Tag: contemporary

Hi, all:

I bring you the review of a pretty special book by an author and blogger I have known for quite a while. Some of you might know her and read some of her books already, but if you haven’t, this would be a good way to get to know her.

Ghost Wife by Luccia Gray. A dark romance that puts a contemporary twist on a beloved classic

HER DREAM JOB BECAME HER WORST NIGHTMARE…

The most gripping romantic suspense with a chilling twist you’ll read this year!

Lyra is sleeping on a friend’s couch after losing her job as an English teacher at a language school in Spain. When she receives a lucrative employment offer as home tutor and live-in nanny to 10-year-old Carla, at Rosewood Hall, in Yorkshire, she can’t believe her luck.

Life at the secluded residence is idyllic at first, until disturbing sounds from the attic, cryptic messages from an anonymous sender, and a visit from a private investigator searching for a missing girl haunt Lyra’s sleepless nights.

A panic-stricken Lyra, hands in her notice, but Carla’s widowed stepfather, who lives in London, begs her to reconsider, claiming wild animals, local gossip, and creaking noises in the ancient house have caused her unrest.

If Lyra stays, she could lose more than her mind, but can she afford to leave? And can she abandon her young pupil?

Fans of Ruth Ware, The Turn of the Key, K. L. Slater, The Apartment, and Claire Douglas, Just Like The Other Girls, will enjoy this thrilling psychological suspense.

About the author:

Luccia Gray has published Ghost Wife, a chilling, contemporary romantic suspense, set in Rosewood Hall, a remote country house in Yorkshire. She has also written The Eyre Hall Series, the six-part sequel to Jane Eyre.

Visit her blog, Rereading Jane Eyre, at lucciagray.com, where you can find out more about Jane Eyre, Victorian Literature, The Eyre Hall Series, and Ghost Wife, as well as book reviews, author interviews, and Luccia’s poems, flash fiction and personal thoughts on life and writing.

Before taking early retirement, Luccia taught English Language and Literature at an Adult Education Centre, the University of Cordoba, and at the Spanish Distance University.

Luccia was born in London and now lives in the south of Spain with her husband.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Luccia-Gray/author/B00K34F28I/

My review:

I came across the blog of Luccia Gray some time ago, and I was aware of her interest (almost to the point of obsession, as she acknowledges in her afterword) in Charlotte Brönte’s Jane Eyre. She has written about the characters, about the story, about her fascination when she discovered Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea —which has been described as a “postcolonial and feminist prequel” to Jane Eyre, quite an apt description—, about Mr. Rochester, and more. Gray has also written The Eyre Hall Series, a six-part sequel to the novel, so I was intrigued when I heard that she had published a contemporary novel. But, there is a catch.

Anybody who has read Jane Eyre and reads the description of this novel will recognise many similarities in the plot, even if the setting and the details are different. That is true for the novel as a whole, and the author and the book itself do not shy away from this fact or from possible comparisons. In the author’s afterword —which she dedicates to the figure of the antihero— she explains her reasoning and intentions behind the writing of this novel, and the main character, Lyra (who lives in a world bursting with literary references) also reflects upon her circumstances, comparing them to Jane Eyre’s and to those of the protagonist of Daphne de Maurier’s Rebecca. For those who might not have read Charlotte Brönte’s novel, or don’t recall the details, I’ll just summarise some of the events that happen: we have an orphan nanny/tutor, whose upbringing was traumatic, and who lands what sounds like a good job at a mansion, looking after a girl who speaks little English (in the original, the girl is French, in this novel, she is Spanish), who is the daughter/step-daughter of the owner of the house. Although the girl is lovely, strange things seem to happen in this very Gothic mansion. When the owner, a widower, finally puts in an appearance, things take an interesting turn, and plain Jane (Lyra doesn’t seem to be quite that plain) becomes the object of attention and attraction. But self-doubt and class differences aren’t the only obstacles, and secrets, mysteries, and tragedies await the protagonist.

Ghost Wife is narrated in the first-person, mostly by Lyra, whom we don’t follow since childhood (as was the case with Jane, who was also the narrator of the novel), but we discover her background as the story advances. In contrast with Brönte’s novel, though, there is another narrator, living at Rosewood Hall, one who doesn’t seem to be sure about what is real and what is not, or even who she really is. Her memories are confused and confusing, and the author does a great job of alternating those two stories and making readers wonder what is going on. Much later in the novel, towards the end, we also get to see things from Marcus’s point of view (he is Mr. Rochester’s modern version), and that adds a further twist to the story. I will not elaborate further, to avoid spoilers, but let’s say that, while both novels are focused mostly on the female characters, their feelings, thoughts, psychology, and experiences, there is no escaping the power and influence the men exert over the events. Having access to Marcus’s perspective helps dispel some of the ambiguity and the varied, benign, and romantic interpretations many readers have attached to the figure of Rochester in Jane Eyre.

I don’t know what readers of this book who aren’t familiar with Jane Eyre will think, as I read it with the connection very clear in my head and couldn’t help making comparisons. I think the author manages the transition to contemporary times reasonably well, especially within the genre. Anybody expecting to read a straight mystery or thriller would probably find that it stretches the suspension of disbelief a bit far (some of the events and the explanations offered seem difficult to accept in our day and age), but as a romantic suspense story, it can get away with some over-the-top emotions, a love-at-first-sight-type obsession, multiple complications and conflicts, and some coincidences. We get to know Lyra fairly well, and she comes across as quite young and naïve, despite (or perhaps because of) some of the traumatic experiences she has lived through. She is insecure, guilt-ridden, and prone to panic attacks, but she is also very knowledgeable and determined in her professional life and with clear goals in mind. I suspect many readers will feel like me, impatient with her hesitation and doubts, and want to shake her and tell her to do this or not to do that, but, considering her circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why she does what she does. Marcus doesn’t come across quite as abrupt and changeable as Rochester, perhaps because we learn more about him and his circumstances, but… I would have liked to learn more about some of the other characters in the novel, but this is, first and foremost, Lyra’s story, and we follow her in the hero’s journey, through her quest to find her identity and her family.

No, I won’t discuss the ending in detail, but it fits the genre quite well, although it leaves readers with a satisfying uneasy feeling if you know what I mean, and I think that is as should be.

I would recommend this novel to readers of Jane Eyre who are curious about modern versions and adaptations which can challenge classic interpretations, those who love Victorian and Gothic novels but prefer a contemporary setting, and anybody interested in psychological suspense, metafiction, and dark romance.

Thanks to the author for writing this book, thanks to all of you for reading, and remember to like, comment, click, and share it with anybody you think might enjoy it. And always, always, keep smiling. ♥