Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

With an Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Department of English, Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Based on Charlotte Bronte's personal experience as a teacher in Brussels, Villette is a moving tale of repressed feelings and subjection to cruel circumstance and position, borne with heroic fortitude.

Rising above the frustrations of confinement within a rigid social order, it is also the story of a woman's right to love and be loved.

Charlotte Bront was born on April 21, 1816, in Haworth, Yorkshire. Her father was the vicar of Haworth in Yorkshire, and her mother died when she was five years old, leaving her with five daughters and a boy. Charlotte, Maria, Elizabeth, and Emily were sent to Cowan Bridge, a school for the daughters of priests, in 1824, where Maria and Elizabeth contracted disease and died. From this point forward, the children were schooled at home, and together they built fascinating imaginary worlds that they explored in their writing. Charlotte worked as a teacher and subsequently a governess from 1835 to 1838.

Charlotte published Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell with Emily and Anne in 1846. After that, Emily penned Wuthering Heights, Anne authored Agnes Grey, and Charlotte wrote The Professor. Charlotte's manuscript was initially rejected, despite the fact that Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were both published. Jane Eyre, her first released work, was published in 1847 and was an instant success. Charlotte's remaining siblings, Emily, Branwell, and Anne, died between 1848 and 1849.

Shirley was published in 1849, Villette in 1853, and she married the Rev. Nicholls, Arthur Bell She died the following year, on March 31, 1855.