Escaping Mr. Rochester
2025 Rainbow Book List
In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.
Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.
Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.
When their only chance at safety—and perhaps something more—is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?
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Community Reviews
I meant for this to be the 3rd book in my series of reading Jane Eyre retellings, which I was just doing for fun because I like comparing and analyzing things. I loved Salt & Broom, a version where Jane is a witch. I enjoyed John Eyre which merges the story with Dracula and has the genders of the main characters swapped. I was looking forward to this one, where Jane and Mr. Rochester's secret wife presumably fall in love and run off into the sunset together. It's a great premise, but the execution is not working for me at all. The tone of the book reads like an angry teenager, and it kept taking me out of the story and making me feel increasingly cynical. I hope it gets better, and I hope it finds the right audience, but at the moment that isn't me.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Confinement and Racism
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