If you like ‘Jane Eyre’... you’ll love this
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Editor’s note: We’re experimenting with a new (hopefully more useful) template for a recommendation list. When I really like a book, I most often want something similar—in theme, style, atmospherics etc. Searching by genre is useless (fantasy or sci-fi eg) because each encompasses very different types of books. Looking up the author helps—but the options are limited.
This approach makes way more sense—but Google search results are usually erratic (see: this Reddit thread for ‘Jane Eyre’) or uninspired (see: Good Reads). We’re trying to do way better with a little help from our roster of book nerds. Let us know what you think at talktous@splainer.in. Also: if you’d like to see a similar approach for music and entertainment, as well.
Written by: Tarini Uppal is a seasoned publishing professional, having worked at Penguin Random House India for close to a decade. She has worked with some of the country’s bestselling and award-winning writers—from Amitav Ghosh to Ramachandra Guha. She loves all things ‘food’ and has published some gorgeous cookbooks. You can follow her food journey on Instagram @toopsie.
There are many ways to look at ‘Jane Eyre’—as a great romance novel or fodder for postcolonial or feminist reinterpretation (See: ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ or ‘Reader, I Married Him’). My recommendations are for those who—like me—fell in love with its unequivocally gothic sensibility. But they range in tone and genre—from the delightful Jasper Fforde to Charlotte Brontë’s Pakistani ‘soul sister’ Khadija Mastur.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: This is an enchanting, mysterious, and magical tale of a travelling circus that is only open at night. You don’t know when and where it is going to arrive. There are illusionists, acrobats, magicians, and contortionists, all set against a life-long competition between two magicians. Other than the mystery and dark, moody setting, like in ‘Jane Eyre’, there is deep love between two people that is forbidden, and yet it is what draws them closer. If you, like me, aren’t too sure when it comes to fantasy, trust me. This book breaks all barriers of time, space and genre and transports you to a world that is so dark and crazy that you feel completely consumed by it.
The Women’s Courtyard by Khadija Mastur (translated by Daisy Rockwell): Mastur is famously regarded as the Brontë sister of Urdu literature. Set in the 1940s, against the looming shadow of Partition, this is a brilliant translation of a feminist novel way ahead of its time. The novel is centred around the inner courtyard of a house, where we watch a cast of female characters play out their entire lives. Aliya, the protagonist, dreams of a life outside of the inner courtyard. Much like the Brontës, Mastur writes of women’s confined and claustrophobic lives in a patriarchal society.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield: After a long and illustrious career, a famous novelist, Vida Winter finally decides to tell her own life’s story. She writes to Margaret Lea to be her biographer and what follows is a slow unravelling of a dark past of governesses, ghosts and secrets, for both the writer and the biographer. This novel not only mirrors Jane Eyre’s gothic elements but quite literally references the classic throughout the book as it pays homage to Brontë.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia: Rather than the done and dusted Victorian setting, this chilling novel is set in 1950s Mexico. A beautiful and stylish socialite is summoned to a mansion in the countryside by her cousin, who is convinced that she is being poisoned. Once she arrives, she discovers the house holds many secrets, of violence and madness, waiting to be told. There is the cousin with the flair for the dramatic, the evil husband, his helpful and shy younger brother and the dominating patriarch—who make up the case of this twisty, unsettling novel. Warning: I would not recommend reading this at night.
‘Armadale’ by Wilkie Collins: Much like the Brontes, Wilkie Collins is synonymous with the gothic. Most people are familiar with his most famous ‘The Woman in White’, but it is ‘Armadale’ that has the same atmospheric prose that will draw you in with its dark and diabolical secrets. The story revolves around two distant cousins who share a family secret that haunts them into adulthood, leading both to bear the name Allan Armadale. There is of course a villain—a beautiful but wicked governess—who weaves a web of deceit to bring about Allan’s downfall. She is one of the most compelling Victorian gothic characters and it is worth reading this book just for her!
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier: While du Maurier is better known for her famous mystery novel, ‘Rebecca’, this book is such a mood. She manages to create such a dark and stormy atmosphere of suspense and jealousy that is similar to Jane Eyre’s setting. When Philip’s beloved cousin, teacher, mentor, and friend Ambrose dies mysteriously, his new wife Rachel appears at their home. He can’t help but be suspicious of the role she played in his cousin’s death, and yet he finds himself besotted by her charms.
Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice by Vanessa Zoltan: There are many books that are inspired by Jane Eyre—retellings, short stories, comedies—this one is a rare and compelling memoir. Zoltan uses her favourite novel as a launchpad for her own family’s story. Rather than wallow in the dark, we find hope, love, and self-realisation. Like many of us, Zoltan uses her lifelong love of literature to try and make sense of her life because—as the title suggests—books too are sacred texts, containing wisdom we need to navigate our lives.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: The first in his famous ‘Thursday Next’ series, this is a book that requires you to suspend your common sense for a little while and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Set in an alternate world where people take literature very seriously and the detective Next has to enter the novel to save Jane Eyre from a very different ending, this is the first of a rollicking and irreverent detective novel series full of adventure. It might seem absolutely bonkers at first, but it is the author’s pure imagination running wild and besides, literature doesn’t always have to be so serious.
