Brontë's romantic heroine Lucy Snowe, a penniless governess attempting to begin life anew in France, is an exceptional example of a great writer transforming her life into art.
Villette
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Book Description
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Review
Bronte's finest novel. -- Virginia Woolf
From the Publisher
With her final novel, Villette, Charlotte Bronte reached the height of her artistic power. First published in 1853, Villette is Bronte's most accomplished and deeply felt work, eclipsing even Jane Eyre in critical acclaim. Her narrator, the autobiographical Lucy Snowe, flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There, she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquetter. This first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life's journey--a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman's consciousness in English literature.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 79 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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.
56 of 57 people found the following review helpful
By A. Landau
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It was her last completed book, always in the shadow of Jane Eyre. It was insightful, irreverent, angry, tragic, funny, bizarre, gothic and wonderfully honest. At the time, the novel was harshly criticized by men, even feminist men like George Eliot's lover. But George Eliot herself and Virginia Wolf believed it to be her best work.
How unusual first of all to have a heroine like Lucy Snowe, not of noble blood, not rich, not charming, not even good-looking as women (esp in the Victorian period) were expected to be. Like the other characters, she is flawed, contradictory and multi-faceted in a way one rarely sees in literature but continually witnesses in real life. Yet she is decidedly brilliant, original and imaginative like no other. Unconventional and delightfully subversive!
In many ways, this is a truly modern novel to this day. I've never read a novel that so honestly and unflinchingly captures the plight of a woman-artist making her own way in the world despite the obstacles thrown in her path.
How unusual first of all to have a heroine like Lucy Snowe, not of noble blood, not rich, not charming, not even good-looking as women (esp in the Victorian period) were expected to be. Like the other characters, she is flawed, contradictory and multi-faceted in a way one rarely sees in literature but continually witnesses in real life. Yet she is decidedly brilliant, original and imaginative like no other. Unconventional and delightfully subversive!
In many ways, this is a truly modern novel to this day. I've never read a novel that so honestly and unflinchingly captures the plight of a woman-artist making her own way in the world despite the obstacles thrown in her path.
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format: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!
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!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Villette is a winner
I read this book recently, never having read anything by the Bronte sisters. I chose "Villette" rather than "Jane Eyre" or "Wuthering Heights" just to make a different choice. Read more
Published 1 month ago by johnnybory
4.0 out of 5 stars
Villette
Interesting if a bit slow to move. I do recommend it though. Charlotte Bronte is a wonderful writer. She opens a world that hasn't been seen in a very long while. Read more
Published 1 month ago by linda d. gibboney
5.0 out of 5 stars
A psychological study of heartbreak
Villette is a tale of such heartache and psychological realism that reading it is a painful experience. Read more
Published 1 month ago by gammyraye
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as well known by this author
I went on a crusade, if you will, to read more of the works by Charlotte Bronte' and her sisters. This isn't a very long list to read
as all the sisters died at a young age. Read more
as all the sisters died at a young age. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sandra Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of my favorite books
so happy to get this on kindle. one of my favorite books ever and so nice that I have it on my phone so I always have a good read on hand.
Published 1 month ago by mrm
3.0 out of 5 stars
Its oK
I didn't finish as it was just so much of same over and over.just in different words.It was a clean book tho.
Published 1 month ago by Donna Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cranky characters
_Villette_ isn't the show stopper that _Jane Eyre_ is, but I like it very much because of the eccentricity of the characters. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mary Raber
3.0 out of 5 stars
The story was amazing, but this version is not appropriate
Villette is now one of my favorite novels. The heroine is strong and beautifully authentic, and the story is definitely not predictable. Read more
Published 1 month ago by coloradostevie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
Great sadness was not what I expected.
I thought in the end she would know love for herself. Read more
I thought in the end she would know love for herself. Read more
Published 1 month ago by peggy su larue
1.0 out of 5 stars
booooooooring
Didn't like this book at all. I kept waiting for it to get interesting, but it never did. BORING. Don't bother.
Published 1 month ago by Rebecca
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7
books:
See all 7 books this book cites
- Jane Eyre (Signet Classics) by Charlotte Brontë in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Jane Eyre: Play by Constance Cox in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Charlotte Bronte: The Self Conceived by Helene Moglen in Back Matter
- Seduction and Betrayal: Women and Literature (New York Review Books Classics) by Elizabeth Hardwick in Back Matter
- Accents of Persuasion: Charlotte Bronte's Novels by Robert B. Martin in Back Matter
See all 7 books this book cites
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