Having been 'forced' to read Jane Eyre as a teenager for my GCSEs, i wasn't too keen on the book. But I reread it in my twenties and saw it in a different light. So I was intrigued by this book which offered a modern retelling in a very different setting.

Sadly I couldn't engage with the characters, who needed more dimensions than offered in this retelling. The author slavishly followed the steps of the original as a tick-list, rather than interpreting the events and updating them in an original fashion.

Sadly, this book misses the mark and just didn't work for me. Perhaps I am not one for a modern retelling but this didn't resonate at all.

This is my honest opinion---I hated this book and could not finish it. The author proports that it is a rewriting of Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, and I take offense that this novel was in any way compared to the original. The story is narrated by 2 women and gets confusing. Not only that, one of the characters keeps changing her name. I get the feeling, too, that the author hates men because every man in the novel was mean, nasty and misogynistic. I cannot in any way recommend this book.

Set in Australia, this novel was inspired by Jane Eyre. An unusual idea and one that works pretty well. I like spin off books from the classics, but probably personally prefer those that continue the original or provide the back story rather than modernise the classic.
If you like historic epic novels, you will probably like this. I have some friends I will certainly be recommending this book to. It wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, but I can see it’s appeal. (Having said that, I very much enjoyed the reworked ending.)
Thank you #Netgalley and Juliet Bell for giving me the opportunity to read and review #TheOtherWife.

This is a modern version of the classic Jane Eyre. I am a fan of the original but unfortunately I felt like there was something missing in this re-telling. I couldn't get absorbed into the story and felt the characters could have been fleshed out a little more because I didn't really take to any of them.

This is a reimagining of Jane Eyre set in 1980s Australia.
The focus is on the two women - Betty (who was sent to Australia on board a ship, quite possibly against her father's wishes) and Jane (who was sent to live with an abusive aunt after her mother was arrested). Both had heartbreakingly bad childhoods which feed into who they become when they grow up.
Rochester is a weak man who has had power and responsibility thrust upon him. He can't handle it and blames others when he fails.
His daughter Adele is lightly drawn, a child trapped in a world of adult schemes.
Thornfield is set in the Australian outback, which is even more isolated than rural Yorkshire.

This is very much a re-imagining rather than an adaptation. There are several differences from the original, even though most of the elements are kept the same. The ending is significantly different. I like the new ending very much more than the original.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end.
Well written which kept me captivated throughout.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author

I may be one of the few who have not read Jane Eyre. Prior to reading this novel, I read a few reviews and others were comparing it to the original Jane Eyre. I was able to dive in with a clear head and I didn’t compare this story with any other. I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed The Other Wife. I loved Jane, Betty and despised Edward!
My historical fiction taste usually goes back prior to the 60’s and 80’s so in my mind this story was in another timeframe.
I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from Juliet Bell. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read for an honest review.

Jane Eyre has always been one of my favorite novels and I understand why there's been a spate of fan fiction lately where the tale has been set in different locales (the Hamptons and now Australia.). If you haven't read that book or if it's faded in your mind, you'll enjoy this more than I did. It's not Bell's fault- she writes well and she's changed things up, especially the end, but I can't quite get the original out of my head. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I am probably one of the few people who does not like Jane Eyre so I was unsure what to expect from The Other Wife.
The story is set in Australia with Jane's storyline very similar to the original. It felt like each event was being ticked off one by one. We also meet Betty, who at an early age, was seperated from her family in England, transported to Australia and adopted by a new family.. For me, neither character was fleshed out and It was impossible to empathise with either woman. I did enjoy the ending which differs from Jane Eyre as I feel it was a far more fitting end for Rochester.

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time, I were stranded on a deserted island, it would be with me. So when I saw that this book was a 20th century retelling of the story I wasn’t sure what to expect. Transported from 19th century England to mid twentieth century Australia, most of the characters have the same names and the plot lines are quite similar, maybe too similar. I didn’t feel the same connection to Jane, she was a little too undeveloped for my taste. The best past of the book, and the one place the book takes a major diversion from the original, is the ending. The ending is all about female empowerment, and it’s really very well done.