Shirley

Rating:
Summary: Quite Pleasant
Review: After reading this novel, i couldn't understand why it wasnt as highly acclaimed as Jane Eyre, or even Villette....I think that Shirley would be my favorite novel by Charlotte Bronte, her other novels were written just as well as Shirley, but i feel that Shirley treaded on deeper issues than the others. Even though this might not be as popular as Charlotte Bronte's other works, I think that Shirley should be the one that you seek out first.

Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 stars; vivid novel
Review: An engaging, multi-faceted novel, which wonderfully and realistically depicts women's feelings and thoughts. I was surprised by how much I could relate to! Shirley is especially lovely- thoughtful, brave, a great friend. Yet, I could not help but feel that her object of affection was beneath her. That is the only real flaw of the novel in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: A Phenomenal, Complicated Novel
Review: Charlotte Brontë's 1849 novel "Shirley" really delivers on the already realized potential of her first novel, "Jane Eyre." Though the novel is named for the character Shirley Keeldar, the novel really has no one set protagonist - the duties are mostly shared in the relationship between the fiesty and wealthy Shirley, and the lovelorn Caroline Helstone. Set against a backdrop of social and economic unrest, as the swelling ranks of the unemployed react against increasing mechanization of mill production, "Shirley" takes in a broad range of national and international issues. Even when the personal and romantic narratives seem to dominate the novel, Brontë does an extraordinary job of keeping the questions of social discontent present to the reader.

"Shirley" opens on a view of Briarfield, a small mill community in Yorkshire, where the labourers are restless and hungry. The mill owners, Robert Moore and Hiram Yorke, are anxious with reports of murderous actions against mechanizing mill owners elsewhere, and suffering under governmentally restricted trade. The gentry are disaffected with the mill owners, and more concerned with England's continuing conflicts with Napoleon overseas. The main concerns of the novel revolve around all of these conflicts - conflicts of interest, conflicts between classes, and the wider conflicts of nations. Brontë's social vision seems to ask throughout the novel if any of the normal sorts of personal problems even matter in the face of the sufferings of the masses.

Briarfield's leading citizen is Reverend Helstone; he along with a motley mix of curates accurately represents the microcosmic problem that affects the macrocosm of England in the time of the novel, 1811-12. Helstone is rigidly hierarchical in his mindset, and suffers from a peculiar affliction as a religious man - a total lack of sympathetic attachment to the community he ministers to. His niece, Caroline, who stands to inherit no fortune, is singular also, in that her social standing coupled with her lack of money places her in an awkward position with regard to her potential love interest, Robert Moore. With the advent of the wealthy and independent Shirley, who attracts the affections and avarice, respectively, of Caroline and Robert, new avenues of personal tension enter the already conflicted society of Briarfield.

Gender troubles are rife in the novel - from Shirley's adoption of the tone and stance of a masculine inheritor, a military captain, and a protector of Caroline; to the rabid misogyny of Reverend Helstone, Martin Yorke, and the curate Malone, among others; and the wild invectives against marriage from a variety of sources - Brontë shows that regardless of intranational or international disputes, the seeds of discord are plentiful within the domestic spaces of potentially every English home. Brontë examines the lack and need for strong maternal presence, emphasizing the fact that Shirley's parents are dead, and Caroline has never known her own mother, except as the butt of foul rumours. The gender-fueled critique in "Shirley" extends even to the characters' notions of the divine - the male religious authorities are contrasted with the oracular and ancient image of the feminine sibyl.

"Shirley" may, in the end, be the name chosen for the novel, not because she is its main character, but because she symbolizes and embodies the social, political, gender, and ecological complexities and conundrums present throughout the novel. For a 600-page novel, "Shirley" is an incredibly quick and compelling read. Certainly, it deserves a wider readership and pays a close attention with fuel for consideration and thoughtful discussion.

Rating:
Summary: Most poignant of the Bronte sisters' books
Review: Despite Charlotte Bronte's disclaimer that the reader will find this book "a dinner of bitter herbs" it is nonetheless a must-read classic of 19th century litterature. Many themes combine in this book; the expansion of industrialism and the dissapearance of the English countryside; the place of women in society; feminine loyalty and friendship; the conflicts of love and work, evangelism and tradition. It is perhaps the most uneven and at the same time the most interesting of the Bronte books.

