Can you tell us about your new book Jane Eyre Laid Bare?
Jane Eyre Laid Bare is an erotic retelling of Charlotte Bronte's original. I've edited down the original text so that it starts when Jane goes to work at Thornfield Hall and meets Mr Rochester. I've kept the original prose, but put in the naughty bits!
What made you want to take a classic and sex it up?
I studied Jane Eyre at school and university and me and my mates always used to joke about making it properly rude, because the text has always been simmering with sexual tension. It's always been in the back of my mind to do it, but now that Fifty Shades has led the way for erotic fiction to become mainstream, the timing seemed right now. I also like the idea of mash-ups, and loved 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'. I had so much fun writing it and I'm thrilled that Macmillan, my publishers, have put it out as an ebook. I can't wait to see the paperbacks in September.
Do you think that sex should be an integral part of any book?
Not necessarily. It depends on the book, but Jane Eyre is one of the original and best love stories, so sex plays a part. Whilst I've kept the original text, and the characters of Jane Eyre the same, I've updated the story for a twenty-first century audience.
How difficult was it to intersperse your new scenes with the original text?
Surprisingly easy! Once you start reading Jane Eyre like an erotic novel, it IS an erotic novel. It was very obvious to me where to add in the extra passages and little touches. I've changed very little of the scene structure and the characters curves are the same. I have kept the tone similar to the original, mimicking Bronte's voice, so I never send up the sex scenes or add in humour. It's certainly not a parody, but my husband laughed AND blushed when he read some of the scenes!
What other classics do you feel need this reinvention?
Where do we start! There's so many, as there are so many classics with a sexual subtext. Jane Eyre is a particularly great one to do, though, as it has such a perfect structure. It's the classic story of a young, hopeful, innocent girl, desperate for experience, who falls for an unattainable older man and gets her fingers burnt. It's the same plot that's been used time and again - through all of chick-lit, and of course, most recently in 50 Shades.
Who are you favourite reads?
I read all sorts. Anything with good characters and a good story, which is why I love classics like Austen and Bronte.
How much research did you have to put into the text given the period in which it is set?
I did a bit, but we all know so much now about how the upper classes behaved in the 1850's. The swinging parties and the drugs were all prevalent, so I've included that in Jane Eyre Laid Bare. But it all went on behind closed doors and there was a very strict them and us culture between the gentry and their staff, which is why I've made Jane a voyeur. For example, in the original text, when Rochester's guests play charades, Jane witnesses the first wedding scene, then leaves with the little girl, Adele, Rochester's ward. She then sneaks back in to the drawing room and hides, so she can witness the 'rude' charades that go on behind closed doors. Her journey is all about discovering that Thornfield Hall is a much more sensual place than she realized and that sex is all around her.
Do have any plans to repeat Jane Eyre Laid Bare on another timeless novel?
Maybe....
When you announced what your project would be, how did people react?
It was amazing. Macmillan offered me a deal straight away, followed by St Martin's Press in New York. The audio book rights were snapped up, and when the deal was announced, the story was featured in every paper. Some people got their proverbial knickers in a twist about it, but I don't see the problem. In Pride And Prejudice and Zombies Austen's beloved characters get their faces ripped off by the living dead, which I think is actually a lot more shocking than Jane Eyre experiencing a little bit of sexual pleasure.
Some readers believe the the classics should be left untouched, so how would you challenge this viewpoint?
These are post modern times and mash-ups are prevalent in all forms of culture, from art to music and of course, books. Even in Bronte's lifetime, there were different versions of Jane Eyre and there have been countless re-tellings since. If readers don't like the idea of it, then don't read it. I am a huge fan of Jane Eyre and I hope my version encourages people to go back to the original text.
More and more books are being released with high sexual content, do you think that this will become ubiquitous eventually?
No. I think that there will always be a choice. However, when the internet is flooded with ubiquitous porn, I think erotic fiction becoming more mainstream is a good thing. Women have always been turned on by words and I think putting a love story within an erotic setting is very powerful.
Female First Lucy Walton
by Lucy Walton
find me on 
and follow me on 
