Told almost entirely in pictures – strip cartoons and some larger scale illustrations - with only a small amount of text in speech and captions, this is a powerfully moving story which captures the loneliness of being an outsider. Without preaching or spelling it out, it also presents an unusual and heart-warming way that such an experience can be resolved. The almost-teenager narrator once had friends; now the other girls’ gossip and giggle about her and write nasty things about her weight on the wall. Consumed with self-loathing she finds solace in Jane Eyre, another unhappy character but one for whom there is a resolution. But the appearance of a fox on a school trip to the countryside changes everything. As does the arrival of a new friend. A quiet book with a strong story that makes a lasting impact.
Helene is not free to hide from the taunts of her former friends in the corridors at school. She can't be invisible in the playground or in the stairways leading to art class. Insults are even scribbled on the walls of the toilet cubicles. Helene smells, Helene's fat, Helene has no friends ...now. When Helene's heart hammers in her chest as Genevieve snickers at the back of the bus, inventing nasty things to say about her, Helene dives into the pages of her book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. And, in the solace she finds there, Helene's own world becomes a little brighter. But how will the story end? Is there any hope for the wise, strange, plain Jane Eyre? How could Mr Rochester ever love her? On nature camp, arranged by the school as a treat, Helene finds herself in the tent of other outcasts. Again, her inner and outer worlds become entangled as she reads on - this time putting herself into Jane Eyre's shoes. It would be impossible for Mr Rochester to marry a sausage in a swimsuit, even if he loved her. Wouldn't it? But, while deeply lost in self-doubt, Helene's world is unexpectedly shaken up by a fresh new friendship. Geraldine snorts with laughter at her jokes! They love being together! Helene begins to worry less about what the cruel girls think - and more about how happy she can be (and make others)...Perhaps Jane Eyre's story will end well after all, too.
Fanny Britt is a Quebec playwright, author and translator. She has written a dozen plays (among them Honey Pie, Hotel Pacifique and Bienveillance) and translated more than fifteen others. She has also written and translated several works of children's literature. Jane, the Fox and Me is her first graphic novel.
