New Review over at Collage: Book Reviews

Please check out my most recent review: Laurie Loewenstein's debut novel, Unmentionables.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë

This is my favorite image of Charlotte Brontë.  She looks average, approachable, and respectable: an every day Victorian woman with a secret genius behind that pleasant smile.

With the upcoming re-release of Jane Rochester, a novel inspired by Jane Eyre, I am reminded of how important the biography of Brontë was to my research.  I relied on the very readable, Charlotte Brontë: A Passionate Life by Lyndall Gordon. 

It was essential for me to understand the psychology of Jane Eyre's author as I tried to blend my ideas with hers for the sequel. I had the attitude that Charlotte and I would be co-authors. I like to think that I grew to know her as much as her character, Jane Eyre.

Choosing to write a derivative work has its risks and it either enrages or excites readers—which I think is fair enough when dealing with a beloved classic. Contemporary reviews of Jane Eyre were mixed. 

It's almost Charlotte's birthday (mine two days after hers!), so what will I do to celebrate?  I'm thinking of making a Victorian dessert: Apple Tart. The recipe is more complicated than my typical crumb-topped apple pie—I'll let you know if it's worth the trouble.