"Thoughtful, imaginative, suspenseful." All Hallows at Eyre Hall by @LucciaGray #romance #victorian

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All Hallows at Eyre Hall

The Breathtaking Sequel to Jane Eyre

Written by Luccia Gray

Genre(s): Victorian, Gothic, Romance, Suspense


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Rediscover the world of Jane Eyre.

Twenty-two years after her marriage to Edward Rochester, Jane is coping with the imminent death of her bedridden husband - and the revelation of his unspeakable secrets.

Richard Mason has returned, instigating a sequence of events which will expose Rochester’s disloyalty to Jane, his murderous plots, and innumerable other sins. Drawn into a complex conspiracy, everything Jane holds dear is threatened. Who was the man she thought she loved? What is she prepared to do to safeguard her family and preserve her own stability?

All Hallows at Eyre Hall is the first volume of the Eyre Hall Trilogy. Its multiple narrators explore the evolution of the original characters, and bring to life new and intriguing ones, spinning an original and absorbing narrative. 

An excerpt from

All Hallows at Eyre Hall

Chapter I

Mr. Mason’s Visit
Sunday, 29th October, 1865.

The carriage swayed its way up the birch lined driveway towards Eyre Hall, tunnelling through the ghostly morning mist. The muggy air reeked of wilting foliage and soggy earth as the carriage halted abruptly, and the coachman closed and barred the heavy yard gates. The vehicle rocked as he leapt on, spurring the horses back into movement. Seconds later, I stepped out unsteadily onto crunchy gravel, adjusted my cloak and hat, and looked up to the rebuilt mansion for the first time.

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Twenty-three years had passed since my last visit to another house in this same spot, when I was bitten by a raging lioness fighting to preserve her offspring and her reason. My bones shivered. My sister had been wronged, my niece had been wronged, and my mission was to settle the injustice before the funeral. The sharp smell of burning coal seeped into my frosty chest, and I thanked God there were fireplaces in this gloomy, damp climate, in which I cannot envisage my ancestors ever having lived.

The top floor and tower were still wrapped in a vaporous cloud, but the ground floor casements, which seemed to rise up from the ground, symmetrically sliced into squares, stood out like prison bars. I could sense the witch was there watching me. I fancied her slight shadow floating over the curtains, and imagined curious fingers pulling back the heavy dark fabric, in an effort to catch a glimpse of my arrival. I had received no answer to my message requesting an encounter, but I prayed she would be curious enough to converse with me.

He had arrived. I would have gasped and convulsed had I not challenged myself hours earlier, when I received his note, to firmly control any hint of emotion. I would not give him the pleasure of guessing how his visit had driven me to yet another sleepless night inhabited by unearthly beings.

Michael, my valet, announced my visitor. I was unimpressed. The person who stood before me was barely a shadow of the fine looking man I had met twenty-three years earlier at Thornfield Hall. His visage repelled me. The nose had become more aquiline, pointing directly at his extended chin, and his face had lost its ovalness and melted into a shapeless mass of puffy fat. His furred olive green cloak hung loosely over his drooping shoulders, awkwardly resting on his protruding contour, while a sardonic smile dressed his gaunt lips. His eyes, blanker and darker, had merged to the expressionless colour of his dull iris. He bowed stiffly, while a smooth, swollen hand made a sharp rising movement to remove the hat, which he thrust towards my robust, fine looking valet towering over him. It took all my self-control not to smirk at the strands of lank white hair he uncovered, as I endeavoured with every visible muscle in my body to hide any emotions from the devil’s messenger who stood before me.

I was grateful for the embroidered French cuffs, which hid my fists as my nails clawed into my palms, while I reluctantly remembered the last time I had seen him. He had ruined my life, destroyed my wedding day, and driven me away from my beloved Edward and from my dear Thornfield Hall.

I extended my hand limply, took a deep breath, and braced for what was to come, anticipating uneasily that once again my life would change irreversibly after his undesired visit. He bowed, brushed his lips over my embroidered mitts, and then took a step backwards, reinforcing his position as adversary. There was no doubt in my mind that he meant to trouble me with ghoulish memories. I turned to my vigilant valet and asked him to leave before addressing my displeasing visitor.

“What brings you here, Mr. Mason?” I asked coolly.

Here's what

Fans are saying

A worthy sequel

As someone who is not very big on the classics (really, anything written before the last 3-4 years tends to bore me), I thought this book would be a positively bore-ful time. I am very glad I was wrong.

A modern reflection on the original novel, All Hallows follows the less-painful, more mature Jane Eyre as she goes through something every woman does at some time or another - Edward is turning out to be a little more wild and dangerous than he first seemed, but while she does continue to remain by his side, she has to deal with these new realisations, a new beau, and a new-comer to the estate.

Written true to the voice - yet not as grating or irritating as I find Bronte - All Hallows Hall is a wonderfully-mastered sequel to the classic, with enough modern concerns (well, timeless, really) issues to deal with, in a way that didn't make me want to smack someone. That's always the mark of a keeper book, it doesn't incite me to violence.

Well-worth the read, I congratulate Ms Gray!

— RhythemPoets

Thoughtful, imaginative, suspenseful

I really enjoyed reading Gray's creative sequel. If I had to sum it up in three words, I would say that this book is; thoughtful, imaginative, suspenseful. I actually can't believe I was able to complete this book in one sitting. It certainly kept me on my toes. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I don't want to spoil it for those reading my review....I will say that there are some interesting twist of events and elements to the characters.

If you are familiar with the previous books you will definitely notice the difference because it adds to more character development. I think it adds a nice flavor to the series and helps to build up the suspense in the plot....which is exactly why I look forward to reading more. I highly recommend this book and commend the author.

— Esi

Author Bio

Luccia Gray

Luccia Gray was born in London and now lives in the south of Spain with her husband. She has three children and three grandchildren. When she's not reading or writing, she teaches English at an Adult Education Centre and at University. Almost a year ago, she stopped scribbling surreptitiously and decided her life-long dream of stringing words into stories, and stories into novels, should come true, and it did.