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58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glad to finally read a couple of these books, October 24, 2001
After many years of placing "Jane Eyre" at the top of my "favorite stories of all time" list, I was glad when my husband gave me this book so I could read some of Bronte's other novels.What I found was that I liked "Villette" even more than "Jane Eyre" - and, although it was arduous at first, I found "Shirley" was better yet. "Jane Eyre", for anyone who hasn't read it, is a wonderful gothic romance, moralistic and spiritual, a very good read and fascinating tale. "Villette" is more mature. The author explores a deeper sort of love - not based on mere physical attraction or infatuation, but based on deep, abiding friendship and respect. This story, too, has its lessons. The character development in "Villette" was more complete than in any other novel I've ever read. I became fascinated by the unattractive little professor, and by other characters as well. Unfortunately, there is a lot of French in this story, and what appeared to be the most pivotal moments were written in French... dialogue that I really wanted to understand was just lost on me. That was truly unfortunate. I'll have to find someone to translate for me sometime. "Shirley" is the best of all. The beginning is arduous. I had to use my dictionary throughout, but the beginning is particular difficult. Shall I say.. boring, even. I found that, once I forced myself through the beginning, I was very much rewarded. This story is a gem. The female heroines - Shirley and Caroline - were wonderful to get to know. Shirley is not the sort of female I would have thought Bronte had had occasion to know, so this was enlightening for me. Truly an eye-opening look at 19th century feminism! And incorporated into these wonderful romance stories. "The Professor" was a bit more dry than the others, although it was fun to read a romance story strictly from the male viewpoint. For a first novel, this was really incredibly well written. As for "Wuthering Heights", it's been a number of years since I've read the story, so I won't attempt a review here. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes "Wuthering Heights" or "Jane Eyre". All these stories are wonderfully written, with complex characters and interesting plots. The work of true genius.
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by Jane Austen
by Charles Dickens
by Jane Austen
