Shirley: The 1849 Literary Classic

Unique ElementsHistorical contextDetailed 19th century analysisAbout Shirley. Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley, published in 1849, was her second book after Jane Eyre. After the phenomenal success of her previous novel, Bronte wanted to write something in a different vein, as she put it "something real and unromantic as Monday morning." Her novel is set during the industrial depression in 1811-12, against the backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry.. With a focus on the social impacts of industrialization, her novel follows the story of two contrasting heroines: shy Caroline Helstone, living in the oppressive atmosphere of her uncle's Yorkshire rectory as a dependant; and the vivacious Shirley Keeldar, who inherits a local estate and whose wealth liberates her from convention. An unsentimental, passionate depiction of conflict between classes, sexes and generations, Shirley is also perhaps Charlotte Bronte's most feminist novel.