A short story by Namwali Serpell from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.
In âDouble Menâ, a secret liaison during a Zambian bonding ceremony has repercussions for two old female friends.
Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte BrontĂ«âs game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.
Reviews
Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:
âA terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyreâ THE NEW STATESMAN
âA clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for BrontĂ«'s many ardent fansâ KIRKUS REVIEWS
âExemplaryâŠwritten by some of today's best female writersâ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
âThese pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and itâs a reminder that Charlotte BrontĂ«, too, has many sidesâ GLOBE AND MAIL
About the author
Namwali Serpell was born in Zambia in 1980 and is associate professor of English at UC Berkeley. Her work has appeared in Tin House, n + 1, McSweeneyâs, The Believer, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Guardian. She received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writersâ Award; was selected as one of the Africa 39, a Hay Festival Project to identify the 39 best African writers under 40; appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2009; was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2010, and won the Caine Prize in 2015. On reading Jane Eyre, she says: âI first read it in one long, fevered sitting that took me through the night to a grey, rainy morning. It was 1995 and I was back in Zambia for a year of secondary school. Perhaps thatâs why my story commingles these two versions of home: my country and the wild landscape of letters into which I so often escape. Jane has always seemed my spiritual double.â
A short story by Namwali Serpell from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.
In âDouble Menâ, a secret liaison during a Zambian bonding ceremony has repercussions for two old female friends.
Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte BrontĂ«âs game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.
Reviews
Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:
âA terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyreâ THE NEW STATESMAN
âA clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for BrontĂ«'s many ardent fansâ KIRKUS REVIEWS
âExemplaryâŠwritten by some of today's best female writersâ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
âThese pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and itâs a reminder that Charlotte BrontĂ«, too, has many sidesâ GLOBE AND MAIL
About the author
Namwali Serpell was born in Zambia in 1980 and is associate professor of English at UC Berkeley. Her work has appeared in Tin House, n + 1, McSweeneyâs, The Believer, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Guardian. She received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writersâ Award; was selected as one of the Africa 39, a Hay Festival Project to identify the 39 best African writers under 40; appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2009; was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2010, and won the Caine Prize in 2015. On reading Jane Eyre, she says: âI first read it in one long, fevered sitting that took me through the night to a grey, rainy morning. It was 1995 and I was back in Zambia for a year of secondary school. Perhaps thatâs why my story commingles these two versions of home: my country and the wild landscape of letters into which I so often escape. Jane has always seemed my spiritual double.â