Status
Available
Call number
Publication
St. Martin's Press (2021), 366 pages
Description
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, Caitlin 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. "Don't read this one alone at night; Caitlin Starling has done it again. Unsettling, atmospheric, and downright brutal at times, The Death of Jane Lawrence will continue to haunt you long after you leave Lindridge Hall...if the house lets you leave, that is." -Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
While I gave it my best effort this book was so far and beyond my metal capabilities. Picking it as a presumptive Gothic style mystery/thriller I was initially interested and almost captivated. The important word is “almost”. I could never completely wrap my head around the premise that an
Did I mention the Ghosts? I should have because a definitive point is made that they exist and are the “constant point in the puzzle.” There is a large creep factor, an amazing cover and an overlong descent into …. Could it be madness?
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy.
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intelligent young woman throws out a marriage proposal of convenience to a man she has known for a nanosecond. Wrapped up in this bizarre arrangement, there is a decrepit familial mansion in an alternate country with very strange people coming and going, a very large pinch of magic and logical mental equations that gave me the mother of all headaches. Quite the witches brew. Did I mention the Ghosts? I should have because a definitive point is made that they exist and are the “constant point in the puzzle.” There is a large creep factor, an amazing cover and an overlong descent into …. Could it be madness?
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy.
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LibraryThing member jillrhudy
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Death of Jane Lawrence features very appealing characters somewhere in a fictional version of England where there was a war with bombings but everyone is still using
In any case, Jane is a desperate spinster who set out to find a husband using math and statistics. Her top choice is a doctor named Augustine who is willing to marry her as a "business transaction" in which she keeps the books but is not allowed to stay the night in his spooky haunted house. Instead, she will live at the surgery. Jane is supposed to go to work as a sort of secretary/accountant/nurse for Augustine in exchange for wife status and shelter. Her first experience as a nurse is a gruesome excision of a twisted bowel. in a scene with blood, rot, and feces, and she discovers that the patient is a sorcerer. They think they have saved the sorcerer, but he dies. Augustine puts his bowel in a jar.
The blood-soaked couple fall in love, the road washes out so that Jane is forced to sleep there instead of the office, they consummate the marriage which they are bummed/stoked about (their agreement was wishy-washy on the sex part), and the house and its ghosts come slinking onstage. Augustine has an ex-wife, Elodie, whom he may or may not have killed. She is the main ghost at Lindridge Hall and struck me as the only scary ghost.
Despite the highly improbable world, this is a decent setup for a gothic novel, right? Or a gothic novel, or a horror novel, or all three. How can this premise possibly fail? By throwing out all attempts at a coherent plot and making absolutely nothing make sense from here on out. You don't know which door is which, which wall is which, what part of the house you are even in, or which character is conscious, dreaming, alive, dead, real, unreal.
I'm pretty sure, based on outside accounts by household staff, that Augustine goes missing. Jane decides that only some combination of math and magic can get him back. For a week after her husband vanishes, without being arrested, committed to a madhouse, or even questioned by police, Jane tries to reconcile math and magic through lengthy musings about things like fitting triangles into circles and making ones into zeroes. She draws a lot of chalk circles, sees a lot of visions, eats a lot of eggs, has a lot of bad hair days, and chants many chants until she tells us that she dies and also that she doesn't.
After what seemed like ages of stumbling around with Jane and her chalk and candles and spell books (even though the book is probably too short to do justice to the premise), a questionable ending is abruptly brought out of the haze like a rabbit out of a hat. Since I like my weirdness to have some kind of scaffolding around it, I had a very tedious time of it.
The Death of Jane Lawrence features very appealing characters somewhere in a fictional version of England where there was a war with bombings but everyone is still using
Show More
horses and carriages; bleeding and leeches? Where did the bombs come from? In any case, Jane is a desperate spinster who set out to find a husband using math and statistics. Her top choice is a doctor named Augustine who is willing to marry her as a "business transaction" in which she keeps the books but is not allowed to stay the night in his spooky haunted house. Instead, she will live at the surgery. Jane is supposed to go to work as a sort of secretary/accountant/nurse for Augustine in exchange for wife status and shelter. Her first experience as a nurse is a gruesome excision of a twisted bowel. in a scene with blood, rot, and feces, and she discovers that the patient is a sorcerer. They think they have saved the sorcerer, but he dies. Augustine puts his bowel in a jar.
