Villette (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Charlotte Brontë (Author), Helen Cooper (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls’ boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster, and her own complex feelings, first for the school’s English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor, Paul Emmanuel. Charlotte Brontë’s last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love, narrated by a heroine determined to preserve an independent spirit in the face of adverse circumstances.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I am only just returned to a sense of real wonder about me, for I have been reading Villette... (George Eliot)

About the Author

Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, one of four surviving children of a clergyman. She worked as a governess and teacher and wrote four novels, becoming one of the nineteenth century’s greatest novelists.
Helen M. Cooper is associate professor of English at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140434798
• ISBN-13: 978-0140434798
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) was from an English family that produced three novelists: herself, Emily, and Anne. Besides Jane Eyre, other best known works include Shirley and Villette.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting introduction to Charlotte Bronte, December 23, 2010

By 

N. Hawkins "whereishawkins" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Villette (Kindle Edition)

One of the advantages of having the Kindle is that you can have access to all this amazing classical literature that you'd never buy. Villette by Charlotte Bronte is one of those. There are two Kindle free books of Villette, both are identical, so it doesn't matter which one you download.

The book's plot is quite interesting: You follow Lucy Snowe though her teens into her early 20s. She's not a typical heroine: she's a plain looking, average woman - sort of the anti-Austen stereotype. Lucy doesn't even have self esteem, but manages to flee England and moves to the European mainland.

Being my first Bronte novel, it's wildly delicious. The characters are flawed, there's tragedy and particularly wonderful moments. It does make you wonder how much of the book is autobiographical, and you feel a sense of loss because the Brontes were taken from us too soon before they could complete more works. You're sucked into the isolation of Lucy and in a way, that's more interesting than the plot.

Other and more talented reviewers can give you a better review of Villette (Signet Classics) than I can. But this book is a worthy download, and will bring you into a unique literary world and make you adore the creativity of the Brontes.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting, honest novel, April 4, 2006

By 

Linda Wellesley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Villette (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates raw human emotion with exceptional imagery to guide the reader through the thoughtful text. After reading Jane Eyre, I felt compelled to explore other Bronte works and found this to be the true masterpiece. Although at times not as accessible as Eyre, Villette is more sincere. There are no gothic mysteries to cloud the writing, instead just a very real account of what seems to be an autobiography of Bronte's life.

The first time I read this it seemed a bit difficult to get through, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed. It is very brooding, with nothing to hide the main character's insecurity that very much parallels that of Charlotte Bronte. There is a magic in this book that is not describable, and ranks at the top of my list of favorites!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A questionable masterpiece, August 8, 2005

By 

A. Siegel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Villette (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

After reading Jane Eyre I searched for another of Charlotte Bronte's novels. Villette is just as much worth reading as Eyre.
The story follows a woman, Lucy Snowe, from England to France, where she becomes a teacher at a French school for girls. Strange circumstances bring back old friends from the past, and new friends show her that she is, in fact, worthy of love.
Although the prose is beautiful, this novel is full of a sort of dark and ominous feeling that is so affecting that it is almost impossible to take your eyes off the page.
This book is really worth reading.