Scan barcode
shaunie991's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure what everyone is complaining about? It was a good read. Maybe a couple chapters longer than it needed to be, but overall, I was entertained. Really good narration as well. Would read the second book if Lerner ever releases it.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written, and richly imagined, gothic retelling of Jane Eyre, although ultimately disturbing and unsatisfying for those looking for a happy ending. Here, the madwoman isn't a closely guarded secret, but an openly acknowledged "ill" mistress who keeps to her rooms while her sad, kind, self-absorbed and self-deprecating husband talks with his new governess in ways that tap dance on the edge of impropriety. And too, rather creepily although not entirely uncommon for the period, Sir Kit Palethorpe, fearing thieves, insists that all the servants (and his wife and daughter) be locked in at night. Since our governess, half-Jewish Deborah Oliver, has a dread of fire due to past family trauma/anti-semitism, she begs for a set of keys to her own rooms, which Sir Kit grants her.
Turns out she's not the only one with keys; the wife in the attic, Jael, who is Jewish, not West Indian in Lerner's version, has bribed someone to supply her with a key, too, so she might visit her five-year-old daughter in the middle of the night, something Deborah (and the reader) discovers about a third of the way into the story. Lerner almost dares the reader to dislike Jael, depicting her as slatternly, tempestuous, and uncaring, even while drawing parallels between her situation and those of Jews imprisoned, tortured, and killed during the Inquisition (as were Deborah's ancestors).
Deborah's shift from sympathizing with Sir Kit to throwing her lot in with Jael is very abrupt, as is her For me, Deborah's decision and actions shift the story from the "pleasurable" terror of the threatened female of the gothic to something closer to film noir hopelessness and despair. I couldn't like or respect Deborah's choice, nor could I believe that some kind of meaningful relationship had or would develop between Deborah and Jael, despite their two brief forays into sex.
Turns out she's not the only one with keys; the wife in the attic, Jael, who is Jewish, not West Indian in Lerner's version, has bribed someone to supply her with a key, too, so she might visit her five-year-old daughter in the middle of the night, something Deborah (and the reader) discovers about a third of the way into the story. Lerner almost dares the reader to dislike Jael, depicting her as slatternly, tempestuous, and uncaring, even while drawing parallels between her situation and those of Jews imprisoned, tortured, and killed during the Inquisition (as were Deborah's ancestors).
Deborah's shift from sympathizing with Sir Kit to throwing her lot in with Jael is very abrupt, as is her
Spoiler
acquiescence to Jael's proposal that together they kill Sir Kit. And then Deborah does kill him, setting his bed on fire after sleeping with him (!).thekindworthreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
asylumteaparty's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
magicb's review against another edition
I did not care for the story, it felt too long and too stiff and too dull.
thesecretofnym's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
lezreadalot's review against another edition
4.0
I was learning that I was not the sort of person fear could be burned out of. Like the bush in the desert, I burned and was not consumed.
4.5 stars. I've been a fan of Rose Lerner's historical romances for a while, and I was beyond excited about this, her first f/f book and a queer Jewish Jane Eyre retelling (of sorts). Expectations should probably be set though: this wasn't, unlike every other book I've read by her, a historical romance. It was more of a gothic/soft horror historical with a good heaping of romance. Which, I can't lie, did disappoint me a bit. I would have LOVED to read an out-and-out queer romance in this style and setting with this gorgeous writing and these terrible, wonderful characters. Still, there's so much to love about this and I recommend it so much.
The setup: Miss Oliver, almost penniless and nearly friendless, manages to secure a new position as the new governess of Goldengrove Manor. Her new employer is handsome and charming, her new charge is sweet but vexing, and the lady of the house is... ill. Perpetually indisposed. The story goes from there, and one of the things I ended up really enjoying is the fact that for the majority of this book, I really did not know how thing were going to end up. I thought I did, then I really didn't. Books like that can sometimes frustrate me, when there's such a huge element of doubt, and the author deliberately makes sure we don't know what to think. But I think it was the perfect choice in this scenario, because it made everything that much more sinister, added to the creeping sense of horror and fear. Again, it's not true horror in the typical sense of it, but deliciously frightening nonetheless, in a way I found perfectly effective. I never counted myself as particularly afraid of fire, but god, I am a little but now.
Of course I wasn't pretty; I was only hungry, and she had sensed it in spite all my efforts at concealment.
But the writing. The writing! It's so so lovely and easily my favourite thing about this experience. It's nice to be able to gasp and hold your throat at a really effective and well crafted turn of phrase, and really get lost in the words. I know Lerner does a lot of research, and it shows; this was wholly immersive. So many little details! I also really like how other literature was incorporated, and enjoyed the snippets of Austen and Shakespeare and what they did for the story. The romance was, again, not typical, but GOD did I ever pull for them. Shared trauma in romance is something I'll always love if it's well done, and this was perfect.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Elsa Lepecki Bean, and I mostly liked it. Miss Oliver's Portuguese roots and the way she sometimes felt wholly non-English was really important to the story, and it was fitting and wonderful to have an own voices narrator in that way. Her pitch and tone took me a while to get used to, and came off a bit stilted at times, and in general I found myself wishing that Miss Oliver had been American, because that would have also been enjoyable, and I wouldn't have been so aware that the narrator was putting on a voice. It was still enjoyable overall, and I don't think I'd have liked this any more if I'd just read it physically, but I wouldn't have liked it less either.
This ended up staying on my back-burner for longer than expected, and I'm glad to have finally finished it. I will forever be hungry for historical f/f, and this did scratch my itch, even if in my heart of hearts I wanted something sliiiiightly different. But that's my problem, not the book's problem. This was sublime.
There was no path of truth or virtue. There was only choosing a direction to walk, or standing still.
Act, or atrophy.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
gaslighting, domestic abuse, anti-Semitism, mentions of torture and death by fire.☆ Review copy provided via the author. Thank you!
hsinjulit's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up.
tl;dr: odd pacing, little chemistry, and ... the accent
The Wife in the Attic is a sapphic retelling of Jane Eyre (with Jewish main characters) and I had high hopes for it. Earlier this year, I read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (my review), a very white, cis-het retelling of Jane Eyre and I had thought that the story could’ve been sapphic (and less white). Now, Lerner has granted my wish, but I was slightly let down by both the audiobook and the pacing of the story.
This book was fully read in RP (or at least I think it is) and while Elsa Lepecki Bean did a great job at following through, the overenunciation frequently snapped me out of the story. Soon, I became overwhelmed by the accent alone that I couldn’t listen to the audiobook. It took me eight months, listening on and off, to finally finish it. I have to say that Bean is a talented narrator; I love her normal vs drunk voices of the characters, and right before the book ends, there was also some brief singing that was enjoyable. While I might not listen to Bean narrate in her British accent for the full length of a book again, I’d definitely be interested in listening to more of her other works.
Told through the first-person POV of Deborah Oliver (34, Jewish) who starts a job as the governess for young Tabby Palethorp (who is, I must say, a very spoiled little girl), we get to see Miss Oliver’s thoughts and fears and history. The first 60% or so of the book is very slow, which is understandable since everything contributes to the world building and getting to know the charming Sir Kit. But it wasn’t until very late into the story that we started to see Lady Palethorp and even by the end of the book, I was not convinced of the mutual attraction between Miss Oliver and Lady Palethorp. It felt more like convenience, since there aren’t any other suitable love interest at Goldengrove. The last 20% or so of the book turned slow again, but at least the ending was kind of sweet. Overall, most of the book is descriptions of Goldengrove and Sir Kit, and while these are all very well written, it made the pacing odd as most of the important events happened around the 75% mark.
