stories I would rate excellent had that obvious Eyre tie.

Grace Poole, Her Testimony - Helen Dunmore - borrows directly from Jane Eyre, and puts a new slant on Jane by giving us Grace Poole's observations of what occurs at Thornfield Hall.

Since First I Saw Your Face - Emma Donoughue - The love affair between Minnie Benson and Ellen Hall is based in fact. Minnie, tied, at the age of 18, in a marriage to a man who eventually became The Archbishop of Canterbury. Minnie said she “fell in love” with one woman after another, and apparently this encounter with Ellen Hall was the beginning of that. Beautifully imagined and written, but without any plot tie to Jane Eyre.

The Mirror - Francine Prose - A very strange little upside down story based on Eyre, in which she is about to be the next crazy woman in the attic.

Dorset Gap - Tracey Chevalier - Lovely little story with a tentative tie to Jane and a cute twist at the end.

The Orphan Exchange - Audrey Niffenegger - Plays on the early part of the Jane Eyre tale…about Helen and the orphanage. In this one, the girls are used as guinea pigs during a war.

Five stories I would have rated either 5-stars or 4-stars, but 16 that I would have rated 3-stars or less; so I have arrived at an overall rating of 3-stars and a recommendation of finding these stories individually and not investing in the entire collection.

[JimZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a wonderful concept for a book of short stories. Short stories that were in some way connected to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Many of the authors I recognized for their other works, and so I went into the collection looking forward to reading them. Some of the stories were certainly good, and some, at least for me, missed the mark. Overall score averaging over the 21 stories was 3.35 stars. I think the overall score reflected that for me, most of the stories were good with a few exceptional ones...I liked to concept a lot and so that pushes my score to a 4. 🙂 🙃

1. My Mother’s Wedding Day by Tessa Hadley — 2 stars
2. Luxury Hour by Sarah Hall — 4 stars
3. Grace Poole Her Testimony — Helen Dunmore — 2 stars
4. Dangerous Dog by Kirsty Gunn — 4.5 stars
5. To Hold by Joanna Briscoe — 2 stars
6. It’s a Man’s Life, Ladies by Jane Gardam — 3 stars
7. Since I First Saw Your Face by Emma Donoghue — 3 stars
8. Reader, I Married Him by Susan Hill — 4.5 stars
9. The Mirror by Francine Prose — 3 stars
10. A Migrating Bird by Elif Shafak — 4.5 stars
11. Behind the Mountain by Evie Wyld — 4 stars
12. The China from Bueno Aires by Patricia Park — 4 stars
13. Reader She Married Him by Sally Vickers — 3.5 stars
14. Dorset Gap by Tracy Chevalier — 3 stars
15. Party Girl by Nadifa Mohamed — 3 stars
16. Transference by Esther Freud — 3 stars
17. The Mash-Up by Linda Grant — 4 stars
18. The Self-Seeding Sycamore by Lionel Shriver — 5 stars
19. The Orphan Exchange by Audrey Niffenegger — 5 stars (extraordinary...it appears some of the reviewers below also thought highly of the story)
20. Double Men by Nawali Serpell — 2.5 stars
21. Robinson Crusoe and the Waterpark — Elizabeth McCracken — 1 star

Reviews:
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
• https://historicalnovelsociety.org/re...
• https://www.readingreality.net/2016/0...
• https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/r...

[Arzu Altınanıt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ve nihayet bir ÇEVİRİ DAHA BİTTİ. Nihayet diyorum çünkü 21 kadın yazardan 21 farklı hikaye. Tek ortak noktaları Jane Eyre'ın kilit cümlesi olan "READER, I MARRIED HIM"den ilham alınmış olmaları... 21 farklı yazar, 21 farklı tarz demek. Bir yazarın tarzına alışana kadar biten hikaye demek. Kısacası biraz çevirmen yakan kitap demek. Benim de beynim yanmadı desem yalan söylemiş olurum. Bir de en zor hikayeyi en sona bırakma aptallığını gösterince. :D Ama çok sevdim, hikayelerin çoğunu çok sevdim. Hele o yazarlardan birinin Elif Şafak olması inanılmaz güzel bir duyguydu.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

A grim mockery of a tribute to my beloved Jane Eyre.

