Transference

A short story by Esther Freud from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

In ‘Transference’, a woman in a troubled relationship is drawn to her enigmatic therapist.

Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte Brontë’s game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Reviews

Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:

‘Dazzling’ DAILY MAIL

‘The success of this book owes much to [Chevalier’s] enthusiasm … it’s quite amazing to see the quality of work on show’ EVENING STANDARD

‘A terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyre’ THE NEW STATESMAN

‘A clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for Brontë's many ardent fans’ KIRKUS REVIEWS

‘Exemplary…written by some of today's best female writers’ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

‘These pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and it’s a reminder that Charlotte Brontë, too, has many sides’ GLOBE AND MAIL

About the author

Esther Freud trained as an actress before writing her first
novel, Hideous Kinky, which was shortlisted for the John
Llewellyn Rhys prize and made into a film starring Kate
Winslet. After her second novel, Peerless Flats, she was
chosen as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.
Her other books include The Sea House and Lucky Break,
and her most recent, Mr Mac and Me, was shortlisted for
the New Angle Prize and the East Anglian Book Awards.
She contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines,
and teaches creative writing for the Faber Academy. She
first read Jane Eyre as a teenager, and although it remains
one of her favourite novels, she accepts its influence over
her early life wasn’t always healthy, especially when, as
a lovelorn fourteen year old, she hung out of her window,
convinced that someone, somewhere was calling to her.