Many of them are less than likable or morally a little ‘grey’. This is a book of secrets, lies and deception which does make it difficult to say too much without giving away spoilers although readers familiar with the original may be able to guess at certain elements – although, even with some educated assumptions there is still a twist along the way.įirstly, let’s take a look at the characters. That being said both books do share one particular thing in common – missing first wives. I wouldn’t call this a retelling because for the most part the story is pretty much it’s own beast – apart from some very surface similarities such as people and place names. And the rumours are not about the latest little minx to snag herself a wealthy man, they are instead about the disappearance of said ‘wealthy man’s’ wife under suspicious circumstances and his almost ridiculous rush to start afresh, millions under his belt and a new woman tucked up in his mansion. Of course, the rose tinted glasses soon come off as the rumour mill runs amok. With almost indecent haste Jane finds herself living in the most impressive mansion on the estate and with the most eligible (and wealthy) bachelor to boot. She is running from her past and a little down on her luck when we first meet her but within fairly short order her situation changes when she makes the acquaintance of wealthy, handsome widower Eddie Rochester. Our main character, appropriately called Jane, is a dog walker for the rich housewifes who live in the gated community of Thornfield Estates. Okay, I won’t deny that I actually enjoyed reading this (even though it wasn’t a straight up retelling) – Jane Eyre it isn’t, and I also had one or two issues that I had to put to one side, but even with those provisos, like I said, I enjoyed this.

As it is I would say that this is a story that takes inspiration from that classic story and updates it for a modern audience including a few twists along the way.

The Wife Upstairs was, without doubt, one of my most anticipated reads of the year so far, mainly because I talked myself into thinking this was a retelling of Jane Eyre. My Five Word TL:DR Review : Twisted reimagining of a Classic

The wife upstairs book