Sloane Hall and The House of Dead Maids

A couple of Brontë-related novels that will be published next Autumn:

Sloane Hall
by Libby Sternberg
Five Star
ISBN 13: 9781594149177
September 2010

Troubled John Doyle finds work as a chauffeur for the alluring Pauline Sloane, a silent screen star about to make her first talking picture. Passion ignites then breaks both their hearts, leaving them struggling to find their way past a chasm of pain. Inspired by Jane Eyre, Sloane Hall (set in 1920s Hollywood) is a fresh tale of obsession and forgiveness.

The House of Dead Maids
By Clare B. Dunkle.
New York: Henry Holt, 2010.
ISBN-13: 978-0805091168
Edited by Reka Simonsen.
Illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith.

A chilling prelude to Emily Brontë’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights.

A black dress next to my black dress. Gray hands reaching for mine.

The old looking glass in the beaded frame returned only a suggestion of features. I longed to see my new clothes, and as I stepped into the passage, I was just turning over in my mind where I might have seen a better mirror. When first I caught sight of the small figure in black, I thought it was my reflection.

She stood very still in the dusky passage where the light was poorest. Like me, she wore the black dress that proclaimed her a maid of the house, but whereas mine was new, hers was spoiled by mildew and smears of clay. Thin hair, dripping with muddy water, fell to her shoulders in limp, stringy ropes. This was my companion of the night before—and she was dead.

The child who will become Heathcliff is already a savage little creature when Tabby Aykroyd arrives at Seldom House to be his nursemaid. But the Yorkshire moors harbor far worse. The ghost of the last maid will not leave Tabby in peace, yet this spirit is only one of many.

As Tabby struggles to escape the evil forces that surround the house, she tries to befriend her uncouth young charge, but her kindness cannot alter his fate. Long before he reaches the old farmhouse of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff has already doomed himself and any who try to befriend him.

Clare B. Dunkle's website contains lots of information about her book. Including a series of illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith, sample chapters, background notes, Tabby's World, The Mysteries of Wuthering Heights, Wuthering Heights Motifs, Branwell's Pirate, Brontë's Myths, Musings of Heathcliff, Nelly & Joseph: Yorkshire Spirits, etc ...

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Sequels, Wuthering Heights