These short stories don't work together as a collection. Although each is supposedly inspired by Jane Eyre, the contributions were disparate and abstract; apparently to merit a place in this collection the author just needed to touch briefly on the theme of marriage. Jane Eyre is about more than marriage! What about female self-determination and fulfilment, huh?

One of the authors, and yes I am going to name and shame, Susan Hill hasn't even read Jane Eyre. How, pray tell, is one supposed to write a response to a novel that they haven't even read?

All but maybe three short stories were entirely forgettable. Many had a half-told quality which is such a striking contrast to the solidity of Jane Eyre. Others were painfully mundane and banal - it was like the respective authors had been incubating an idea for a story prior to this brief and then just altered the original slightly.

But that doesn't go to say that all of these were unmemorable. Helen Dunmore's Grace Poole Her Testimony, Joanna Briscoe's To Hold and Tracy Chevalier's Dorset Gap resonated with me and I think are well worth a read.

A real disappointment. Maybe this would've been a more enjoyable read had I not been agitated by how this was apparently the best these authors could come up with for Charlotte Brontë's bicentenary. Please, please please don't subject Emily and Anne to something like this.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most short story collections, especially an anthology by different authors, some stories rated a 2, some stories rated a 5, and 3's and 4's were mixed in as well. So a solid 3 stars for the whole, which I enjoyed immensely.

Twenty women authors were asked to write a short story based on "Jane Eyre", using as a springboard the famous line, "Reader, I Married him." So these stories all have something to do with marriage or the idea of marriage, in one way or another. Some of them stick to Jane Eyre's storyline, some of them start earlier or end later than the book, and some of them seem to have nothing to do with it at all. I read one story each day, so I could digest each one and appreciate it for itself, which seemed to work well for me. My favorite stories were the ones by Lionel Shriver and Elizabeth McCracken, although Susan Hill's foray into the mind of the Duchess of Windsor and why she "had" to marry King Edward because he abdicated the throne for her, was an eye-opener.

Anyone who loved Jane Eyre would probably enjoy this book.

[Albus Eugene Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Reader, I Married Him»
Charlotte Brontë nasce nello Yorkshire nel 1816, terza di sei figli.
Nel 1824, tre anni dopo la morte della madre, Charlotte, le due sorelle più grandi ed Emily vengono iscritte alla Clergy Daughter's School di Cowan Bridge. Le condizioni di vita delle ragazze ospitate nel collegio si riveleranno spaventose. Appena un anno dopo, le due sorelle maggiori, di dieci e undici anni, muoiono prematuramente. La salute di Charlotte ed Emily, sarà per sempre compromessa.
Nel 1847, con la pubblicazione del suo Jane Eyre, Charlotte rievocherà la terribile esperienza.
Dopo aver vissuto anche la scomparsa delle sue giovanissime sorelle Emily (1818-1848) e Anne (1820-1849), Charlotte morirà nel 1855, ad appena 39 anni, incinta del primo figlio.
Nel 2016, per celebrare i 200 anni della nascita di Charlotte Brontë, Tracy Chevalier cura la pubblicazione di questa raccolta di racconti, che traggono spunto dalla frase di Jane Eyre: “Reader, I married him”, una delle frasi più famose della letteratura inglese.
Le 21 autrici reinterpretano in maniera originale la frase, e il risultato è una raccolta di episodi collocati in tempi e luoghi molto differenti tra loro, nel futuro o in un villaggio africano, o proprio ‘dentro’ Jane Eyre.
Non ci parleranno di matrimoni, ma piuttosto di relazioni affettive tra due persone, senza distinzione di sesso o di età o estrazione sociale.
Fatalmente, alcuni racconti risulteranno splendidi e altri più fragili, ma il merito della raccolta sta nella forza del messaggio. Sono tutte storie che, come recita la terza di copertina, «ruotano attorno a una medesima eroina dai mille volti: una donna determinata e coraggiosa, che combatte per vincere i pregiudizi e gli ostacoli della società. E che non ha paura di affermare la propria identità dicendo, a testa alta, con un sorriso affaticato ma fiero: io “l’ho sposato, lettore mio.”»

