Shirley

Shirley, published in 1849, was Charlotte Brontë's second novel after Jane Eyre. Published under her pseudonym of "Currer Bell," it incorporates the themes of industrial change and the plight of unemployed workers, and features strong pleas for the recognition of women's intellect and right to their independence of thought and action. Set in the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Napoleonic period, the novel describes confrontations between textile manufacturers and workers protesting the introduction of mechanical looms. Three characters stand out: Robert Moore, a mill-owner; his cousin Caroline Helstone; and Shirley Keeldar, a rich heiress who is a remarkable female character for the time: strong, independent-minded, and determined to decide on her own future. Although never as popular as Jane Eyre, Shirley is now highly regarded by critics. Perfect for readers who love Victorian literature with a social conscience and compelling female protagonists who defy convention. Brontë masterfully weaves together industrial upheaval, wartime tension, and women's struggles for independence set against the atmospheric backdrop of Yorkshire. The source for this public-domain ebook is Standard Ebooks (standardebooks.org). Ebooks from other sources often have typos, inconsistent spelling, missing accent marks, and missing punctuation. Ebooks from Standard Ebooks are proofread line by line against a scan of the original printed pages, then proofread again from cover to cover. They are also formatted and typeset following a professional-grade style manual, resulting in new editions supporting state-of-the-art ereader technology: automatic hyphenation, popup footnotes, complete and consistent metadata, high-resolution and scalable vector graphics, and ereader-compatible tables of contents. All of this makes the finished ebooks accurate, functional, and beautiful, a pleasure to read. (Waking Lion Press is not affiliated with or endorsed by Standard Ebooks.)