Jane Eyrotica

Rose should please many fans of the classic romance with an update that remains reasonably true to Brontë while making explicit Jane’s sexually charged relationship with Mr. Rochester. In its first eroticized change, this version transforms the opening scene of Jane’s torment at her older cousin John Reed’s hands into an encounter E.L. James could have written. Rose’s Jane, introduced here as a 16-year-old rather than a child of 10, is preoccupied from the start by what proves to be a portrait of Mr. Rochester and goes on to enjoy further amorous adventures with a stable boy after being packed off to school. Her relationship with Mr. Rochester, while still infused with the original’s romantic tone, also carries through on earlier hints as to her taste for BDSM. Rose’s ability to maintain the original personality of her Victorian heroine, even during very un-Victorian sex, is commendable. (Nov.)