Product Description

This is Charlotte Brontë's first novel, and is based on her own experiences in Brussels. The story is one of love and doubt as the hero, William Crimsworth, seeks his fortune as a teacher in Brussels and finds his love for Anglo-Swiss girl, Frances Henri, severely tested.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38153 in Books
• Published on: 1994-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

A Male Perspective
This book did not live up to my expectations. I was originally very excited to read this book because I wanted to see how C. Bronte wrote from a male perspective. In William Crimsworth, she creates a character with a great deal in common with Jane Eyre; yet, he is not as interesting to follow or as sympathetic.

William continues to perservere through any struggle that life has given him. He holds his head with dignity while his closest relative throws him on the street. Then, he maintains a strong Protestant work ethic in the heavily Catholic city of Brussels. C. Bronte seems to be reflecting upon her own experiences while living in Belgium; however, I found the constant negativity surrounding the Catholic faith to be distracting from her message concering hard work and perserverance. When descibing the girls at his school, William says, "I suspect the root of this precocious impurity so obvious, so general in Popish countries, is to be found in the discipline if not the doctrines of the Church of Rome." The comparison between Catholics and Protestants is contant thoughout this book. I found it zenophobic and ignorant while reading.

While a teacher at a girls' finishing school, Crimsworth falls in love twice. First with the coquettish Catholic school mistress, Zoraide Reuter and then with the subserviant Protestant lace-mender, Frances Henri. Frances and Zoraide are as different as night and day; however Crimsworth is attracted to both of them. Again, it seems as though Charlotte is making a comparison between two religions as well as two different types of women with her choices of love interest for William C.

All in all, William Crimsworth is not the character I was expecting to meet. He is pompous, conceited, and non-sympathetic. I suppose there is usually a touch of superiority in most Bronte characters, yet I usually find their circumstances to cause sympathy. I felt none for WC.

One more thing about this addition: there are frequent typographic errors. I suppose that is why it only costs 1.50.

The author's first novel
Readers aspiring to have a knowledge of Charlotte Brontë’s work should read "The Professor" as it contains the key to much of her subsequent writing like "Jane Eyre" or "Vilette". The novel is based on the author’s own experiences in Brussels. The central character, William Crimsworth, an orphan, leaves his dreary clerking post in a Yorkshire mill to start a career as a teacher of English in the Belgian capital. He falls in love with a Protestant pupil, Frances Henri, teacher and lace mender. However William’s relationship is complicated by the manipulative and beguiling Catholic headmistress, Zoraide Reuter, and her cunning attempts to divert him from his destiny.
The novel, written in 1846, astonishes by its brevity and realism and by its portrayal of the heroine’s insistence on a working career after her marriage.

...good reviews for her surname perhaps?
This book claims to be a book about a man who falls in love; however the author spent over half of the book building up to this moment talking about the main character's early experiences entering the world of work.

Firstly, he begrudgingly and against his better judgement works for his tyrant brother for a reason unknown to me even now. Then, very hastily and incomprehensibly, gets a letter of recommendation from a friend of his brother who he barely knows and suddenly becomes a teacher!

We can forgive Miss Brontë a lot, as I said in my title mainly Because she is a Brontë, but also because this is her first novel (although published posthumously by her husband). However, I doubt anyone in their right mind would look at this book twice if it wasn't for the fact that her other works (and the whole `Brontë Culture') are so famous.

I believe that this book was not planned very well, as her message (if any!) seems to be swallowed up by unimportant details. An example would be her continual description of the main character's pupils (all of which seem to be ugly in some way to him!) and then sometimes throwing in the sentiment "I won't describe this thing because I don't want to bore any readers" - I kept thinking "make your mind up!"

The novel begins by telling the story in an unexplainable correspondence to a never again mentioned and therefore inconsequential character, this I just don't understand for the life of me...

If you are interested in Charlotte Brontë and want to see her blossom into a writer, then consider borrowing this from a library and not spending more than a day reading it. It's quite easy going for a 19th century work, so won't tax the senses much.

I gave it three stars mainly for the fact that it's "ok" and worth a read. But just remember - I think people have built up the Brontës to be larger than themselves and their talent, so don't assume that every book written by someone famous is going to be great!