The blood-soaked couple fall in love, the road washes out so that Jane is forced to sleep there instead of the office, they consummate the marriage which they are bummed/stoked about (their agreement was wishy-washy on the sex part), and the house and its ghosts come slinking onstage. Augustine has an ex-wife, Elodie, whom he may or may not have killed. She is the main ghost at Lindridge Hall and struck me as the only scary ghost.
Despite the highly improbable world, this is a decent setup for a gothic novel, right? Or a gothic novel, or a horror novel, or all three. How can this premise possibly fail? By throwing out all attempts at a coherent plot and making absolutely nothing make sense from here on out. You don't know which door is which, which wall is which, what part of the house you are even in, or which character is conscious, dreaming, alive, dead, real, unreal.
I'm pretty sure, based on outside accounts by household staff, that Augustine goes missing. Jane decides that only some combination of math and magic can get him back. For a week after her husband vanishes, without being arrested, committed to a madhouse, or even questioned by police, Jane tries to reconcile math and magic through lengthy musings about things like fitting triangles into circles and making ones into zeroes. She draws a lot of chalk circles, sees a lot of visions, eats a lot of eggs, has a lot of bad hair days, and chants many chants until she tells us that she dies and also that she doesn't.
After what seemed like ages of stumbling around with Jane and her chalk and candles and spell books (even though the book is probably too short to do justice to the premise), a questionable ending is abruptly brought out of the haze like a rabbit out of a hat. Since I like my weirdness to have some kind of scaffolding around it, I had a very tedious time of it.
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LibraryThing member monnibo
It was okay, but if you're itching for gothic horror, read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia instead.
LibraryThing member bibliovermis
It annoyed me how quickly our Jane falls into standard romance cliches, from a height of strong anti-romantic principles, and thus into some clearly waiting horror movie traps. But the spooky gothic horror was very well played, and as the plot and the expectations got weirder I let go entirely of
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my romance expectations and got more and more interested. Maybe the weird, sort of esoteric occult/sort of sci-fi turns the book takes won't be for everyone, and maybe some of these aspects could have been integrated better so it was less of a sharp 180 from the expected gothic haunted house romance to the like, half Alistair-Crowley, half theory-of-multiple-worlds stuff, but it mostly worked and it wasn't at all boring. I think this author is one to watch. Show Less
LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
One for gothic horror fans. Perfectly paced as it ups the creep factor!
LibraryThing member Verkruissen
The Death of Jane Lawrence is an unusual story about a young girl who arranges a marriage of convenience with the local doctor. She has an extremely mathematical/logical mind and a lack of skill with social situations. She would probably be considered on the spectrum where this a modern day tale.
His only requirement to this agreement is that she never visit Lindridge Hall. His decrepit family estate outside of the city. A storm on their wedding day causes her to be stuck at the home she had promised not to ever visit. She finds her new husband a changed man. He is frightened and paranoid. Not at all like he was before they were married. Inside Lindridge Hall, Jane finds that the good doctor has many secrets and that she may have arranged for much more than she bargained for.
Definitely a good spooky story. I didn't find it particularly frightening or gory. The only part that felt to dragged out was Jane's seven day journey into learning magic. The ending was a bit chaotic and somewhat confusing but it wrapped up pretty nicely. Overall a good book for a fan of gothic mystery.
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His only requirement to this agreement is that she never visit Lindridge Hall. His decrepit family estate outside of the city. A storm on their wedding day causes her to be stuck at the home she had promised not to ever visit. She finds her new husband a changed man. He is frightened and paranoid. Not at all like he was before they were married. Inside Lindridge Hall, Jane finds that the good doctor has many secrets and that she may have arranged for much more than she bargained for.
Definitely a good spooky story. I didn't find it particularly frightening or gory. The only part that felt to dragged out was Jane's seven day journey into learning magic. The ending was a bit chaotic and somewhat confusing but it wrapped up pretty nicely. Overall a good book for a fan of gothic mystery.
