The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Death of Jane Lawrence

by Caitlin Starling

From the Bram Stoker-nominated author, NINTH HOUSE meets MEXICAN GOTHIC in this a gothic fantasy horror

"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell with sharp teeth and a Crimson Peak you’re scared to look in the eye." ―Linden A. Lewis, author of The First Sister

Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man―one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to. Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

4 of 5 stars

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I appreciate how different Jane Lawrence is and related so much to having to learn how to blend in, even if we're different in different ways.

Weaving math and magic is genius, providing enough to solidify world-building and leave enough mystery for magic. Especially for most people, math is fucking magic in our world anyways.

This is the most I've really connected and enjoyed and understood the appeal in historical gothic horror. I don't believe in ghosts and psychics and such, so you see the problem.

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  • Started reading
  • 23 January, 2022: Finished reading
  • 23 January, 2022: Reviewed