RIP, Jane ā you wouldāve really loved how much queer literature is explicitly gaying up your work.
***
For generally Austen-inspired work, check out:
I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner
GeorgeĀ has major problems: Theyāve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out theyā¦
This spirited debut pays homage to the British classicsāwith a genderfluid protagonist and 21st-century twistāperfect for fans of Emily M. Danforth, Torrey Peters, and Andrew Sean Greer.
Set against the rarefied backdrop of high society, this one-of-a-kind, queer novel features 5 stunning illustrations of modern-day Cambridge.
Orphaned young and raised with chilly indifference at an all-boys boarding school, BrontĆ« Ellis has grown up stifled by rigid rules and social ānorms,ā forbidden from expressing his gender identity. His beloved novels and period films lend an escape, until a position as a live-in tutor provides him with a chance to leave St. Maryās behind.
Greenwood Manor is the kind of elegant country house Bron has only read about, and amid lavish parties and cricket matches the Edwards family welcomes him into the household with true warmth. Mr. Edwards and the young Ada, Bronās pupil, accept without question that Bronās gender presentation is not traditionally masculine. Only Darcy, the eldest son, seems uncomfortable with Bronāthe two of them couldnāt be more opposite.
When a tragic fire blazes through the estateās idyllic peace, Bron begins to sense dark secrets smoldering beneath Greenwood Manorās surface. Channeling the heroines of his cherished paperbacks, he begins to sift through the wreckage. Soon, heās not sure what to believe, especially with his increasing attraction to Darcy clouding his vision.
Drawing energy and inspiration from Charlotte BrontĆ«, Jane Austen, E.M. Forster, and more, while bowing to popular fiction such asĀ Plain Bad HeroinesĀ andĀ Red, White, and Royal Blue,Ā The Manor House GovernessĀ is a smart, sublimely charming novel destined to become a modern classic.
Exclusive Cover+Excerpt Reveal: The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
Today on the site weāre revealing the cover ofĀ The Manor House GovernessĀ by C.A. Castle, a classics-inspired literary novel with a genderfluid protagonist set amid Cambridge high society, releasing November 7, 2023 from Alcove Press! (The book even includes five period-inspired illustrations, which are certain to be gorgeous.) Hereās the story:
Orphaned young and raised with chilly indifferenceā¦
the manor house governess - c.a. castle | BOOK REVIEW
šļø DATE RELEASED;
NOVEMBER 2023
š GENRE;
CONTEMPORARY/GOTHIC MYSTERY/ROMANCE
āļø PERSONAL RATING;
DECENT READ, BUT WAS PERSONALLY NOT FOR ME. EXTRA THOUGHTS (SPOILER & NON-SPOILER) BELOW THE CUT.
š thoughts (non-spoiler edition);
i found this book in my library by complete accident but really liked the cover and premise so i took it home. for future reference, main character bron uses he/him pronouns but identifies as nonbinary/genderqueer.
bron is an orphan and was brought up in a boys only boarding school and ,with that, carries some trauma that slowly gets revealed to the reader. he signs up to be the tutor of ada, the granddaughter of mr. edwards, who owns the manor. the idea of a genderqueer person being brought to work in a old fashioned english manor, surrounded by eccentric characters and getting to explore this new life in the city was really interesting to me.
unfortunately, this book really isnāt for me. i donāt mind a slow or nonexistent plot if the characters are enjoyable, but events happened at a snails pace with not much to work off of - very few conversations or changes happen until suddenly called for it, making the drama seemā¦ almost out of place? the dialogue didnāt work well in my opinion; too heavy handed and while each character had their own voice most of the time, the long conversations about gender and sexuality blend together and make identifying whoās speaking really difficult. these parts also felt separate from the overarching story, and couldāve been put to better use in an academic essay or something more analytical because they really threw off the flow.
the characters were fine. not particularly memorable if im being honest, but fine. bron makes an interesting protagonist and in a more revised story, couldāve been a more complex heroine. ill say more in my spoiler thoughts, but his love of history, female protagonists of regency era romances like jane eyre and elizabeth bennet, and his own complicated relationship with gender and his upbringing, laid the groundwork for a hard hitting storyline that never really happened. ada is a child character and as you can expect, was overall written decently (though she had moments where she was a little annoying. but little kids are usually annoying so it made sense). mr. edwards was a character. he existed. moving onto darcy.. he also existed and was a character. yep. i think itās time to actually get into spoilers because wooh boy
š¬ thoughts (spoiler edition, be warned!);
the first 50 pages were so promising. and then darcy shows up.
darcy is supposed to be a complex character, heās meant to be someone we are conflicted about. one second we feel for him the next we canāt stand him. and i get that. but for him to be a good complex character im supposed to like him.. if not just a little bitā¦ or find him charming. and heās none of those. like at all. only in the last 80 pages of the books when we learn the family secret do i actually care for him. even then im just hoping bron rips off the rose-tinted glasses and gets out of the house (which he does! good job bron). bron and darcyās relationship feels very unbalanced. not because of the employer-worker dynamic or their age gap, but the lack of respect between them and how darcy talks down to bron made their relationship unbearably hard to read. at the end, i was pleasantly surprised by the open ending. i think this regency inspired romance novel ending in bron leaving the mansion, thus ending him and darcyās tumultuous relationship, and discovering himself was a great statement about bron maturing from his imagined reality. while he does visit ada and darcy, im still glad it was left open ended and didnāt end in him returning to the mansion itself. i also enjoyed the conversation bron and harry had. after years of regret and pining, theyāve both grown, they can finally talk about the past now. itās realistically awkward and clunky, but thereās a real connection that still shines in their dialogue. it felt like the perfect climax to bronās character journey and was great closure for the audience.
the mystery was simple but i found the dynamics between the four core characters (toni, darcy, giovanni, and mr edwards) much more compelling than anything that happened in the book.
šļøanalysis;
bron is a young person whoās view on life has been shaped by books and movies. heās projected this many times onto the people in his life; harry was his hero, a knight in shining armor. darcy is the elusive romantic interest, heās a mr darcy. clarence the maid is a potential murder suspect, planning revenge for decades. the world contorts into heightened reality and this ultimately hurts bron in the long run. his expectations too high, placing people into archetypes that they arenāt, he always seems to get it wrong. but he cannot stop, because what if life was like pride and prejudice? what if this moment felt just as it looked in cinema? this part was so captivating to read about, and wish this aspect of bron was highlighted.
Orphaned young and raised with chilly indifference at an all-boys boarding school, BrontĆ« Ellis has grown up stifled by rigid rules and social ānorms,ā forbidden from expressing his gender identity. His beloved novels and period films lend an escape, until a position as a live-in tutor provides him with a chance to leave St. Maryās behind.
Greenwood Manor is the kind of elegant country house Bron has only read about, and amid lavish parties and cricket matches the Edwards family welcomes him into the household with true warmth. Mr. Edwards and the young Ada, Bronās pupil, accept without question that Bronās gender presentation is not traditionally masculine. Only Darcy, the eldest son, seems uncomfortable with Bronāthe two of them couldnāt be more opposite.
When a tragic fire blazes through the estateās idyllic peace, Bron begins to sense dark secrets smoldering beneath Greenwood Manorās surface. Channeling the heroines of his cherished paperbacks, he begins to sift through the wreckage. Soon, heās not sure what to believe, especially with his increasing attraction to Darcy clouding his vision.
Mod opinion: If you enjoy gothic novel set in the modern world this sounds interesting, but it's not really something I'm particularly interested in.