[Tintaglia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Io ce la vedo la curatrice che invia una bella email a tutte le sue amicicce di penna: "Ciao ragazze! Riesumatemi qualsiasi straccio che avete nel cassetto, quelle robe impubblicabili che nemmeno vostra sorella ha avuto il coraggio di leggere: ci facciamo una bella antologia (del lettore non si butta via niente!), la spacciamo come ispirata a Charlotte Bronte, che quest'anno c'è un qualche anniversario, e ZAC!, ci siamo!"
E alle timide domande di chi si informava (qualcuna ci sarà stata, anche qualcuna che non ha letto Jane Eyre, ma non ha mai avuto il coraggio di confessarlo) avrà strizzato un occhio via emoticon, rassicurando che non c'era bisogno che ci fosse alcun nesso letterario nè tantomeno logico con autrice, romanzo, epoca et similia.
Se poi ci scappava un nome simile, o un racconto che riprendeva i personaggi, tanto meglio.

E questo florilegio di insapori raccontini privi di qualsiasi valore, che ho vissuto come un'aggressione al mio buon senso e al mio buon gusto aggravata dai futili motivi, viene in Italia coronato dalla traduzione sbagliata della citazione che dà il titolo - l'unica cosa di Jane Eyre in tutto il volume.

L'ho abbandonato, lettore mio.

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'd after the first 10 stories 😪
Here are the individual ratings for what i read:
1. My mothers wedding - 2
2. Luxury hour - 2
3. Grace Poole Her Testimony - 3
4. Dangerous dog - 3
5. To hold - 3
6. It’s a man’s life, ladies - 2.5
7. Since first I saw your face - 4
8. Reader, I married him - 2.5
9. The mirror - 2.5
10. A migrating bird - 4

[Abbie | ab_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars - there were a couple of gems in this collection but overall I was underwhelmed. Full review to follow!

[Gabril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ventuno racconti ispirati a Jane Eyre, ventuno autrici che si cimentano nel rendere narrativamente fertile la celebre apertura dell’ultimo capitolo, quando l’indomita eroina afferma, prima persona singolare e indipendente: L’ho sposato, lettore mio.

Alcune scrittrici rielaborano la storia originaria, raccontandone risvolti imprevisti, oppure ne immaginano il seguito; altre se ne allontanano decisamente per elaborare contenuti più o meno collegati al matrimonio, all’amore e alla natura selvaggia (o alle sue inedite imprevedibili declinazioni).

Ne risulta una raccolta asimmetrica, di alterna efficacia, tra cui alcune stelle rilucono:

-Tracy Chevalier, che è anche la curatrice della raccolta, a cui dobbiamo l’estrema acida sintesi del poderoso romanzo della Brontë (“Allora di cosa parla Jane Eyre?“ chiese lui, nel tentativo di rallentarla inducendola a conversare. Dopo una lunga pausa, in modo che Ed capisse che aveva scelto le parole con estrema cura e consapevolezza, Jenn rispose: “Una governante piena di forza interiore sposa un uomo del tutto inadeguato“.);
-Lionel Shriver, che con ‘Acero autoseminante’ racconta una storia di intersezione tra esseri umani e piante, laddove il ruolo di una piccola brughiera domestica è centrale per determinare la relazione della protagonista (Jeannette) con il nuovo scorbutico vicino di casa (novello Rochester);
-Audrey Niffenegger, che nel racconto ‘Lo scambio’ stravolge la storia della piccola Jane (collocandola nel tormentato mondo contemporaneo) a partire dal suo ingresso in orfanotrofio, cupo teatro di un’amicizia luminosa e cristallina con la dolce, sfortunata Helen.

