Lyndsay Faye is the author of the critically acclaimed books: Dust and Shadow, The Gods of Gotham, which was nominated for an Edgar for Best Novel, Seven for a Secret, and The Fatal Flame. Her newest novel Jane Steele re-imagines Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer who battles for justice with methods inspired by Darkly Dreaming Dexter.From Faye's interview at Read It Forward:
RIF: What inspired the idea for this novel, and gave you the confidence you could pull it off? After all, Jane Eyre as a serial killer is a pretty outrageous concept, and it re-imagines one of the most beloved and famous novels of all time.Learn more about the book and author at Lyndsay Faye's website.
Lyndsay Faye: Um, unwarranted hubris? I’m kidding. It’s absolutely outrageous, and I think that the outrageousness of the concept was freeing. I’m very open about the fact that it’s a ridiculous notion to conceive of Jane Eyre as Dexter. So I was enabled by that rather than hampered, if that makes sense? She wants to get rid of truly evil people, and there’s something satisfying about the notion of a female protagonist accomplishing what Darkly Dreaming Dexter did. I don’t ever condone murder, of course. But I will point out that Charlotte Brontë actually lived at that horrible school she describes in Jane Eyre, and two of her sisters later died after having been terribly weakened by lack of care at the Cowan Bridge facility. What ought to be outrageous is that any such thing was ever allowed to happen in the first place—children were fairly routinely abused in the 19th century at such boarding schools, like the one equally vividly brought to life in Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens. My absurdities are usually responses to real social injustices.
Additionally, this novel is unabashedly...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: The Gods of Gotham.
The Page 69 Test: Seven for a Secret.
My Book, The Movie: The Fatal Flame.
Writers Read: Lyndsay Faye.
--Marshal Zeringue