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LibraryThing member mtrumbo
This is a perfect book to spooky reading season! Set in a time and place only slightly different than our own, Jane Shorefield proposes a marriage of convenience to the town doctor, Augustine Lawrence, after learning that her guardians are moving. He agrees but with the stipulation that she never
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enter his inherited family residence, Lindridge Hall, at night. But of course, within hours of their marriage that stipulation is broken and a series of events are set motion. The setting reminded me of Crimson Peak with the gothic touches of Jane Eyre and a dash of macabre Frankenstein-esque medical procedures. This book was very different than Starling’s last one (The Luminous Dead), but it still had the same isolated and chilling tone. Fabulous! Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book! Show Less
LibraryThing member Mishker
Jane has always been logical and self controlled. Now, with her guardians moving on Jane makes the logical decision to marry. From a list she compiled, Jane has chosen to ask Dr. Augustine Lawrence to enter into what she considers a business arrangement. She will keep his books and reside at his
The Death of Jane Lawrence is a highly atmospheric gothic romance. From the beginning, I was transported into the alternate history of Great Beltraine where magic is possible. Jane and Augustine fill the trope of a marriage for convenience. I loved Jane's character with her persistent logic, pursuit of knowledge and willingness to open herself up to emotions and the supernatural. Augustine is a curious character from the beginning. I enjoyed the care he took in his surgery, it was obvious that he truly cared for his patients and was skilled at his job; however, it was also clear that he was hiding something big. Jane and Augustine seem to fit together perfectly, even though they shouldn't. Lindridge Hall is the biggest character, with locked rooms, mysterious shadows and plenty of secrets to uncover, Lindridge is the quintessential gothic setting. With the addition of magic a whole new world of suspense and possibilities opens up to Jane. I was amazed at how well Jane took to magic her mind opened up to it. With more magic, Lindridge opens more doors to Jane. The writing took me on a wild ride and thoroughly explored LIndridge and the effects of magic. With the creation of a truly unique setting and an even more interesting romance, The Death of Jane Lawrence is the perfect mind-bending gothic horror.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
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surgery while he resides at Lindridge Hall. Despite their differences, an attraction forms. Dr. Augustine agrees to the match with the caveat Jane must never enter Lindridge. However, on the first night of their marriage, a mistake places the pair at Lindridge and Augustine becomes unhinged as the night progresses. With each night Jane stays at Lindridge she watches Augustine change. Jane also uncovers a bevy of secrets that open doubts in her union and begins to believe in the secrets of Lindridge herself. As Augustine succumbs to the terrors surrounding him, he believes Jane is an apparition and he attempts to kill her. In a desperate attempt for her life, Jane unleashes something she never believed she could do; but the consequences of her actions might be her undoing. The Death of Jane Lawrence is a highly atmospheric gothic romance. From the beginning, I was transported into the alternate history of Great Beltraine where magic is possible. Jane and Augustine fill the trope of a marriage for convenience. I loved Jane's character with her persistent logic, pursuit of knowledge and willingness to open herself up to emotions and the supernatural. Augustine is a curious character from the beginning. I enjoyed the care he took in his surgery, it was obvious that he truly cared for his patients and was skilled at his job; however, it was also clear that he was hiding something big. Jane and Augustine seem to fit together perfectly, even though they shouldn't. Lindridge Hall is the biggest character, with locked rooms, mysterious shadows and plenty of secrets to uncover, Lindridge is the quintessential gothic setting. With the addition of magic a whole new world of suspense and possibilities opens up to Jane. I was amazed at how well Jane took to magic her mind opened up to it. With more magic, Lindridge opens more doors to Jane. The writing took me on a wild ride and thoroughly explored LIndridge and the effects of magic. With the creation of a truly unique setting and an even more interesting romance, The Death of Jane Lawrence is the perfect mind-bending gothic horror.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member bookappeal
We I was attracted by the cover art and enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half gets bogged down in the main character’s wandering thoughts and speculations. The magic involved has no structure to follow and its rules are vague and changeable and often not explained. The tone and
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setting are certifiably creepy but the storyline is less strong. Show Less
LibraryThing member viviennestrauss
Yeah, I'm a sucker for beautiful cover art... I do NOT recommend this book - if written as a short story, maybe... way too long, drawn out and frankly I didn't care if Jane died or not.
LibraryThing member Micareads
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jane Shoringfield wants a marriage in name only. She hopes to pursue her own purposes while not having to rely on her benefactors. She convinces Dr. Augustine Lawrence
I am new to gothic horror but this cover and the premise immediately grabbed my attention. I loved how each character had such interesting theories on magic and whether they believed it to be real. Also, Lindridge Hall is a character all on its own - just the way in which it is described leads the reader to imagine the darkest and scariest mansion possible. Towards the last 20% of the story, it felt like the author went a little left-field but she managed to bring it all together for an exciting ending. Thanks to Caitlin Starling for introducing me to gothic horror - I will definitely be reading more.
