Shirley

Timid Caroline Helstone could not be any more opposite to the lively Shirley Keeldar. Nor could their lives be any more dissimilar. Whilst Shirley has just inherited a local estate, Caroline is trapped in a bleak Yorkshire rectory. Using the Luddite uprisings as an oppressive backdrop for her story, Charlotte Brontë explores the consequences of the Napoleonic wars on the English industry. Her second novel offers a nuanced, realistic, and unromantic social commentary on nineteenth-century England. Its strong feminist message is an unmissable introduction to the classics for fans of novels such as Sally Nicholls' 'Things A Bright Girl Can Do'.