Insomma, il maggior pregio della raccolta è senz’altro quello di rendere omaggio a Charlotte Brontë, alla sua breve e non facile vita in un oscuro angolo dello Yorkshire, dove cercò e trovò nell’arte verità, bellezza e consolazione e il cui talento produsse un capolavoro senza tempo, una perla incastonata nel florilegio della letteratura ottocentesca.

Perché, come scrive nell’introduzione Tracy Chevalier,
“Chi può resistere a un personaggio come Jane Eyre?”

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected, so I think I liked it less than I maybe could have. I thought it would be stories based on Jane Eyre, but instead it was stories inspired by the line, "Reader, I Married Him" from the novel.

[Selma · Rating 3 out of 5]

U startu nisam puno zagledala u naslovnicu da bih primjetila da piše PRIPREDILA Trejsi Ševalije, nije napisala nego priredila ;). Pročitala sam tri knjige od Trejsi: Djevojka sa bisernom minđušom, Izuzetna stvorenja i Posljednji bijeg pa sam se radovala i ovoj. Knjiga je, u stvari, zbirka kratkih priča od raznih autora, neke imaju smisla i dala bih im čistu peticu, a za neke sam se pitala šta sam upravo pročitala :P
U predgovoru imamo par stranica objašnjenja kako je nastala knjiga, zatim dvije stranice o sestrama Bronte, i ako mogu biti iskrena, predgovor mi je najbolji :D .
Naziv orginala je: Reader, I married him - Čitaoče, udala za sam se za njega, to je rečenica koju izgovara Dzejn Ejr i kao što kaze Trejsi: "... jedna je od najpoznatijih u knjizevnosti." Iz tog razloga je dvadeset i jedna spisateljica, nadahnuta ovom rečenicom ugrabila priliku da napiše nešto, pronašle su inspiraciju u ovoj rečenici i napisale po priču. Neke su priče na temu braka, istrazivanje kako do braka dolazi, ili kada bi trebalo da dođe, ili ne bi trebalo, ili kada se završava, i da li je to brak sa pogrešnom osobom, ili se čini da je s pravom osobom, ali ipak uspijeva da pođe po zlu. Priče idu dalje od klasičnog sretnog kraja i otkrivaju šta se dešava u braku.
I za kraj, kako kaze Trejsi: "Uvek, i uvek, u ovim pričama postoji ljubav - bilo da je to prva iskra ili poslednji zar koji gasne - i u svojim mnogobrojnim oblicima potvrđuje sam zivot. Sve ove priče imaju upečatljive rečenice, svoje istine, srećne, neobične ili razorne završetke, ali svaka je jedan od krugova čije je izvorište Dzejn ili Sarlotin odlučni prodoran povik: "Čitaoče, udala sam se za njega." "

[SmartBitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightning review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre consists of twenty-one short stories. As per the title, they were inspired by Jane Eyre, but in many cases, the link is so tenuous that you would never know that the story was inspired by Jane Eyre if it weren’t placed in this anthology. There are several about interrupted weddings and unsatisfying marriages. Some stories are re-tellings of Jane Eyre from other points of view. Edward Rochester muses on life after marriage to Jane in “Reader, She Married Me” by Salley Vickers, and Grace Poole has a great deal to say about Jane in “Grace Poole Her Testimony” by Helen Dunmore. Some stories are surreal or futuristic, like “The Mirror” by Francine Prose, and “The Orphan Exchange” by Audrey Niffenegger.

