Shirley

By Charlotte Brontë

According to Wikipedia: "Shirley is an 1849 social novel by the English novelist Charlotte Brontë. It was Brontë's second published novel after Jane Eyre (originally published under Brontë's pseudonym Currer Bell). The novel is set in Yorkshire in the period 1811–12, during the industrial depression resulting from the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The novel is set against a backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry. The novel's popularity led to Shirley becoming a woman's name. In the novel, Shirley Keeldar, the title character was given the name that her father had intended to give a son. Before the publication of the novel, Shirley was an uncommon – but distinctly male – name and would have been an unusual name for a woman.[1] Today it is regarded as a distinctly female name and an uncommon male name."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seltzer Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781455404506

Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) was an English novelist and poet, and the eldest of the three Brontë sisters. Her experiences in boarding schools, as a governess and a teacher eventually became the basis of her novels. Under pseudonyms the sisters published their first novels; Charlotte's first published novel, Jane Eyre(1847), written under a non de plume, was an immediate literary success. During the writing of her second novel all of her siblings died. With the publication of Shirley (1849) her true identity as an author was revealed. She completed three novels in her lifetime and over 200 poems.

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Reviews for Shirley

[encephalical · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Brontë showing her mastery by dropping twenty different styles on the reader, almost like a prose collage.

[danielstj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not as intriguing as I would have thought.For me, nothing special. It was OK.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Five reasons why I liked "Shirley":Free-spirited Shirley: Miss Keeldar is a great heroine. Charlotte Brontë have enriched Shirley with great wealth, she’s a land owner and independent, which means she can speak against the corrupt curates, help the mill owner - start a social reform program for the poor - and in one of the best scenes of the novel go against her uncle when he thinks he has found the best match for her. Just brilliant.Luddites uprising: The novels first chapters takes us right into the historical setting (1811-12) in Yorkshire during the Napoleonic Wars where the poor workers try to attack and kill the mill owner, Robert Moore, because he’s replacing workers with new industrialised equipment. A very interesting conflict that’s the background for the two romantic plots.Women’s role in society: The novel have several interesting discussions on women’s emancipation - We empathize with Caroline Helstone and the constraints society puts on her - she has limited possibilities in life without parents and dependent on a fickle uncle - and marriage seems out of reach. Shirley on the other hand embraces her economic and social independence which defies conventions and expectations.Enduring friendship: The deepening and beautiful friendship between Caroline and Shirley is a great pleasure to follow. They have altogether different temperaments and characters - yet support and help each other throughout the novel.“The Valley of the Shadow of Death” Headline for this chapter with Caroline on her deathbed. I can still remember walking and listening to it with both fascination and trembling - and it reveals one of Charlotte Brontë's famous plot twists. It’s haunting with gothic elements - and no doubt influenced by her own life experience. Three of Charlotte Brontë’s siblings died during the writing of this novel (all wihtin nine months). First her alcoholic brother, Bramwell, and then shortly after each other, Emily and Anne.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately, this is no Jane Eyre. But if you want to spend 25 hours listening to a marriage plot where the heroines waste away because of unrequited love, then this might be the book for you. I was disappointed at the sexism in this book. Jane Eyre is such a great heroine and one of the things I really liked it that she is one of the plain-looking heroines in the classics - or any book for that matter. In this story, two of the main women characters, Shirley and Caroline Helstone are both beautiful and the men constantly harp about their appearance. Maybe it reflects the values of that century, but I felt that feminism really took a step backward with this book.

[thatotter-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, for my 500th read book on goodreads, I decided to pick something that I'd been saving for a while, and I settled on Shirley, which was the last Charlotte Brontë novel I had left to read.

Shirley is full of my favorite Charlotte Brontë things, namely feminist social agitation and characters who step outside their expected gender roles. Shirley is obviously the best part of Shirley--she deserves a spot on the list of greatest characters of all time. Supposedly Charlotte told Elizabeth Gaskell that Shirley was what her sister Emily would have been "had she been placed in health and prosperity," but my unvetted personal opinion is that Shirley is what Jane Eyre would have been had she been placed in health and prosperity.

Shirley is not going to displace my current favorite Brontë novel (that would be hard to do), but it does seem like the novel that has the most of Charlotte in it, and for that reason alone it is worthy of being loved. Through the book there's also this undercurrent of desire to return to an earlier, happier time, which, when you think about how all the remaining Brontë siblings died while Shirley was being written, makes the book feel sadder than it appears on the surface.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slow read. At first it is a social commentary about the changes brought on by new technology. The mill owner who needs to innovate to stay in business vs. the workers who will lose there jobs.Shirley arrives and it is about the position of women.Then at the end it is a love story.

[lara335 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Probably a revolutionary novel at print, but a rather long, slow read in the 21st century. Shirley, the character, doesn’t make an appearance until a quarter way in. Shirley is an heiress who makes friends with Caroline a self-effacing young woman in love with her mill-owning but near-bankrupt (because of the Napoleonic war) cousin.Bronte’s novel touches on war, politics, trade, unemployment through mechanisation, & the role of women struggling in a patriarchal society. All fascinating stuff, but this modern reader longed for a tighter structure & a stricter editor to speed the pace & lose some of its 700 sometimes indulgent pages.

[melissalenhardt · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I did not like Shirley.

That could be my entire review. After reading a novel that was at least 200 pages too long, it probably should be. Because it is late and I am not feeling too charitable towards Charlotte Bronte I will make this brief.

There were many things I disliked about Shirley (★★) but the one thing that I did like was the character of Shirley. Where Shirley was lively and engaging, the other characters were dull, overwrought and over described. I may be in the minority but I think it is a huge problem if the eponymous character does not show up in your story until page 187. Once she did show up she gave everything a much needed jolt of life, including this reader. Honestly, I can’t believe I made it to page 187. I was very close many times to abandoning the book. I didn’t but I can’t say that I’m glad I didn’t.

After reading the brilliance of Anne Bronte’ masterpiece, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Shirley read like an author trying too hard. I should give Charlotte some slack since she lost her three siblings while writing Shirley (including Anne, *sniff*) but I cannot. Especially after learning that Charlotte repressed Anne’s work after she died. It infuriates me that Charlotte and Emily are well-know two hundred years later while Anne, who had much more to say and said it much better, was silenced. I admit I am biased against Charlotte because of it. I cannot help it.

Even if I did not have that prejudice I would not like Shirley. The language was pedantic, the characters annoying and the storyline meandered around searching for a social cause to champion. Unlike Bronte’s contemporary, Elizabeth Gaskell, who wrote brilliant novels about industrialization and the subsequent social struggles, it seems obvious that Bronte had no real experience or knowledge of the lower classes, only what she read in the newspaper. Even without first hand knowledge a writer of Charlotte Bronte’s caliber (at least the caliber she thought she was) should have been able to make her point eloquently. If she had a social point to make, I missed it. Or maybe after slogging through 600 pages I didn’t care.

[luli81_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maybe the less romantic novel by Charlotte, but her most mature work, an account of the changing times in the early XIXth century.The story follows the lives of four main characters. Miss Helstone, a young woman with no prospects, niece of a Curate in Yorkshire, her serious cousin Mr. Moore, a businessman who struggles to earn his living, Miss Shirley, a spirited heiress of a great fortune and her tutor Mr. Moore's brother, Louis. Being a Brontë's novel though, there's not one, but two romances going on, presented in the most extravagant way and what makes the novel even more compelling is that its characters have flaws and make mistakes and learn their way along the way with the reader.In the end, we find realistic characters who fight to find their position in the world, each in their own way, the story being a faithful portrait of women searching for independence and men challenging the order of the old regime. I think that Charlotte used Shirley and Miss Caroline Helstone to speak her mind in several subjects such as politics or religion and that these two characters, being both so different from each other, where what Charlotte Brontë would have liked to be in her real life. Miss Helsonte, pious, humble and full of patience and good sense, is able to win over her man's heart. Shirley, with her strong character and of independent means, who is bold enough to speak her mind about business and politics with men, manages to marry who she chooses (and I'm sure Charlotte would have liked to be able to do that!!).I could also glimpse Elisabeth Gaskell's influence in this work, the subject of industrialisation reminded me of "North & South" and the story had many similarities about the peripheral characters and the problems they had to deal with.All in all, a rewarding reading with great final chapters which close the novel with a bitter sweet taste. Don't be mistaken though, this is no Jane Eyre, so don't expect accelerated pulse and breathtaking dialogues because you won't find them in here.Some quotations:"I will never be where you would not wish me to be, nor see nor hear what you wish unseen and unheard"" 'Never! We will remember that with what measure we mete it shall be measured unto us, and so we will give no scorn, only affection' ' Which won't satisfy, I warn you of that. Something besides affection - something far stronger, sweeter, warmer - will be demanded one day. Is it there to give?' ""Am I to die without you, or am I to live for you?"

[geekitten_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A meandering but enjoyable story. It covers the friendship and love lives of several people in an English community. Unrest among the local people occurs when the local textile mill begins to industrialize, which makes for some intense confrontations. Shirley is the title character, but a for a good deal of the book she is no where to be seen. Still enjoyed everyone else's stories though!

[philsyphe · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Approaching “Shirley” for a second time, after first reading it six years previously, I realised that I remembered little about it yet seemed to think I’d enjoyed it. In retrospect, had I remembered more about it, I wouldn’t have returned for another read.This surprised me, actually, as when I re-read Charlotte Brontë’s “Villette” and “The Professor” I appreciated them both more after a second reading.Having checked some of the other Goodreads’ reviews of “Shirley” it seems to be a book that you either love or hate. I wouldn’t go as far as stating that I hate it. As the two-star rating suggests, I thought it was “okay”, but the good parts are hard to find in this mundane tome.The elements that appeal to me are few. Seldom did I find myself engaged with what the author had to offer. I did like some of the characters, such as Caroline, the Moore brothers, Malone, young Martin, and Shirley herself, but none of these were of a classic or memorable mould.One of the few interesting scenarios I liked was the part where young Martin Yorke comes to the fore. His interaction with Caroline was engaging. Can’t say too much more in case I reveal a spoiler, but this section adds a different slant to the novel for a short while.Wish I could mention further positive points, as I am a fan of Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne, but of the seven novels produced between them, “Shirley” is the only one I’d never read again. One of the main reasons I have such a low opinion of this book is owing to the third person narrator rambling on and on, boring me stupid with chapters like “Mr Yorke”, which is an elongated description about the man’s personality and appearance that could’ve been whittled down to a short paragraph.I always hate it when authors write endless explanations of what a character is like, *telling* us all about them, when they could’ve served the reader far better by *showing* us what the character is like through dramatizing scenes. The amount of telling as opposed to showing is one of this novel’s let-downs.Another negative aspect is the excessive amount of characters. Had Charlotte halved the amount of actors it would’ve made a positive difference.A further let-down, albeit not too frequent but often enough to draw attention to, is unrealistic dialogue. This quote of Caroline addressing Martin at his father’s gate is a prime example:> “But here we must part; we are at your father’s gate.”“Mauvaise tête vous-même; je ne fais que mon devoir; quant à vos lourdauds de paysans, je m’en moque!”“En ravanche, mon garçon, nos lourdauds de paysans se moqueront de toi; sois en certain,” replied Yorke, speaking with nearly as pure a French accent as Gérard Moore.“C’est bon! c’est bon! Et puisque cela m’est égal, que mes amis ne s’en inquiètent pas.”“Tes amis! Où sont-ils, tes amis?”“Je fais écho, où sont-ils? et je suis fort aise que l’écho seul y répond. Au diable les amis! Je me souviens encore du moment où mon père et mes oncles Gérard appellèrent autour d’eux leurs amis, et Dieu sait si les amis se sont empressés d’accourir à leur secours! Tenez, M. Yorke, ce mot, ami, m’irrite trop; ne m’en parlez plus.”“Comme tu voudras.”He proceeded to recite the following. He gave it in French, but we must translate, on pain of being unintelligible to some readers.At length, however, a window opened, and a female voice called to him, —“Eh, bien! Tu ne déjeûnes pas ce matin?”The answer, and the rest of the conversation, was in French; but as this is an English book, I shall translate it into English.she bent her head et les effleura de ses lèvres. (I put that in French because the word effleurer is an exquisite word.)

[bookwoman247 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set in a woolen mill town in Yorkshire during the Napoleonic Wars, Shirley is the story of the beautiful heiress, Shirley Keeldar, her close friend, Caroline Helstone, impoverished mill owner Robert Moore, and his brother, Louis, who is tutor to Shirley's relatives, the Sympsons, and who is Shirley's former tutor as well.In some ways, I was reminded of North and South by Brontë's friend Elizabeth Gaskell; especially in regards to the background of labor unrest in a woolen mill town. However, Brontë writes with much more passion and depth - the same emotions barely held in check that charactarize Jane Eyre. That is where the comparison to Jane Eyre ends, though, or at least nearly so. Shirley is almost nothing like Brontë's more famous work.Jane Eyre is a lifelong favorite of mine, and always will be, but I find shirley more mature, and actually the stronger, better work.I loved Shirley! It was a bit slow to start, but before I knew it, I found myself completely absorbed in the characters' lives. So much so, that I actually gasped out loud at one part that turned out to be minor.I'll be adding Shirley to my ever-growing list of favorites. What a great way to see out the old year!

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

decided to read only about 25 pages a day because it was not the kind of book that lent itself to reading on the bus or at work. Thus, it took me rather a long time to get through it but I think this was an appropriate way to read it. It's not a book you can skim or read quickly. Every sentence is weighty and every paragraph conveys a message. But the writing is not pedantic and the story is every bit as enthralling as any modern romance (probably even more so since the background is an important time in history).The time is the period of Napoleonic warfare and the location is Yorkshire which is suffering from an Act of Parliament that has cut off markets for the cloth made in Yorkshire textile mills. As a result, many people are out of work and they are rebellious. Robert Gerard Moore owns a textile mill and he is losing money. He wants to put in new machinery that will take over some of the hand work and this has made him a target for violence by the mob. But Robert is not an unfeeling man and he does try to help some of the people who formerly worked for him. His cousin, Caroline, is in love with him but when Robert quarrels with her guardian, Reverend Helstone, she is forbidden to see Moore. Meanwhile, Shirley Keeldar, a wealthy young woman who is Moore's landlady has taken up residence in the manor house. She lends Moore money to keep his mill running and soon they are often in each other's company. Even Caroline, who has become Shirley's bosom friend, can see that marriage between Shirley and Robert would be a good match. When Moore's mill is in danger from the mob Shirley and Caroline keep watch from a nearby hill. The rebels are dispersed but Moore sustains an injury and Caroline is almost prostrated by the fear he might die. Soon after Caroline herself becomes very ill but Moore knows nothing about it because he is off hunting the leaders of the attack on his mill. Shirley's governess, Mrs. Pryor, is very fond of Caroline and she moves to the manse to nurse her. Caroline continues to waste away until Mrs. Pryor reveals that she is Caroline's mother who separated from her father when Caroline was very young. "Mamma" felt that Caroline was better being raised by the Reverend who was her father's brother but Caroline got very little affection growing up in his house. Once she learns Mrs. Pryor's identity and understands that her mother truly loves her, Caroline starts to improve.Meanwhile, Shirley has been busy entertaining her cousins, the Sympsons, with whom she used to live. Mr. Sympson sees it as his duty to find a suitable husband for Shirley but Shirley spurns any of the proposed matches. Could it be she is waiting for Robert to return? Actually, it is Robert's brother, Louis, tutor to the young Sympson boy and formerly Shirley's tutor, who is the object of her desire.Although it takes a long time, Shirley and Louis do finally profess their love for each other which shocks Mr. Sympson but since they are both legal adults they can marry without his approval. As their wedding preparations advance, the statute that caused such hardship for the textile mills is repealed. Robert Gerard Moore can finally consider marriage and he immediately hastens to Caroline's side to propose to her. A double wedding ensues and, we presume, everyone lives happily ever after.Charlotte Bronte is adept at describing the characters in her novels, even the minor characters. One of the light moments in this book centres around the three young curates in the neighbourhood. Obviously Miss Bronte did not have a high opinion of some men of the cloth. They are protrayed as ineffectual at best and selfish and self-centred most of the times they appear. However, the more senior reverends come off better, especially Mr. Hall who is truly a Christian man.Some of the older women protrayed in the book do not fare very well either. Robert and Louis's sister, Hortense, is rather a queer duck although fond of Caroline in her own way. And Mrs. Yorke, another mill owner's wife, is abrasive and fond of telling everyone what they are doing wrong. It is no surprise that Hortense and Mrs. Yorke get on well together, commiserating with each other about the poor quality of servants.I sometimes wonder when I read these classics if people in love really were as restrained at that time as they are portrayed. Shirley and Louis nearly drove me to distraction dancing around the subject of love and marriage. And Caroline was too good to be true, being willing to see Robert and Shirley marry, even though she loved Robert so much she grew ill thinking he was marrying someone else.Having recently read Adam Bede by George Eliot which is set at the same time I couldn't help compare the two. I think I prefer Adam Bede to Shirley because the characters in that novel seemed more realistic. However, I liked this book and perhaps would have rated it even higher if I hadn't had Eliot's novel to compare to it.

[drpeff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

have read several times. well-written

[kmass_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Shirley begins as a "condition of England" novel, and is certainly a very sensitive portrayal of the plight of England and her citizens during the Napoleonic Wars. Bronte does an exceptional job of portraying the problems of the working class as they began to lose their jobs en masse, but also of the "rich" industrialists who were being squeezed to the point of bankruptcy. Rather than class warfare, Bronte shows the problems every class was facing. At the same time, she shines a light on some of the corruption and hypocrisy of the Church of England, though also showing the sincerity of many individual believers. All of this is done with brilliant handling of an ensemble cast of characters in the clergy and landowning class, some of whom, refreshingly, genuinely care about those in need.The novel also deals with many of the same issues as Jane Eyre (class, gender, generation, etc), but not only through a single person's eyes. The book feels less isolated. We actually see just about everyone's position. Shirley is an example of a "good" person of wealth, who genuinely wants to help those in need. Ample examples are also provided of wealthy individuals who couldn't care less. There are both "good" (Mr. Hall, Mr. Helstone to a certain extent) and "bad" (the curates) examples of clergy. There are steadfast defenders of the Establishment (Mr. Helstone, Shirley, and many many others) and bitter Dissenters (the Yorke family). The major characters of the novel are both men and women. In fact, there are four "main" characters, whose perspective the novel frequently shifts between (without disorienting the reader, happily). This enables Bronte to show things from different perspectives, and also gives the reader a fresh take on things, as the different principles have differing relationships with each other, other characters, etc. And the characters are genuinely different from each other. No one would accuse Shirley, Caroline, Hortense, or Mrs. Pryor of having similar personalities, any more than they would accuse Misters Helstone, Yorke, or either of the Moores. It's also hard to say who the narrator is. The narrator speaks directly to the reader, much like in Jane Eyre, yet the narrator's identity is never clearly identified, and almost certainly isn't one of the four principles -- nor does it seem to have been any of the characters portrayed in the novel.Bronte makes frequent allusions to other literary traditions in this text, including mythology, but by far her most frequent allusions are to the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare (always a good decision). Not only that, Bronte seems to have been channeling Shakespeare when she wrote this. Many characters actually seem to have soliloquies at the end of important scenes (in fact, this happens extraordinarily often). During some important scenes, the narration seems to disappear in favor of dialog (this especially seems to happen between Shirley and Louis), and one scene even has what seems to be a stage direction at the end ("Exit Shirley"). The rhythm of several conversations, as well as the abrupt shifts from dialog to soliloquy, can't help but remind one of Shakespeare. Bronte seems to realize that Shakespeare is our tradition, our inheritance as English-speaking people (and even more hers as an Englishwoman). We should take pride in him, cherish his works, and take ownership of that heritage.Anyone who has read Jane Eyre knows that Bronte is witty... but there's a linguistic cleverness in Shirley that Jane Eyre doesn't even touch. It's very obvious that Bronte was an even more mature writer by the time she penned Shirley, and that she was at the height of her abilities. The book, like its title character, possesses a "curious charm" (438, 444).It's worth mentioning that there are a ton of great speeches in this novel, a ton of great dialog, and lots of awesome narration. If I were to post my favorite quotes from the novel... I might attempt to do so later, but definitely not right now, because there's definitely enough for a completely separate entry.I'm not really sure how this book does what it does. You end up caring about the characters so much, that it just bypasses every defense, every analytical portion of your mind, and takes your heart captive. You stop caring about what commentary is being proposed about society, religion, etc, and start cheering for Shirley when she tells off her uncle, or admiring Robert when he realizes what an idiot he's been and waxes poetic/prophetic. The characters end up occupying your undivided attention. You desperately want to know what's going to happen. As you read, you are conscious of your brain slowly turning off, and your heart turning way on.I don't really know how to end this entry, which is kind of fitting, because the book ended rather abruptly. It was kind of like, "Okay, that's enough, now let's tell you what ended up happening to everyone." Honestly, though, that was a very authentic way to end the book, as it's being told from some point in the future. People's lives don't usually provide a definite end point, especially when you're dealing with multiple people. So the narrator had to pick a point to stop, and basically tell you what ended up happening between then and whatever point in the future they're describing. The last lines of the book are very appropriate:"The story is told. I think I now see the judicious reader putting on his spectacles to look for the moral. It would be an insult to his sagacity to offer directions. I only say, God speed him in his quest!"Thanks for the reminder, Charlotte. The book captured my heart so much that I almost forgot to apply my brain to that task. It's very difficult to get a single moral from this book. It sheds light on so many complicated aspects of life, so many moral issues, that a single moral wouldn't exactly seem to do the novel justice.

[readingwithtea · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I battled with myself through the first two thirds of the book to keep reading, and it was only a day stuck ill in bed that gave me the opportunity to finish it. I suppose the foreword gave me plenty of warning, claiming that the book is as “unromantic as a Monday morning”, but still. Shirley is set in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the early nineteenth century, in a collection of villages suffering religious division, economic hardship due to the Napoleonic War and the start of industrialisation of the traditional cloth-making trade. We follow the rector’s niece Caroline through a year of her life as she falls in love with her Belgian mill-owning cousin, deals with her uncle’s inattention, meets and befriends a newcomer to the neighbour (Shirley herself – she doesn’t feature until at least 1/3 of the way through the book, which left me wondering if I’d missed something for the first 100 pages or whether the book should actually be called Caroline), becomes gravely ill, discovers who her mother is, and eventually comes to a happy ending. No huge plot spoilers there, I think – I suspect one rather needs the outline in order to understand what’s going on!This was everything that Jane Eyre managed to steer just clear of: unnecessarily verbose, with pathetic girls falling in love and pining to death’s door, and with a cast significantly larger than one could really track comfortably.It gets a 2/10 rather than a 1/10 partly because the writing is still elegant, and partly because there is a relatively satisfactory conclusion to the whole charade and thus a pleasing arc in the storyline. Still – not worth the hours.

[karenzukor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Bronte book. Not so dark and lonely as Jane Eyre (never really liked the Mrs. Rochester part) or Villette (never liked her delusions.) Shirley is an interesting character, a strong woman who makes her own, unconventional decisions in the face of a very convention-bound society. The hero (Robert) isn't perfect.

[liz_toronto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are several well-written reviews below that state my thoughts better than I am able to at the moment. I would just like to add that for readers who expect another Jane Eyre when beginning Shirley should be warned that it is a very different type of book that Charlotte Bronte set out to write and what she accomplishes is marvelous. It is lengthy and seem incoherent or contradictory at times, but it bears a second close reading (like any well-written book, really) to understand better what Bronte is getting at. Hated it upon first reading, loved it after the second.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Shirley is Charlotte Bronte's only historical novel and in that her most topical one. Written at a time of social unrest, it is set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, when economic hardship led to riots in the woollen district of Yorkshire. A mill-owner, Robert Moore, is determined to introduce new machinery despite fierce opposition from his workers; he ignores their suffering, and puts his own life at risk. Robert sees marriage to the wealthy Shirley Keeldar as the solution to his difficulties, but he loves his cousin Caroline.She suffers misery and frustration, and Shirley has her own ideas about the man she will choose to marry. The friendship between the two women, and the contrast between their situations, is at the heart of this compelling novel, which is suffused with Bronte's deep yearning for an earlier time spent as a governess; her longing for a better past.Shirley is not Charlotte Bronte's best book in the sense that it is less compulsively readable than Jane Eyre (I should note that I have read enjoyed Jane Eyre several times over the years and it is one of my favorite novels). Perhaps the lack of readability is because it is constructed in large part to make certain social statements, in the mode of Dickens, rather than written with a more singular focus on the romantic aspects of the plot (Shirley suffers when compared to most of Dickens' novels). Bronte does, however, express herself with great beauty in certain passages and demonstrates her character: her conviction that women might be as well qualified as men to practice a profession (which sets her apart from most of her own contemporaries); her contempt for the market of marriage; and her experience.The book is worth reading and for some readers may resonate more positively than it did for me.

[aine.fin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think this is the only Charlotte Bronte I hadn't read years ago. A book of its time. Quite frustrating at points with all the talking around relationships as opposed to actually straight up discussion of them. Love quadrangle. Labour aspects reminded me of Elizabeth Gaskell. Shirley herself was irritating and didn't appear until about a third of the way through which bothered me more than it should. Had no trouble getting through more than 600 pages so clearly my review is a bit harsh!

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an odd book. It's sort of two books stitched together, only the join shows really badly. Initially it seems as if it is going to be one of those novels that portrays the life of the working poor, the struggles they had to survive and the impact of the march of progress (introduction of mill machinery etc) has on their life. And it heads down hat route for a reasonable time, then suddenly does a dramatic right turn and becomes a middle class romance. Very odd. Shirley herself doesn't appear until we're at volume 2, the first third is solidly in historical state of the nation territory. Once Shirley makes her appearance, with her fortune, to boot, it takes a somewhat different turn. She is viewed by a number of men as their meal ticket, only she has ideas about who she will wed herself. That all shakes out in the final third, by which time the poor suffering mill workers and the noble poor have vanished into the background, never to be seen again. It has its moments, but it certainly doesn't hang together well as a whole.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

People hate to be reminded of ills they are unable or unwilling to remedy. Such reminder, in forcing on them a sense of their own incapacity, or a more painful sense of an obligation to make some unpleasant effort, troubles their ease and shakes their self-complacency. Old maids, like the houseless and unemployed poor, should not ask for a place and an occupation in the world; the demand disturbs the happy and rich...Shirley may be a disappointment to readers expecting a romance of the same caliber as Jane Eyre. The titular character doesn't appear until well into the novel, and she never fully wrests the position of protagonist from Caroline Helstone. Bronte resorts to the device of a journal to reveal one character's innermost thoughts since that person is without a natural confidante among the other characters.Shirley holds more interest as a social novel addressing issues of social, economic, and gender equity. The depression of 1811-1812 provides the backdrop for the action. It pits textile mill operator Robert Moore and others of his station against desperate unemployed mill workers. Both orphan Caroline Helstone, a dependent of her clergyman uncle, and heiress Shirley Keeldar are reluctant to accept the roles assigned to them as single women of marriageable age. Shirley's inheritance allows her to openly defy society's expectations, while Caroline's lack of options as her uncle's dependent is at least a partial cause of her mental and physical depression. Recommended particularly for readers with an interest in women's history/women's rights or 19th century English social history.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set during the Napoleonic wars, Shirley is partially a story of economics and industrialization. It's also partially a love story. Religion also plays a part in the novel. There is a reason it has stood the test of time. The characters are very strong, and one can truly get a feel for the era in which the novel is set.

[heidijane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was ok, but perhaps overlong and a bit hit and miss. I admired Shirley herself, and the fact that she was unconventional and didn't automatically marry the "most eligible" man.