If you’ve already read My Lady Jane, then you know the kind of tongue-in-cheek humour that you’re in for when you pick up My Plain Jane, the newest instalment in the “Jane” series written by The Lady Janies, or Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton. To be sure, this is another win for this trio of YA writers, who re-write historical or literary narratives in creative ways. Full of literary jokes, ghosts and plenty of excitement, My Plain Jane is another fun ride through a literary classic.
Let’s Hear it for the Girls
What I liked most about My Plain Jane was the characterization of Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre as strong, smart heroines. Charlotte is clever and always finds inventive ways out of the well-executed situations that the characters find themselves in. I appreciated the meta-fictional nature of having a writer in the narrative and one who was so endearing. She was probably my favourite character. Jane Eyre was another good character, although I felt that for the majority of the book her character was tied up in a feminist critique of the original Jane Eyre that has been written about quite a lot in academic publications (i.e. here, here and here.) My favourite is Kate Beaton’s take on the brooding Bronte suitors, though. Some arguments have even been made that the original Jane Eyre is actually a feminist narrative… so these critiques fell a bit flat.
Lit Crit 101
I love a good meta narrative, especially when it interrogates the original story in a new and exciting way. There were some neat, original additions to this iteration of Jane Eyre, such as the ghost hunting aspect. However, I felt that My Lady Jane was a bit more inventive, while My Plain Jane focused on the common criticism that yes, Jane Eyre is way too young for Rochester and that is bizarre that she falls in love pretty immediately with some dark, brooding guy who isn’t all that nice to her. That, in a nutshell, is a lot of the Bronte literature. (I mean, hello, Heathcliff anyone? That guy is a piece of work).
Love Boat
Speaking of all the “dreamy” love connections that are commented on, there was some light romance between Charlotte Bronte and one other character that I won’t name to avoid spoilers. I liked this aspect of the narrative and thought that it added some good intrigue when the story departed from the Jane Eyre plot. While Jane Eyre’s love connection was mostly the but of some literary jokes, it was enjoyable to also get absorbed in a romance that I felt like I could root for.
If you fell in love with the original Rochester and feel like Heathcliff is super dreamy, stick to the classic. But if you love reading about quirky heroines and ghostly adventures, check out My Plain Jane.
The Novel Shrink 