Jane Steele

The reimagining of Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer that The New York Times Book Review calls "wonderfully entertaining" and USA Today describes as "sheer mayhem meets Victorian propriety"--nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

"Reader, I murdered him."

A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre "last confessions" of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess.

Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents--the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair's violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him--body, soul, and secrets--without revealing her own murderous past?

"A thrill ride of a novel. A must read for lovers of Jane Eyre, dark humor, and mystery."--PopSugar.com

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Published Mar 14, 2017

464 pages

Average rating: 7.56

16 RATINGS

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The Novel Strand Book Club

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Community Reviews

Cresta McGowan
Dec 25, 2025
4/10 stars
DNFed. Bleh.
ediehas
Feb 28, 2025
6/10 stars
This gothic retelling of Jane Eyre definitely started to to slow down in the second half in favor of the romance aspect and an attempt to tame Jane, but I really enjoyed the excitement of first half's horror stories of Jane's growing up and becoming independent and bloodthirsty for justice in her life. But enjoyed the book overall nonetheless.

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