What ever happened to Adèle Varens, the little girl from Jane Eyre? Emma Tennant tells us her side of the story in this novel. If you'd like to read this book, be sure you've read Jane Eyre first, or you will be thoroughly confused.
The book begins in France where Adèle lives happily with her mother, a great circus performer. When her maman runs off to Italy, Adèle is forced to move to Yorkshire to live with a man she is now to call Papa.
Tennant's writing style was a bit hard to follow sometimes. In the end, the plot wrapped itself up neatly, but as a reader, I was given so little to hold onto, that I spent more time being lost than I was in suspense. Tennant is imaginative and well-versed in the era. She even includes further layers of scandal than Brontë could have intended. It's not something I would read again or necessarily suggest, but I am curious to read Tennant's other book Pemberley to see if she's rewritten Jane Austen.
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I've read "Pemberley" twice, years ago, and quite enjoyed it. I've read "Adèle" this year, and I'm not sure words can quite describe how godawful I thought it was. *cough* (I gave it a go anyway, though.) I think it might possibly be slightly LESS confusing if you haven't read "Jane Eyre", considering how many errors Tennant's bok has. It's not a book safe to read if you've paid attention to the details in Charlotte Brontë's original, put it that way. ;) I would suggest reading "Pemberley", though. Although I wasn't keen on the explanation of the Big Secret, just because ... well it just seemed so terribly out of character. But aside from that, it wasn't bad. :)
ReplyDeleteOo! Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely read it then. I have read Jane Eyre, but it was a long time ago, so I figured I was just remembering things incorrectly. Glad I wasn't. :)
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