Product Description

Set during the Napoleonic wars at a time of national economic struggles, Shirley is an unsentimental yet passionate depiction of conflict among classes, sexes, and generations. Struggling manufacturer Robert Moore considers marriage to the wealthy and independent Shirley Keeldar, yet his heart lies with his cousin Caroline. Shirley, meanwhile, is in love with Robert’s brother, an impoverished tutor. As industrial unrest builds to a potentially fatal pitch, can the four be reconciled?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78047 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780141439860
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) is the author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor (published posthumously).

Jessica Cox is a research student and postgraduate tutorial assistant in the Department of English at the University of Wales, Swansea.

Lucasta Miller is the author of The Brontë Myth and writes for the Guardian.

Heather Glen teaches at the University of Cambridge and is the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of Charlotte Brontë’s The Professor.

Customer Reviews

A very engaging read!
I loved this book, though admittedly it reads a bit like a rough draft with several stories which are not very well integrated. In the introduction, Bronte claims Shirley is anything but a romance, and indeed the first few chapters are so dry (focusing on the very minor and not very interesting characters of the vicars and other religious personnel) that one needs patience to continue reading.

Indeed this is understandable given that Charlotte's beloved sisters Anne and Emily and her beloved but wayward brother Branwell all died the year she wrote the first half of the novel, and she was shutting down emotionally and withdrawing from the world. Later when she wrote the last half, she was past the deepest stage of grief.

Bronte also doesn't introduce her heroine Shirley until 1/3 of the way through the novel, establishes considerable interest in the character of Robert Moore, and then has him disappear most of the second half of the novel, and introduces another major character, Robert's brother in the last portion of the book.

Finally, one sometimes has to strain to believe that individuals at this time really spoke as these characters spoke - especially the men when they on rare occasion pour out their hearts to other men in lengthy poetic prose. But often the prose of Bronte's dialogue is quite delicious and makes one wish that writers today had such a flair for such eloquent, emotionally expressive language.

The strong point of the novel: Charlotte Bronte excels in letting us into the mind and hearts of her two heroines, Caroline and Shirley, as well as in painting portraits of several of other characters, especially Robert Moore. Her rich attunement to the subtleties of the inner life of feeling (especially falling in love and the roller coast ride of affectionate rapport alternating with anguish-inducing withdrawal) and the innuendos of relationships between women and women, and men and women, is notable. Her portrayals of her primary characters are so compelling that her readers begin to deeply care about them and their happiness. The relationship between Robert and Caroline is particularly engaging, and likely to lead the reader to yearn, along with Caroline, for Robert to stand firm in his affections and not retreat into his very real and troublesome business and financial concerns.

The political subplot is also enlightening - a basically good man, Robert Moore, being drawn almost to bankruptcy while needing to industrialize his mill in order to remain in business, and as a result laying off workers and inciting a luddite rebellion against him. (Readers who are intrigued by this theme, might also enjoy Gaskell's North and South - and especially the BBC North and South film available on dvd). Bronte doesn't integrate the political plot very well with the novel, but socio-economic factors considerably influence Robert's motives and relationships more and more as the story progresses. They also lend historical interest to the novel, and a bit of substance beyond the local color of minor individuals, the relationships between the main characters, and the very heartfelt inner life of Caroline.

Although most other readers find the book slow reading, I in contrast could barely put it down.......but did skip over the "boring" parts resulting from too many minor characters (especially of a religious nature) being given too much space in the novel. But the stories of Caroline, Robert and Shirley are so engaging that the reader may indeed find the novel truly delightful, and the conclusion likewise highly satisfying.

The Best of the Brontes
To a reader who had no knowledge of Charlotte Brontë, other than as the author of Jane Eyre, the beginning of this book would present a challenge. Such a reader would be surprised at the depth of the story and its seeming disregard of all romantic notions. Instead of introducing us to some pretty, sweet heroine, we are faced with the dangers of mob violence and the harshness of the main hero, the miller, Robert Moore. Politics also makes an entrance in the first few chapters, and the reader will find that the political and religious differences between the characters play an important role in the story.

