"The Hound of Thornfield High" by Colleen Alles
TODAY is the day Colleen Alles’s modern-day retelling of Jane Eyre debuts. I’ve long been a fan of the original and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to snag an ARC of this novel. It delivers! I’ve included a picture of the audio book here because you can also listen to it. Maybe that’s what Jane is listening to on the cover with her purple headphones.
Rebecca: What gave you the idea to set "Jane Eyre" in the modern world of high school? (Which was brilliant, by the way!)
Colleen: Thank you so much, Rebecca! I really hope readers enjoy seeing Jane as a high school student; it was very fun to write. I was thinking about Jane in 2020-2021 a lot, and I was wondering how her story would look in today’s culture (with social media, texting, etc.). Things have changed since the 1840s! I got the idea to retell Jane in our contemporary times shortly after that, and it seemed a natural fit to have her be a senior in high school for the bulk of the story—the time when a young person is right on the brink of adult life.
Rebecca: You kept Jane's best friend Helen alive. Is that because she's crucial to the plot or because in the modern world she never would have died with today's medicine?
Colleen: Thank you for asking this! I love Helen Burns. It’s a tragedy every time I read Jane Eyre that she dies so young. I did want to reinvent Helen—to give her a full life. Of all the characters, I took the most liberties with Helen; I gave her not only parents but siblings. In the original book, she’s a great foil for Jane—and I still think that’s true in The Hound of Thornfield High. I love the friendship between Helen and Jane, and it was satisfying to see that friendship not be cut short by Helen’s untimely death. But yes: in today’s modern times, happily, Helen would have likely survived consumption!
Rebecca: I never realized what a ladies man Edward Rochester was until I read your novel. Having all three love interests in one setting drove it home. Was it challenging to have them interacting with each other?
Colleen: This question makes me smile! Yes. One way to read Edward Rochester is that he’s unlucky in love. He has several former love interests, including Blanche Ingram, whom he’s not actually interested in. Painting Eddie as a bit of a player—or at least someone who plays with Jane’s heart—was a lot of fun. Jane spends a lot of energy trying to understand Eddie’s intentions—and I think that’s true in the Charlotte Bronte classic as well. It was fun to have all of Eddie’s love interests interact with one another—particularly Jane and Bertha who, in the original, barely meet face to face. Jane and Eddie’s love is complicated by Eddie’s romantic past—that’s for sure. And probably an understatement!
Rebecca: What's one thing you hope your readers take away from "The Hound of Thornfield High"?
Colleen: My hope is that this book inspires readers to read the original and compare them. What Charlotte Bronte created in Jane Eyre is timelessly fascinating. It’s the kind of book you can read again and again; each time I read it, I take away something different. My feelings about Edward, for instance, have softened. He used to really grind my gears, but over time, I’ve come to feel more empathetic toward him. And I do hope my version makes readers appreciate Jane’s strength and sense of independence; I’ve tried to stay true to the Jane Charlotte created.
Rebecca: Please tell me there's an upcoming film version of your modern-day "Jane Eyre" coming soon! And please tell me you're working on putting other classics in the modern setting--maybe "Tess of the D'urbervilles" or "Oliver Twist" and such.
Colleen: I would love this! I really do think the romantic drama here lends itself well to a high school setting. I really enjoyed putting my own spin on a classic, and yes—it’s something I’d love to try again. Wuthering Heights of course is another Bronte classic, written by Charlotte’s sister, Emily. I think that would be a fun challenge to tackle, too.
Rebecca: This one was a fun read. English teachers, if you’re making your class read Jane Eyre, why not have them read this one too? Or split the class, have half read the original, half the modern-day interpretation, and then debate on it in class.
Twitter (X): @ColleenAlles