Review: Jane Slayer, by Charlotte Bronte and Sherry Browning Erwin

Yet another in the genre of classic-horror stories, Jane Slayre (a clever play on words for Jane Eyre) comes to us bearing not only vampires, but zombies and werewolves as well, woven cleverly - and nearly seamlessly - into the original plot.

For those of you unfamiliar with Bronte's solo version, Jane is an orphan, adopted by a nasty aunt who already has three unpleasant children. She is sent to a private school for orphans, and eventually leaves there as an adult to work as a governess for the wealthy Mr. Rochester, with whom she falls in love and, in true romantic fashion, marries after the usual trials and tribulations. The fun differences here are that the aunt's family are vampires, there are zombies at the school, and Mr. Rochester has a very hairy secret hanging out in his attic. Jane, true to her name, is a slayer, and deals quite handily with all that come her way.

Erwin does an excellent job in maintaining Bronte's tone and affection for the characters while still giving them their edgier personas. The entire original story is still present, just with alternative explanations for events and far funnier additional subject matter. As is usual in these literary remodels, the more gory portions of the story are told in subdued ways that remain true to the language of the period, and are not for those looking for current-day horrors. They are brief, drolly amusing, and if anything, remind me slightly of (stay with me, here) the scene in the original Shrek movie, where Fiona dispenses with all of the bandits in the forest, smooths back her hair, and walks gracefully off. The characters are very laissez-faire about events, which adds to the humor while simultaneously sparing the reader the tiresome period where the characters discover that there is an infestation of some particularly unappetizing beast in their midst; they all readily accept that these creatures are among them, and act accordingly. What makes these novels so funny is that the characters will be going along, acting in their Victorian way, then suddenly bust out with swords (and heads) flying, and afterward simply tidy up the mess and continue on with their uptight lives. Normal dinner conversation entails bonnets, the neighbor's new carriage, and how best to remove stains made by the green zombie slime. No big whoop.

The one drawback to the novel is that, of course, Erwin is held to the original main plot - that of Young Girl Mooning Over Moody Older Man. However, the up side is that the addition of various unmentionables has vastly improved this sometimes tiresome theme by adding spice to what was originally a rather drawn-out dance. Also, even the original Jane had quite a bit of spunk, much more so than other women in similar novels, and these new additions supply her with different areas in which to branch out. Erwin has done her a service.

Rating: five stars. Witty, well-woven adaptation of a classic.