Aspiring author Charlotte Brontk's admiration of classmate Jane Eyre is unwavering (even when Jane is suspected of poisoning the headmaster). When Jane turns down a job offer from the ghost-hunting Society for Relocating Wayward Spirits and instead leaves Lowood School to work as a governess, Charlotte tags along. An entertaining, madcap reinterpretation of Jane Eyre wherein Victorian practices collide with paranormal adventures.

Mysteries abound on the moors—and not all of them are of this world.When Charlotte Brontë's best friend, Jane Eyre, is offered a job with the Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits, Charlotte is dismayed that Jane takes a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall instead. So Charlotte decides that she's the right person for the job, even if she can't see ghosts like Jane can. Nevertheless, she persists, joining her brother and his mentor, Alexander Blackwood, in serving the Society by trying to recruit Jane. Jane, however, has fallen in love with her employer and has no interest in leaving. A domino line of events follows the two white women and friends as they find love, work, ghosts, and strengths they never suspected. Hand, Ashton, and Meadows (My Lady Jane, 2016) offer up a fantastical, tongue-in-cheek plot that manages to both poke fun at and hold in high esteem the novel that provided the inspiration. A healthy dose of feminism and logic offers a contemporary perspective, often through the character of a ghost named Helen who isn't afraid to call out Rochester's patriarchal absurdities—even though most people can't hear her. A passing familiarity with Jane Eyre is beneficial but not necessary for enjoying this book. Reader, it delighted.A fun, supernatural mashup of different literary novels that shines on its own merit. (Fantasy. 13-adult)

Hand, Ashton, and Meadows follow up My Lady Jane (about Lady Jane Gray) with another tongue-in-cheek novel about a famous Jane-this time, Jane Eyre. In this take on the classic, Jane and Charlotte Brontë are good friends from school, and as Jane-s story unfolds, Charlotte records every moment of it-at first writing it as a murder mystery, then a romance. Jane can also see ghosts, and the Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits determines that she is a rare Beacon (someone who can control ghosts), offering her a high-paying job. The chapters switch among the handsome young Alexander, a member of the Society; Charlotte, who convinces Alexander to give her a temp job (and who falls for Alexander); and Jane, who spurns her job offer, heads off to Thornfield, and falls for Rochester. The authors- prose holds all the flavor of a juicy period novel yet with the addition of numerous, witty asides. The narrative is full of wry humor-at one point, Jane thinks to herself about Rochester, -He was everything she-d ever dreamed about. Tall. Dark. Brooding--and laugh-out-loud commentary. The authors- affection for their source material is abundantly clear in this clever, romantic farce. Ages 13-up. (June)