While many of the stories have a bleak tone, others will gladden the heart of any romance reader. “Dangerous Dog” by Kirsty Gunn, in which a jogger uses her wits and Jane Eyre to talk a group of teenage boys out of teasing a pit bull puppy, is my new favorite story in the history of ever. I’ve chosen to review this book purely on the basis of how incredibly thrilled I am by that short story. “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark” by Elizabeth McCracken, and “Self-Seeding Sycamore” by Lionel Shriver are stories that have endings that surprise and delight, and “The Orphan Exchange” made my heart grow three sizes.

- Carrie S.

[Jolene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I waited a few days to post this review as I wanted to remove myself from the grumpy state this book gave me. I love Jane Eyre, it's a classic for a reason. Jane is the first oddball girl who sticks to her chops and is tenderly optimistic, sometimes in the face of great disasters. I recieved an ARC of this book so some of the stories may have changed but I feel like this book is a collection of amateur writers given the words "Reader, I Married him" as a writing exercise in which they had to create a story around. I was hoping for a collection of short stories more inspired by the spirit of Jane Eyre, a celebration of the hope and fierceness found in the book. ALL OF THESE stories are depressing, except two of them which are found in the last half. Now short story collections are known for having a mix of enjoyable ones and some dodgy ones but honestly I can't think of one person in my tribe who I could recommend one story much less the whole book of them. The entire book comes off as uninspired, leaving me to wonder if I read the same Jane Eyre as the authors. Perhaps it's supposed to be inspired by Withering Heights? That would make much more sense.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pročitala sam je samo zbog lez. priče ''Od prvog trena kada ugledah ti lice''. Ta priča i još par su simpatične, ali ostalo prilično loše..

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people who know me well know that Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time. I first read it when I was 11, and I loved it so much that I went right back to the beginning and immediately read it again. An 11-year-old has way more free time than 60-year-old with a family, a house and yard, a responsible job at a bank, and a somewhat-neglected avocation as a writer. But I digress.
All of the stories in this collection are based in some way on Jane Eyre, either subtly or very specifically. Since "Reader, I married him" is the most famous line in the book, and since the most dramatic and pivotal scene is an aborted wedding, many of the stories center around weddings. Some re-tell the Jane Eyre story from the point of view of a different character. Others simply feature a strong, Jane-like female protagonist. One draws a subtle analogy between being widowed and, like Jane, being orphaned.
Some of the stories were a bit weak, in my opinion. But there were enough good stories in the collection that it rates a 4 overall.
One of my favorites was Dorset Gap by Tracy Chevalier, who also edited the collection. It features both a reading of lines from both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and a strong female character, a modern Jane. I also especially enjoyed Double Men, The Self-Seeding Sycamore and The Orphan Exchange.
But what delighted me most about this collection was that it mined themes from my favorite book and put them into different cultures and settings, demonstrating again the timeless value of Jane and her story.
Like my reviews? Check out my blog at http://www.kathrynbashaar.com/blog/

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Grace Poole Her Testimony", one of the stories directly related to Jane Eyre, the doctor who examines Rochester's wife is seriously into phrenology, and makes diagnoses accordingly. "My poor lady's skull showed an enlarged Organ of Destructiveness....in such a case as this, the doctor said, it would be wise to shave the head entire, the more clearly to see how the organs display themselves." Mrs. Poole adds some interesting backstory to the classic, as Jean Rhys did in The Wide Sargasso Sea.

All in all, this book is a wonderful, varied collection of excellent writers. If you don't spend too much time trying to suss out the Jane Eyre connection in many of them, and just read the stories as stand alones, it's well worth your time.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was a treat.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jane Eyre, so obviously I was very excited about this. Like any collection of short stories there were some stories I loved, a lot of stories that I enjoyed, and a few stories I didn't like. The stories ranged in how much they were based on Jane Eyre, and I think I would have liked the books better overall if the stories all seemed to based on the original material. Some stories were clearly based on Jane Eyre and some were based around major themes from the novel, but they were others that seemed to only be inspired by the "Reader, I married him line", and some of those stories were only barely based on that.

Overall, despite the fact that not all the stories were hits for me, I would recommend this to Jane Eyre / Bronte fans.

Received from Edelweiss.

[Natasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories in this anthology have little or nothing to do with Charlotte Brontë’s original novel. While the writing is good, reminiscent of the styles of the various authors, I liked only two of the stories.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

Just like it says on the label, this is a collection of short stories “inspired by” Jane Eyre. Before I get into the quality of the stories, I’d like to touch on that “inspired by” bit.

I’ll confess it has been a long time since I read Jane Eyre. And I’ll also say that it will probably be a long time, if ever, before I read it again. While it feels like a progenitor of the Gothic romance school, Jane’s situation as an impoverished governess, and her realistic lack of options just aren’t things that float my boat. I prefer situations where the hero and heroine at least approach equality, or get as close to it as seems remotely reasonable for the time period.

That being said, I approached this collection wondering how and where contemporary authors would take Jane and her story. The results feel mixed to me. Not just in the sense that any short story collection has winners and losers (and readers varying opinions on which are which) but also mixed in regards to their use of Jane Eyre as inspiration. There were stories that felt close to the original, and stories where the inspiration seemed tangential. Sometimes even tenuous.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

But the stories in the collection that stick with me are the ones that hewed closely in some way to some aspect of the original story. The ones that seemed to use Jane as a looser starting point didn’t have the same impact for this reader. They felt like the didn’t fit within the collection unless one squints very hard and tilts one’s head to the proper degree sideways.

The title story by Susan Hill, is a case in point. While it takes off from the famous line, “Reader, I Married Him,” The “I” in this particular story is Wallis Warfield Simpson, and the “him” is Edward, Duke of Windsor, the man who was briefly King Edward VIII. The story felt sad, but then, their lives also felt sad, and possibly just as pointless as they are in this story. The story, while certainly interesting and providing a very different perspective on this famous couple, felt as if it had nothing to do with the theme at hand.

On the other hand, I loved Lionel Shriver’s “The Self-Seeding Sycamore”. Just as in the Susan Hill story, I’m not sure what, if anything it draws from Jane Eyre. On the other hand, I just really liked the story.

As far as those stories that have more a more obvious relationship to Jane Eyre, there were three that haunted me for different reasons, although they all have a slightly creepy factor.

Helen Dunmore gives an angry but resigned voice to one of the secondary characters in the story in “Grace Pool Her Testimony”. It allows us to view the story from a radically different point of view. It is also a “below stairs” story, where we see the doings of the household from the perspective of someone who was always present, but seemingly invisible. And the story provides insights into Rochester as a young man, and gives a surprising origin for little Adele. But it is Grace’s harsh and angry voice that sticks in the mind after the story is complete.

Salley Vickers tells us a story in Mr. Rochester’s voice in “Reader, She Married Me” but while the story is told from his perspective after the end of the novel, it is not the happily ever after one might expect. Instead, from Rochester’s point of view, blind and dependent on Jane as a result of his injuries from the fire, we see Jane quite differently. Instead of a triumphant heroine we see a manipulative woman who only married him because she now has the upper hand in their relationship, and that is what she has been scheming for all along. This isn’t a story about love, it’s a story about power.

Likewise, “The Mirror” by Francine Prose is also a story about power, but in this case all the power is in the hands of Rochester, although like the Vickers’ story The Mirror also takes place after the end of the novel. In this modern re-imagining, Jane and Rochester are in couples’ counseling after their marriage. As the years have gone by, Rochester has become increasingly insistent that his first wife died long before the fateful fire, and that Jane made up all of the incidents related in the story. And most telling of all, that it was a parrot that Jane heard in the attic. While Jane wants to save their marriage, Rochester is increasingly insistent that Jane is unbalanced, and both Jane and the reader see that he is setting her up to be put away in an attic somewhere, just like his first wife. As the net closes around her, Jane questions everything she thought she knew – both about the true condition of the first Mrs. Rochester and about Edward’s own sanity or the lack thereof.