While it lacks the symmetrically designed shape of Jane Eyre or the clear-eyed study of obsession of Villette, it lets the imaginative reader glimpse the Bronte sisters themselves between the lines. The characters of Shirley and Caroline are based on Emily and Anne Bronte, both of whose deaths occurred during the writing of the novel. It is a tribute to sisterly love and a fantasy that lashes back at grief. Some may find the ending a romantic cop-out, but this cannot detract from the many good qualities of this fascinating novel

Rating:
Summary: Most poignant of the Bronte sisters' books
Review: Despite Charlotte Bronte's disclaimer that the reader will find this book "a dinner of bitter herbs" it is nonetheless a must-read classic of 19th century litterature. Many themes combine in this book; the expansion of industrialism and the dissapearance of the English countryside; the place of women in society; feminine loyalty and friendship; the conflicts of love and work, evangelism and tradition. It is perhaps the most uneven and at the same time the most interesting of the Bronte books.

While it lacks the symmetrically designed shape of Jane Eyre or the clear-eyed study of obsession of Villette, it lets the imaginative reader glimpse the Bronte sisters themselves between the lines. The characters of Shirley and Caroline are based on Emily and Anne Bronte, both of whose deaths occurred during the writing of the novel. It is a tribute to sisterly love and a fantasy that lashes back at grief. Some may find the ending a romantic cop-out, but this cannot detract from the many good qualities of this fascinating novel

Rating:
Summary: Long,complex and uneven
Review: I found that I had a difficult time getting into this novel. The first 200 pages (maybe a bit less) were absolute torture. The only thing that made me get through the beginning section was that I liked the characters of Caroline and Robert. This novel is as much, or more, Caroline's story as Shirley's, actually. I'm quite sure that if someone were to do an analysis of which character (Shirley/Caroline) had the most "air time" in the book, Caroline would come out on top. The book is about their relationship and how they impact each other's life. It's also a social history that gives the reader insight into the political upheaval of the Napoleonic Wars, and the economics of the time.

I couldn't get interested in the political/economic undertones of the book. My edition doesn't have a preface/introduction to give me the necessary background so that I could understand the issues presented. As the book is written, a certain degree of previous knowledge is assumed and required to really understand the historical context of the book. There are alot of secondary characters, and it was hard to keep them all straight. A list of characters in the beginning, as is provided in Jane Austen's Emma, would've helped me keep it straight. Also, I needed a glossary/footnotes to translate the French in the book.

The book seemed to slip back and forth between being about men, women, relationships, and the two main romances (won't give away which characters are involved in them) on the one hand, to being about the politics/economics/history on the other. The two issues aren't particularly merged successfully.

I did like the female characters. They were much more effectively drawn and multidimensional than the male ones. In fact, the male characters seemed really unimportant and secondary. The novel had a few surprising, upredictable twists I liked, too.

In summary, this is a good, not great book. If you like Bronte, I think you owe it to yourself to read it. Just bear in mind that it's not an easy read, and that the book has a very slow pace in sections.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven Story But Still Worth A Look
Review: I have loved the Brontes books so far except for this one. It has some interesting characters and issues,but overall,it's not the first book from them I'd recommend. It does have some very relevant paasages that are quite feminist considering when it was written. I couldn't really sympathize with the main charactor because she had everything handed to her. Therefore(to me anyway), She lacked the empathy of a Jane Eyre or Lucy Snowe,whom really had to overcome life's obstacles,not being either rich or beautiful. Also,the ending seemed like a Jane Austen- ripoff, the overall tone of the book didn't seem to fit in with it.Read the others first before this one,she really was a great writer,this is just not the best example of her work.

Rating:
Summary: The heroine's experience of nature is wonderfully described.
Review: I liked this book because of the way Charlotte Bronte writes about nature; the heroine's experience of the moon and also of nature in general when she takes walks--she experiences her surroundings,takes her time and really enjoys nature.

Rating:
Summary: A Relevant Social Novel For All Times
Review: In contrast with her great romance "Jane Eyre", Charlotte Bronte claims at the outset of this book that it is a social novel. The story is the struggle of Robert Gerard Moore to gain wealth once more for his once wealthy family. He is a reformer and uses the latest technology (mills) and this causes massive unemployment for a poor population that have little chance of getting employment elsewhere. The main point and the relevance of this great novel lies in this. It is a great attempt to answer the question of harmonizing social justice with economic aspirations. Well, there are two ladies in the novel. And their affairs with Robert Moore are also mentioned but they are not at the center of the novel. A very clever and inspiring book. Strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Wholesome, intriguing and brilliantly satisfying.
Review: It is clear that Charlotte Bronte put her heart into this one. Incorporating the hardness of the times into the plot, she manages to create an atmosphere that combines the sense of necessary toil(hard work) with the romantic tension of the her two couples. We share with her two heroines the pain, the laughter, the love. We, along with them, perceive valuable truths as they aspire to reach their ultimate goals - self-discovery and love. This novel overflows with passion and awakens the soul. It's a definite Must Read!