Fan Fiction offers more of beloved characters

Good fan fiction can be some of the most rewarding reading. Most people have read something that can be called fanfic, whether it’s Virgil’s “Aeneid,” based on Homer, or “Paradise Lost,” based on the Bible, or a more modern title, such as John Gardner’s “Grendel” or “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Since their books have been wildly popular and critically acclaimed for nearly two hundred years, and since they left such a small body of work, the Brontës’ novels often inspire fan fiction, some of it great literature in its own right.

Probably the best and most famous is “The Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys. Rhys was an established author when she wrote this prequel to “Jane Eyre,” and it has been called Rhys’s best novel. It tells Bertha’s story, from girlhood to her regretful marriage to Edward Rochester. In this post-colonial novel, both main characters serve as narrators and the book provides fascinating insights on its inspiration as well as confirmation of some of the feminist themes in “Jane Eyre.”

“Mr Rochester,” a parallel to “Jane Eyre,” is Edward’s story, from his second-class upbringing as a second son, to the betrayal and scapegoating by his father and brother. “Sargasso” may make you loathe Edward, but this novel casts him in a more sympathetic light. Author Sarah Shoemaker is a retired librarian, and this—her only novel—is compelling, absolutely true to the source, and beautifully written.

The title character in “The Madwoman Upstairs” may not be who you first expect. Catherine Lowell’s first novel presents a young woman in her first year at Old College, Oxford, studying literature. A descendent of Patrick Brontë’s sibling, Samantha Whipple is the last of the famous family and spends most of her time downplaying the legacy of her celebrated ancestors.

When she arrives at Oxford, she discovers that her dorm room is really “the tower,” a windowless room on the fifth floor that is on “the tour” for some reason. Just days later, mysterious packages begin appearing in her room.

The book is part mystery, part coming-of-age, part literary criticism. Samantha learns to deal with her grief over her father’s death at the same time she debates critical theories from authorial intent to reader response. She also develops and discards some unusual theories about Charlotte, Anne, and Emily.

The story is a powerful one about a woman discovering herself, resolving her grief, and finally appreciating the works of her most famous relatives. The prose is beautiful, and the narrator is sassy and an expert at turning a phrase. She describes her tutor’s office as “the sort of library you’d marry a man over” (p 25). She also claims that “Reading ‘Wuthering Heights’ had always made me wonder whether Emily Brontë had done drugs” (p 147).

YA writer Rachel Hawkins latest book and her first adult novel is “The Wife Upstairs.” It is something of a modern retelling of “Jane Eyre.” Protagonist Jane Bell, an orphan muddling through life as a barista and dog-walker, meets the handsome and rich Eddie Rochester. Eddie’s wife, Bertha, and her best friend, Blanche Ingraham, disappeared six months earlier and were presumed dead. Eddie falls for Jane, and soon Jane moves into his house in Thornfield Estates. Jane’s old roommate, John Rivers, knows something about Jane’s past and blackmails her.

While alone in Eddie’s house, Jane hears mysterious noises from above. Eddie claims it is just the house settling. But then Jane finds a strange book in the pocket of Eddie’s jacket and is compelled to find out what is hidden behind a closet on the second floor.

“The Wife Upstairs” presents a fun story with several twists which are, unfortunately, quite predictable. The prose is a bit pedestrian, as are the only discernable themes: some people are really bad; and don’t marry someone you hardly know. Even with its flaws, this novel is a great beach read.

Although some fan fiction is mediocre and forgettable, some titles are great literature, rewarding reads, and a treat for readers that can’t get enough of their favorite stories and characters.