Chemistry between characters

Writer Jillian Cantor discusses retellings and plagiarism on CrimeReads.

I first got the idea for The Fiction Writer when I came across a piece in Vanity Fair called “Who Really Inspired Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca” by Rosemary Counter. Counter goes through all of du Maurier’s potential inspirations for Rebecca, one of which is its similarity to Jane Eyre. But what I was most fascinated to learn was that du Maurier was accused of plagiarism after Rebecca was published—by not one, but two, other authors. One of these even went to trial in the 1940s in New York (du Maurier, however, ultimately won in court).

Speaking of retellings, Door County Pulse recommends The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins.

The Wife Upstairs is a hard book to put down. Appearances are not what they seem in this fast-paced, Southern Gothic retelling of a Jane Eyre story.

Jane is hoping for a new start when she begins a dog-walking business in the upscale Thornfield Estates. But underneath a glossy surface, jealousy and forbidden love threaten to undo everything the residents built. When Jane starts to fall for the mysterious and handsome widow, Eddie Rochester, her past threatens to ruin it all. What she doesn’t know is that Mr. Rochester had a few secrets of his own.

BuzzFeed lists '25 Costars Who May Both Be Hot But Who Couldn't Generate A Single Ounce Of Chemistry Between Them' and one of the pairs is Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender as Jane and Rochester in Jane Eyre 2011. The Brontë Parsonage Museum publishes a video that celebrates its 130th anniversary: