"Revolutionary...Brontë's most feminist novel."-Lyndall Gordon
"Charlotte Brontë has us by the hand, forces us along her road, makes us
sense what she sees, never leaves us for a moment or allows us to forget
her."-Virginia Woolf
Shirley, the second published novel from Charlotte Brontë, is a
propulsive social narrative that exposes the discord between the sexes,
classes, and economic structure of early 19th century England. Set in
1811-1812 during the strife of the industrial revolution, this classic
novel is a story of love struggling against social unrest and the
conventions of the roles of women.
When Robert Moore, a struggling mill owner, decides to replace many of
his employees with a new piece of machinery, a group of protesters
destroys it before it is delivered. As the problems with his mill mount,
he starts to become despondent. His cousin Caroline, a frequent visitor
to the Moore home is infatuated with Robert, yet he also is inaccessible
to her desires. When Caroline is eventually forbidden to visit the Moore
home by her overbearing uncle, she is resolved to spend her life doing
charitable work. Through her uncle, Caroline is introduced to Shirley
Keeldar, a wealthy and independent woman who wants to donate her money
to aid the poor. They become very close friends, and eventually Caroline
is convinced that Shirley and Robert will marry. When the threats from
laid-off mill workers increase, and soon after the mill is attacked, the
conflicts of both love and class explode.
With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Shirley is both modern and readable.