The Mirror is the story that gave me the most chills. I found The Self-Seeding Sycamore to be the most fun. A few of the stories neither felt related to the theme, nor did anything for me as stories. But overall, the collection is interesting and certainly has a couple of bright spots – or brightly creepy spots, as the case may be.

Escape Rating B for the collection as a whole.

[jenny ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since my sixth form English teacher forced my hand in picking up Wuthering Heights, I've been a lover of the Brontë sisters. Wuthering in particular has always stuck with me, and the Brontë's are local girls, so how could I not pick up a book that is lovingly dedicated to 'Charlotte, of course'?

Unfortunately, this book wasn't everything I wanted it to be. Some of the stories are absolute treasures, my favourites being A Migrating Bird, The China from Buenos Aires, Dorset Gap, The Orphan Exchange, and Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark (to name a few!). Sadly, some of the links to Jane are far too tenuous. Authors like Niffenegger and Chevalier do a wonderful job of retelling Jane's story or incorporating aspects of it, but others I failed to see the connection at all. It seems that some of the authors just took the theme of 'marriage', and ran with it. Eventually I stopped actively trying to find the Jane references and just sat down to enjoy the book for what it was - an anthology of short stories. It just meant I could enjoy the references to Jane whenever they unexpectedly cropped up. But still, I'd hoped for something more Jane-esque. The writing in this anthology is rich and wonderful though, and I was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of sexualities, religions and cultures represented within the book! 3/5 stars.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a selection of stories by different authors that was released to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth. The stories are either based around the themes of Jane Eyre or are continuations/variations of Jane Eyre.
I've known about this collection since it came out and have been desperate to read it. Jane Eyre is my favourite book and I live fairly close to the Bronte Parsonage and was able to visit the Charlotte Bronte 200 exhibition that was curated by Tracy Chevalier.
I preferred the stories that were influenced by the themes of Jane Eyre rather than the continuations/variations, these seemed to want to pull apart the original story and drastically change it for the worse. I found some of the themed stories a little weird at times. My favourites were Tracy Chevalier's and Kirsty Gunn's stories. I also loved the diversity that was present.

[Shandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neat premise, and most of the stories were enjoyable (with a couple of notable duds I won't name), but it wasn't always easy to see how these grew out of the source material. Standouts, as you might expect, included the stories by Elizabeth McCracken and Emma Donoghue. This did suffer a bit from having been read immediately after Jane Steele, which is the best Jane Eyre-inspired fiction this Reader has ever read.

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story collection more than most. My favorite stories were "The Mash-Up", a lightly satirical take on intercultural marriage by Linda Grant; and "Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark", a touching portrait of modern love and family life by Elizabeth McCracken. I liked that the authors interpreted the theme in varying ways; some stories presenting a partial retelling of the original with others appearing to have taken only the barest of inspiration from it. I have added many new authors to my list of authors-to-read thanks to this book!

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, loved this book! I admit that I didn't love all of the stories included but I enjoyed the wide variety that was included particularly in the last few. The final story, "Robinson Crusoe at the waterpark" had such a perfect ending that caught me by surprise and made my heart burst with joy.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of hit and miss, mostly miss, because I didn't see a common thread between them all, not that it should feel "common", but I would have preferred the Jane Eyre inspiration to be less abstract. I most enjoyed the Grace Poole story, The China from Buenos Aires (Patricia Park), and A Migrating Bird (Elif Shafak).

[wutheringhheights_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leggere racconti come mandare giù uno zuccherino dietro l'altro. Volevo leggerla da tanto, questa raccolta, e non mi ha deluso! Ho scoperto di apprezzare particolarmente le raccolte scritte da autori diversi; danno parecchi spunti. Una piacevolissima lettura per chi, come me, ama Jane Eyre e Charlotte Brontë.