Shirley

Book Description

1 Review

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  Charlotte Bronte is my least favourite of the Brontes. I really didn't care much for Jane Eyre and Villette was only a bit better. I thought Shirley would be the book of hers that I was most likely to like as it looked at "social issues" rather than simply being a romance and while I didn't like it ... (continue)

  Charlotte Bronte is my least favourite of the Brontes. I really didn't care much for Jane Eyre and Villette was only a bit better. I thought Shirley would be the book of hers that I was most likely to like as it looked at "social issues" rather than simply being a romance and while I didn't like it as much as Ann or Emily's books. I definitely preferred it to her other works.

  There is much less social commentary than I was hoping for. The mill, the plight of the poor were more side notes in the story that was basically, once again, just a romance. What I did like about this book was that there were two main women characters. They were both young and independent and had very interesting ideas about the rights and responsibilities of women. There were some really great discussions between them about what women should be allowed to do. There were also some sever dressing down of men who thought women were intellectually inferior to men. Unfortuantely, it all seemed to drag on a bit towards the end where the "romances" had to be settled. After the reveal of who Caroline's mum was there was never again a scene between the two of them. Rather scenes where they discussed things were discussed with others. It was quite dissapointing to have such distance at the end. Particularly as they started acting out of character and more in love and submissive than they had the rest of the book. The book felt much more mature than Jane Eyre even if it was only published two years later. The young girls not quite so naive, and when they were it was remarked upon by the author as something they would grow out of. It was dissapointing however that a book that spent so much time talking about how women could be independent and have a life outside of marriage just ended with both characters getting married. I would have much preferred one of them to remain single.

  Overall though I did enjoy the book and it is definitely my favourite of Charlotte Bronte's books.

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  Robot-mel said on Feb 28, 2012 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Others 624 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0199540802
• ISBN-13: 9780199540808
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Pub date: Jun 08, 2008
• Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Leather Bound, Unbound and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Livros em Português, Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken

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• For Fans of Jane Austen and Those Inspired by Her (23)
• Historical Fiction Lovers (195)

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