Jane Shoringfield wants a marriage in name only. She hopes to pursue her own purposes while not having to rely on her benefactors. She convinces Dr. Augustine Lawrence
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that marriage is essentially a business relationship and he agrees to their unorthodox marriage under one condition: she must never visit Lindridge Hall., his decrepit family home. On their wedding night, after an accident strands her there, she begins to see why he doesn't want her there. Jane finds herself exploring a world of ghosts and magic that she never thought existed.I am new to gothic horror but this cover and the premise immediately grabbed my attention. I loved how each character had such interesting theories on magic and whether they believed it to be real. Also, Lindridge Hall is a character all on its own - just the way in which it is described leads the reader to imagine the darkest and scariest mansion possible. Towards the last 20% of the story, it felt like the author went a little left-field but she managed to bring it all together for an exciting ending. Thanks to Caitlin Starling for introducing me to gothic horror - I will definitely be reading more.
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LibraryThing member Carolesrandomlife
I really enjoyed this book! I was a little worried when I noticed that the reviews for this book were pretty mixed but it was really calling to me so I decided to give it a go, and was almost immediately hooked. I was drawn in by the creepy cover but I stayed for the story. I liked Jane right away
Jane doesn’t want to be a burden to the family she has been living with since the death of her parents so she decides that it is time to marry. She decides that Doctor Augustine is the best choice so she approaches him with a deal that they marry but that they keep it a business deal. She will take care of accounting so that he can focus on being the town’s doctor. She soon learns that she got a bit more than she bargained for. Augustine’s home holds a bunch of secrets that soon unravel. I was quite worried about what would eventually become of both Jane and Augustine. There were a lot of surprises worked into this story and I loved the fact that it kept me guessing until the very end.
I listened to the audiobook and thought Mandy Weston did a fantastic job with the narration. I believe that this is the first time that I have listened to this narrator’s work and I was very impressed. I thought that her voice was the perfect match to bring this story to life. I felt like I was right there with Jane as she worked to get to the bottom of the secrets found at Augustine’s home. I am positive that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a really well-done gothic story that kept me guessing until the very end. I would definitely read more of this author’s work in the future.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.
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and was very curious about how the story would play out. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a try.Jane doesn’t want to be a burden to the family she has been living with since the death of her parents so she decides that it is time to marry. She decides that Doctor Augustine is the best choice so she approaches him with a deal that they marry but that they keep it a business deal. She will take care of accounting so that he can focus on being the town’s doctor. She soon learns that she got a bit more than she bargained for. Augustine’s home holds a bunch of secrets that soon unravel. I was quite worried about what would eventually become of both Jane and Augustine. There were a lot of surprises worked into this story and I loved the fact that it kept me guessing until the very end.
I listened to the audiobook and thought Mandy Weston did a fantastic job with the narration. I believe that this is the first time that I have listened to this narrator’s work and I was very impressed. I thought that her voice was the perfect match to bring this story to life. I felt like I was right there with Jane as she worked to get to the bottom of the secrets found at Augustine’s home. I am positive that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a really well-done gothic story that kept me guessing until the very end. I would definitely read more of this author’s work in the future.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.
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LibraryThing member Andy5185
Whoa, this book. A mash up of gothic romance, psychological thriller, gruesome horror and magic. I was drawn in immediately and found myself thinking about it whenever I was not reading. It’s been a while that a novel has given me nightmares but I had quite a few the past week. If you like
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Rebecca, Crimson Peak, The Haunting of Hill House with a dash of medical surgical gore this will be sure to appeal. I loved it and already miss being scared at night now that it’s over. Show Less
LibraryThing member caanderson
full of twists and turns with some gore. Surprising finish. Interesting characters.
LibraryThing member dinahmine
Most of the reviews I read for Jane Lawrence complained that everything fell apart in the second half fo the novel. For me, the story didn’t begin to fall apart until the last few chapters. I enjoyed the story very much until the end, my only complaint being that the novel was too fast-paced for
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a gothic horror. Enjoyable enough that I would recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This is by far the best new gothic novel I've read in years; in fact, I'd put reading it off because I'd hit so many disappointments in the genre, but this one sucked me in almost immediately. Although the beginning was a somewhat slow start, I was still engaged and drawn in to the characters, and
This is absolutely a gothic horror novel and ghost story that I'll remember and recommend.
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once the story really got going, I couldn't put the book down. Starling has such a dynamic story and characters here, with so much nuance to each plot turn and moment, I just adored it from start to finish. This is absolutely a gothic horror novel and ghost story that I'll remember and recommend.
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Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — 2022)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Horror — 2022)
Dragon Award (Finalist — 2022)
NPR: Books We Love (2021)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Adults (Horror — 2021)
Language
Original publication date
2021