Books like “Jane Eyre”

What to read after “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Brontë · 1848
From the same world: “Gothic”
A young widow, Helen Graham, moves into the half-ruined Wildfell Hall and keeps to herself, refusing to explain her past. The farmer Gilbert Markham falls for her, then hears rumours about her and her son. Helen's hidden diary slowly reveals the marriage she fled and why she lives in hiding.
2
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier · 1938
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A shy young woman marries the widowed Maxim de Winter and arrives at Manderley, his grand estate by the sea. There she is measured against his first wife, the beautiful Rebecca, whose presence lingers in every room, in the servants' loyalty and in a secret nobody will speak.
3
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Ann Radcliffe · 1794
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
After her parents die, Emily St. Aubert is left to the care of an aunt who marries an Italian nobleman. Taken to the gloomy castle of Udolpho, she is surrounded by unexplained sounds, sealed rooms and sinister men, while she tries to keep her love and her safety.
4
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë · 1847
From the same world: “Gothic”
- Gothic
- Byronic Hero
On the Yorkshire moors, the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine grow up inseparable, then are torn apart by class and marriage. His long, bitter revenge consumes the next generation until their children find a way out.
5
Uncle Silas
J. Sheridan Le Fanu · 1864
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
Orphaned heiress Maud Ruthyn is sent to Bartram-Haugh, the remote house of her uncle Silas, a man once suspected of murder. Isolated there with him, his strange son and a governess, she slowly realises the household is closing in on her.
6
Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu · 1872
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
In a lonely Styrian castle, Laura longs for companionship. A carriage accident brings Carmilla, a charming guest her own age, to stay with the family. As Laura's health fades and strange dreams visit her at night, she begins to suspect that her new friend is not what she seems.
7
The Turn of the Screw
Henry James · 1898
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A young governess takes charge of two children at a remote country house and soon notices figures watching from the grounds and the tower. She becomes convinced the children are being influenced by something from beyond the grave, though no one else confirms what she sees.
8
Dracula
Bram Stoker · 1897
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A young solicitor journeys to a remote castle in the Carpathians to settle a client's estate, only to find his host is no ordinary nobleman. As the count travels to England, letters and diaries record a creeping sickness spreading from Whitby to London.
9
Melmoth the Wanderer
Charles Robert Maturin · 1820
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A scholar finds a manuscript telling of Melmoth, a man who centuries earlier traded his soul for knowledge and an unnaturally long life. Doomed to wander the earth, he appears to people in their worst moments and offers them the chance to take on his burden.
10
Jamaica Inn
Daphne du Maurier · 1936
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
After her mother's death, Mary Yellan goes to live with her aunt at Jamaica Inn on the bleak Bodmin Moor. Her uncle keeps the inn closed to travellers and answers to dangerous men from the coast. Mary must work out what her one remaining family is hiding before the moor and its secrets close over her.
11
The Thirteenth Tale
Diane Setterfield · 2006
From the same world: “Gothic”
- Gothic
- Gothic Manor
A bookseller's daughter is summoned by a reclusive author who has never told the truth about her life. As the old woman finally recounts her childhood at a crumbling country house, the listener realises the story hides one more secret. A gothic tale about stories, sisters and the gaps between them.
12
The Beetle
Richard Marsh · 1897
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
- Gothic
- Creeping Dread
A strange, insect-like creature arrives in London bent on revenge against a member of Parliament, and its powers reach into the lives of everyone near him. The story is told through several witnesses who each encounter the being and try to stop it.