J. L. Niemann

When I bought this book I don't know what I expected but surely it wasn't this.
Beware readers who are thirsty to relive Jane and Mr. Rocherster's story, because this is no Jane Eyre. Not at all.
Neither the plot nor the characters are close to Charlotte Brontë's original story.

Rochester appears as a macho man on the surface and a weakling just beneath, struggling to suppress his sexual attraction for both Jane and Miss Ingram. He is not the thrilling and mysterious creature we know of Brontë's novel, and his childish doubts and his wearisome wanderings make a rather pitiful character.

Jane. Oh, Jane is even worse.
A "virgin" slut, if I might say so. Seeking only physical gratification, and a person full of a self assurance never known in the original novel. Where is the sensitive Jane? Where is the hurt soul who is uplifted after meeting someone who treats her as her equal? In Brontë's novel the important things are spiritual, not physical. I don't mean that Jane & Rocherster's love should be a platonic one, but that the singularity of their love is just that it's above any "normal" relationship, based mainly on sexual attraction.
In this "adaptation" we seem to jump from hot scene to hot scene, cheapening everything which was beautiful and true in Jane Eyre.

I'd recommend you to read some Danielle Steel's or Lavyrle Spencer's if you want erotic entertainment.
In my opinion, it's a disgrace tauting the characters with such a low and distasteful adaptation.
A pity.… (mer)

I must give kudos to J.L. Niemann for being forthright about what Rochester is. It’s in the forward to the book and there’s even an authorial address on the Amazon.com page (although it’s not mentioned on any LT reviews, which is why I took the trouble to write this one). You see, Rochester is internet fan fiction compiled and published in book format.

I expected that the Jane Eyre “cannon” events would remain unchanged. I mean, Charlotte Brontë left so many years of Rochester’s life undefined, I think those few months she wrote down should be sacrosanct. I neglected to reminded myself that the very point of fanfic is that it doesn’t have the constraints of the original. This material feels very modern, possibly because it’s highly sexualized – something that Bronte could never publish. It’s Niemann having her way with the character of Edward Fairfax Rochester – and yes, I mean that in a prurient way too.

I never was completely on-board with this Rochester. Niemann wrote scenes of introspection and reflection, but I didn’t sense the gravitas or callousness that I always imagined him with. I didn’t feel it. And he seemed too young to me. This is where Niemann’s introduction came into play again. You see, this fanfic was inspired by the 2006 Toby Stephens portrayal of Rochester. I’ve always been a particular fan of William Hurt’s 1996 depiction of the character and that explains some of the issues I had. It’s interesting how an actor can get under your skin like that, how the craft of acting changes your literary perception, but I digress.

The other thing I struggled with is Jane. Fans of Jane Eyre can probably be broken down into three types - those of Jane and those of Rochester and those of the couple together. The whole point of this piece is Rochester and Jane in that way. But honestly, who was this girl so hot to have Eddie in her knickers? Even in the scenes with clothes, she didn’t seem very Eyre-ish. For all I knew, she could have been Jane the scullery maid. So, if you’re the third type of fan, you should enjoy the romps in the library with abandon. But if the lack of an authentic Jane is a deal-breaker for you, look elsewhere.… (mer)