Book Review | The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Jane Shoringfield enters into a marriage of convenience with Dr Augustine Lawrence, which will allow her to stay in the city without her guardians and continue her work as an accountant. He only has one condition: that Jane must never visit Lindridge Hall, his family manor outside of town.

But when she finds herself stranded after an accident on their wedding night, she has no choice but to stay at the house. And she discovers that Augustine is terrified of the place, believing that he’s not alone. What exists at Lindridge Hall? And what is her new husband hiding? Jane must face her worst fears and believe the unbelievable in order to survive.

She’d told herself, when she realized that marrying was soon going to be the best option for her, that she could only marry if that distance was maintained. She wanted courteous indifference, not unwanted touches and a passel of children. She was not built for intimacy; she was built for numbers. For work.

The Death of Jane Lawrence is a fascinating portrayal of a woman discovering the power of magic. Set in an alternate version of post-war England where science and magic exist side by side, this book has influences from Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Crimson Peak with a touch of The Haunting of Hill House (both TV series and book).

When we first meet Jane, she appears to have no romantic inclinations. Her marriage proposal is purely transactional. This changes soon, however, and I was disappointed to see her turn into a naive wife upset at the man she married but barely knows. If Jane had been introduced as a lonely woman seeking companionship, I think her behaviour might make more sense because she has more to lose. Augustine falls into the category of Man With A Dark Secret who hides behind his guilt and shame, inadvertently hurting people he loves. The entire book takes place in mere weeks so I wasn’t convinced by their relationship.

That said, I thought the story is fascinating. Jane discovers the possibility that magic is real and can be used to not only save people’s lives but perhaps bring them back. In Lindridge Hall, she thinks she is haunted by the ghostly figure of someone from Augustine’s past. Yet this book is not really a ghost story. It’s about rituals and black magic. It’s about the belief that life and death are fluid, and that fate can be changed. There’s a sci-fi element to the story that I did not expect. The writing is engaging and I was dying to know what Jane would do in the midst of her mental and physical deterioration.

The horror elements in this book are gruesome, featuring medical procedures and surgical scenes from the Victorian era. There are body horror and gory deaths, along with some grisly descriptions of dead bodies. The crumbling manor becomes a source of horror too, where rooms seem to appear and disappear. It all builds up to a complicated ending, where magic and medicine converge to create something new. I had to read the last few chapters a couple of times to understand what it means! The book doesn’t provide easy answers but leaves a disturbing implication for the characters.

The Death of Jane Lawrence relies on some familiar tropes but in the end, provides a fresh take on the gothic. For fans of horror served up with a dose of romance, science and magic.

CW: medical procedures, miscarriage, child death

About the author: Caitlin Starling

Photo by Artem Maltsev