I feel like there is a little too much literary and historical references in the story that made everything a bit too on the nose. There are several mentions of The Merchant of Venice (because Jewish) and other Shakespeare plays and Archimedes, etc. But I appreciate the very relevant history of sexism and antisemitism woven through the plot.
My listening enjoyment went up during the second half, and though I cannot say if I’ll like The Wife in the Attic more or less had I read it on paper, I am definitely glad that I got to experience the story with Miss Oliver.
content warning: pyrophobia, gaslighting, arson, sexism, antisemitism, isolation, forced captivity, blood, sex (m/f & f/f), implied homophobia, death, abusive relationship, manipulation
I received an audio review copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
tl;dr: odd pacing, little chemistry, and ... the accent
The Wife in the Attic is a sapphic retelling of Jane Eyre (with Jewish main characters) and I had high hopes for it. Earlier this year, I read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (my review), a very white, cis-het retelling of Jane Eyre and I had thought that the story could’ve been sapphic (and less white). Now, Lerner has granted my wish, but I was slightly let down by both the audiobook and the pacing of the story.
This book was fully read in RP (or at least I think it is) and while Elsa Lepecki Bean did a great job at following through, the overenunciation frequently snapped me out of the story. Soon, I became overwhelmed by the accent alone that I couldn’t listen to the audiobook. It took me eight months, listening on and off, to finally finish it. I have to say that Bean is a talented narrator; I love her normal vs drunk voices of the characters, and right before the book ends, there was also some brief singing that was enjoyable. While I might not listen to Bean narrate in her British accent for the full length of a book again, I’d definitely be interested in listening to more of her other works.
Told through the first-person POV of Deborah Oliver (34, Jewish) who starts a job as the governess for young Tabby Palethorp (who is, I must say, a very spoiled little girl), we get to see Miss Oliver’s thoughts and fears and history. The first 60% or so of the book is very slow, which is understandable since everything contributes to the world building and getting to know the charming Sir Kit. But it wasn’t until very late into the story that we started to see Lady Palethorp and even by the end of the book, I was not convinced of the mutual attraction between Miss Oliver and Lady Palethorp. It felt more like convenience, since there aren’t any other suitable love interest at Goldengrove. The last 20% or so of the book turned slow again, but at least the ending was kind of sweet. Overall, most of the book is descriptions of Goldengrove and Sir Kit, and while these are all very well written, it made the pacing odd as most of the important events happened around the 75% mark.
I feel like there is a little too much literary and historical references in the story that made everything a bit too on the nose. There are several mentions of The Merchant of Venice (because Jewish) and other Shakespeare plays and Archimedes, etc. But I appreciate the very relevant history of sexism and antisemitism woven through the plot.
My listening enjoyment went up during the second half, and though I cannot say if I’ll like The Wife in the Attic more or less had I read it on paper, I am definitely glad that I got to experience the story with Miss Oliver.
content warning: pyrophobia, gaslighting, arson, sexism, antisemitism, isolation, forced captivity, blood, sex (m/f & f/f), implied homophobia, death, abusive relationship, manipulation
I received an audio review copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
jessica_flower's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 35% or 30%
I can't even remember at this point.
The writing is so slow and it takes forever for this narrator to get to her goddamn point, and she doubts her own senses and thoughts to the point that she seems stupid.
I can't bring myself to finish this.
There are more interesting books out there.
I can't even remember at this point.
The writing is so slow and it takes forever for this narrator to get to her goddamn point, and she doubts her own senses and thoughts to the point that she seems stupid.
I can't bring myself to finish this.
There are more interesting books out there.
kit_carmichael's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was a page turner for me. However, if you’re looking for a feel-good sapphic historical romance, look elsewhere. There is Angst with a capital A. And the characters, all of them, are very, very flawed. In the end, though, this is one of the most realistic romances I’ve read, despite the fantastical Gothic elements, which aren’t actually that fantastical tbh. Rose Lerner is such an impressive writer on every level.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Antisemitism, Grief, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Mental illness, Classism, Abandonment, and Alcohol