The Unclaimed Virtual Book Tour stops HERE today!
Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp
Born not in a past of corsets and bonnets but into a future of cloning and bioterror, could Jane Eyre survive? This Jane is an “unclaimed embryo,” the living mistake of a reproductive rights center–or so her foster family tells her. At age ten she is sold into slavery as a data mule, and she must fight for freedom and identity in a world mired between bioscientific progress and the religions that fear it.
“Jane Eyre does not need to be updated. It needs to be read and re-read and treasured for its timelessness. But too often, the people of a world obsessed with progress refuse to remember the wisdom of the past. Sometimes, an author must dress the eighteenth century in futuristic salawar kameez to remind the present day that the human story never changes. Whether in Georgian England or the global community of a technocratic future, there will always be orphans who can teach the rest of us how to love, if we will only take the time to learn. This is the reason we need books like Unclaimed.”
– Karen Ullo, author of Jennifer the Damned
You can read my “official” review below, but do you want to know my honest thoughts when I read Unclaimed?
They ran something along the lines of, “My author friends are so out of my league.” Meaning, basically, that Erin McCole Cupp displays a spark of creativity and a depth of knowledge from which its borne that left me dumbstruck. I’m not sure if working with classic-level source material makes the job easier or more difficult, but Erin makes it look effortless. Like watching a stellar athlete or an exquisite dancer or a polished musician, you become lost in the performance, stopping only on occasion to marvel at what you’ve witnessed.
Unclaimed: The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan by Erin McCole Cupp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you needed proof that Jane Eyre by Chariotte Bronte is a timeless classic, Unclaimed: The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan—Book 1 is it.
Erin McCole Cupp expertly re-imagines Jane as among America’s least wanted in the near future: an unclaimed embryo brought to life but unloved then laboring anonymously half a world away from home.
Interestingly, Jane’s hidden existence in a quasi school/sweatshop extends beyond merely weaving textiles, but hidden messages as well. Her only solace is the companionship of the ill Aidann, whose backstory is also modernized, and the compassion of her instructor Bhenji Nealingson.
Unclaimed takes the dear reader to Jane’s first encounter with her absentee employer Mr. Thorne in his fortress beneath the American desert.
Jane Eyre has long been a favorite of mine, and I enjoyed the first part of this retelling immensely. While appealing to the modern reader’s ear, it remains faithful to the truth of the original, even retaining the charm and tone of Bronte’s voice.
Faithful to the truth of the original, even retaining the charm and tone of Bronte’s voice. Unclaimed Share on XYou do not, however, have to have read Jane Eyre to enjoy Jane_E. Much like the character herself, chin lifted high, it can stand on its own.