This is not to say that Shirley is not a romantic story. There are passages of such longing and despair, and even of the hope of love, that actually made me weep. The romance in this story is not petty or superficial. For those who feel that the object of their love is out of reach or is uncaring, there is utter heartbreak and the danger of wasting away. None of this feels contrived, however. Both the women and the men suffer almost equally, which feels more true to life.

Another focus of this book is the oppression of women. There are many characters, both male and female, that object to the idea of women taking an active role in the public world. Women were confined to the home, and they were thought not to possess the mental capacity for business or politics. The two heroines, Caroline Helstone, the niece of a misogynistic rector, and Shirley Keeldar, the independent owner of substantial property, both, in their own separate ways, rebel against the restrictions that society has put on them. Caroline, rather than waste away in her uncle's rectory, quietly strives for some purpose in life, and determines to become a governess. Shirley, due to her more elevated place in society, forces the men around her, including Caroline's uncle and her tenant, Robert Moore, to take her seriously as a participant in the defense of her property, which includes the besieged mill run by Moore. She also rejects several suitable offers of marriage, declaring her intent to marry only for love.

This book definitely does not focus on any one character. Shirley herself isn't introduced until about halfway into the book, and Caroline, Robert, and other principal characters go missing for chapters at a time. The result is a deeply felt story about a certain place in a volatile time, with all of the uncertainty and danger that the characters faced. There is no lack of character development; indeed, one gets to understand all of them. I recommend this book to any fan of nineteenth century literature, or to any history buff who is interested in learning about the personal side of the economic crisis in England during the Napoleonic Wars.

Fabulous Read...if you like George Eliot's books you'll love this.
O.k. So, this isn't a perfectly constructed book. During the writing of this novel, Charlotte Bronte had her entire family dying around her so I can hardly blame her for different parts of the book having different tones. DONT LET THE FIRST CHAPTERS PUT YOU OFF! They're a little dry --> but it flourishes as it bounds along.

The main oddity to the novel is the fact that the people that are set up in the very beginning, are not alluded to again [e.g. the vicars], and the people that we get to know and love in the middle of the book [Caroline and Robert] are not necessarily the focus at the end of the book. There are also strong characters that are set up in some chapters and not really developed into a storyline later on, e.g. Mr Yorke.

The story is wrriten similar to a George Eliot's style -->so if you like her plots etc, then you'll probably really enjoy this. Think Middlemarch meets Daniel Deronda.

HOWEVER, caveats aside - the book is fantastic. You don't get to read prose like Charlotte's everyday. Honestly, that woman could be having the worst writing day of her life and still leave all the modern writers for dead. She really captures characters and lanscapes in a way that is truly beautiful. Shirley the girl is wonderful, and you won't be able to help falling in love with her. She really is a memorable [and very progressive] character.

Bronte warns at the start that the book is not romantic in nature, but I beg to disagree. The story revolves around Robert - a struggling mill owner, Caroline, a young girl who lives with her disinterested uncle, and Shirley, a rich, strong-willed, beautiful heiress. In the mix is also Shirley's ex-governess and Robert's intellectual brother, Louis Moore. The story is set around the time of the industrial revolution in England [earlt 1800s] and deals with the difficulties faced by the different sets of society during the time.

I've got a few quotes that I loved:

"the minds of the girls [caroline and shirley] being toned in harmony often chimed very sweetly together"

"[Mrs Sympson]...had been brought up on a narrow system of views, starved on a few prejudices - a mere handful of bitter herbs; a few preferences, soaked till their natural flavour was extracted, and with no seasoning added in the cooking; some excellent principles, made up in a stiff crust of bigotry difficult to digest"

Can't get much better than that imo :)