Thursday Tea: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

The Book: This is an interesting week on my blog. On Monday I wrote about a spinoff of Pride & Prejudice and started out that post by saying I sometimes claim Austen's classic is my favorite book. Today—and I promise it's total coincidence—I'm writing about a reworking of the other book I often claim as my favorite: Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a well-done modernization of Brontë's beloved novel. Margot Livesey very smartly set her retelling in the postwar years of Scotland. Much past the 1950s, and Gemma's aunt would not have been able to send the girl off to be a working student. Further, if Gemma had left her Mr. Sinclair any later than the 1960s, the whole second half the story would have fallen apart. It's difficult to imagine Gemma Hardy's or Jane Eyre's flight would have been successful in a more modern world.

I was as thoroughly taken in by Livesey's version as I was the original. I was particularly interested to see how the scenes I remember from Brontë would be adapted in the retelling. Everything in Jane's story—the scary attic room, Helen Burns's death at Lowood, Adele, Mr. Rochester, the fire, Rochester's secret, the cousins, St. John Rivers, the Rivers sisters—is a part of Gemma's story. Livesey has updated and tweaked the details, but all is recognizable.

My only objection was that I didn't think Sinclair's secret was bad enough to scare Gemma off, but before the last page, I understood and accepted her reaction. I had been anticipating the ending of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, wondering how it would compare to that of Jane Eyre. Here I was happy to see that Livesey remembered that Gemma is a twentieth-century young woman who had a different vision of her future than Jane could ever have imagined.

Added bonuses for me, besides the descriptions of Scotland, were everything Orkneys and Iceland. I wish I too could take flight at a moment's notice and hop on a plane for points north. If you love Jane Eyre, you'll love The Flight of Gemma Hardy.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook edition (AudioGo, 14 hr, 52 min) read by the devine Davina Porter. Need I elaborate? She is one of my all-time favorite narrators, and I can't imagine listening to a Scottish novel read by anyone else.

The Tea: We were briefly back to summer temperatures in these parts, and I was drinking iced tea. Adagio's Strawberry tea, which I don't love hot, makes a refreshing cool drink. Here's the description: "Combining the succulent taste of sweet strawberries with bright Ceylon black tea. Fresh sweet-floral and berry flavor, smooth and sugary texture." I definitely did not pick up on the sugary texture (sounds gritty to me), but I did like the taste.

The Assessment: Would Gemma Hardy drink iced strawberry tea? Probably not. In fact, she doesn't really care for tea and probably would shudder at the idea of drinking it cold. I'm blaming it on all that time spent in the isolated Scottish countryside. If she were living in the States in the 1960s, she just might go for a glass of sun tea.

What About You? In these crazy days of seasonal transition it's hard to tell whether you want something hot or cold to drink. Which did you choose? And tell me what book has caught your attention.

Buy The Flight of Gemma Hardy at an Indie, Powell's, Book Depository, or a bookstore near you. These links lead to affiliate programs.
Thursday Tea was the brainchild of Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog.
My full audio review will be published by AudioFile magazine.
Published by HarperCollins / Harper 2012
ISBN-13: 9780062064226
Source: Review (see review policy)
Rating: B+
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)
FTC: I buy all teas myself, I am not a tea reviewer.