Scan barcode
jerihurd's review against another edition
1.0
review Wow. The professor. The most priggish, self-satisfied narrator it's ever been my misfortune to read. By comparison Jane Eyre is practically hedonistic! If this is how Charlotte saw her own pupils, they hated her with good reason, and no wonder she had such a horrible time teaching.
This novel embodies everything I hate about Victorian lit.
This novel embodies everything I hate about Victorian lit.
melslostinabook's review against another edition
3.0
“The Professor, A Tale was the first novel by Charlotte Brontë. It was written before Jane Eyre, but was rejected by many publishing houses. It was eventually published, posthumously, in 1857, with the approval of Charlotte Brontë's widower, Arthur Bell Nicholls, who took on the task of reviewing and editing the text.” (Wikipedia)
I must say this is probably my least favorite of Charlotte’s books. It seemed to me a very slow moving pace to begin with, but it eventually picked up and I fairly flew through the last half of the book. Well, except for all the times that I had to flip to the back of my book to the notes section for a translation of the French dialogue. Yes, I get that this book takes place, for the most part, in a French speaking country and Charlotte was eager to show off her ability to speak/write the language, both in this book and in Villette, but not all of her readers speak French so I don’t understand why the publishers can’t make exceptions for that, especially with all the new releases. But that is a minor point, really! Also, I was surprised by the number of prejudices exhibited in this novel—namely against the Catholic faith and the Flemish people.
This book is the story of a young man, William Crimsworth, and is a first person narrative from his perspective, detailing his life experiences, especially as a teacher in Brussels, and his relationships with the people he meets. Thankfully, he matures throughout the story, causing my feelings for him to change, and I was happy for him in the end.
Charlotte’s life experiences, including her time spent in Brussels, where she studied and taught served as inspiration for both this novel and for Villette, which was reworked from the material in The Professor and was published during her lifetime. That explains the similarities between the two books, which I wondered about as I was reading The Professor (having just read Villette earlier this year.) Villette was the much better story, in my opinion—as well it should be, as it was her last book and she having the opportunity to edit and polish it off herself—but overall, I still enjoyed reading The Professor. Charlotte Brontë was a brilliant writer after all, and certainly knew how to draw in her audience. And now I can happily say that I have read all of the Brontë ladies’ works!
I must say this is probably my least favorite of Charlotte’s books. It seemed to me a very slow moving pace to begin with, but it eventually picked up and I fairly flew through the last half of the book. Well, except for all the times that I had to flip to the back of my book to the notes section for a translation of the French dialogue. Yes, I get that this book takes place, for the most part, in a French speaking country and Charlotte was eager to show off her ability to speak/write the language, both in this book and in Villette, but not all of her readers speak French so I don’t understand why the publishers can’t make exceptions for that, especially with all the new releases. But that is a minor point, really! Also, I was surprised by the number of prejudices exhibited in this novel—namely against the Catholic faith and the Flemish people.
This book is the story of a young man, William Crimsworth, and is a first person narrative from his perspective, detailing his life experiences, especially as a teacher in Brussels, and his relationships with the people he meets. Thankfully, he matures throughout the story, causing my feelings for him to change, and I was happy for him in the end.
Charlotte’s life experiences, including her time spent in Brussels, where she studied and taught served as inspiration for both this novel and for Villette, which was reworked from the material in The Professor and was published during her lifetime. That explains the similarities between the two books, which I wondered about as I was reading The Professor (having just read Villette earlier this year.) Villette was the much better story, in my opinion—as well it should be, as it was her last book and she having the opportunity to edit and polish it off herself—but overall, I still enjoyed reading The Professor. Charlotte Brontë was a brilliant writer after all, and certainly knew how to draw in her audience. And now I can happily say that I have read all of the Brontë ladies’ works!
geowhaley's review against another edition
3.0
My Recommendation: If you're a completionist and want to finish out the Brontë oeuvre then by all means read this, but if not there are much better classics out there. I will say I was a little surprised at the numerous mentions to homoeroticism early on and what I thought were numerous nods to a same-sex attracted character, but it wasn't enough to really engage me. The story dragged on longer than it needed to and the payoff wasn't worth it in the end. Emily and Anne wrote better books, as did Charlotte when it comes to Jane Eyre, so it's not surprising that this one is often left behind.
My Response: I'm actually making an effort to clear my TBR shelves whether it's my physical bookshelf or my Kindle, so there are going to be some random books showing up over the next few months.
This is the penultimate complete work of the Brontë sisters that remained on my TBR list. The final book remaining is Charlotte's Shirley which I'll probably cross off at some point this year too. I do have a book of poetry by Emily that I want to read too, but I have a hard time finding the motivation to read poetry in general.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
My Response: I'm actually making an effort to clear my TBR shelves whether it's my physical bookshelf or my Kindle, so there are going to be some random books showing up over the next few months.
This is the penultimate complete work of the Brontë sisters that remained on my TBR list. The final book remaining is Charlotte's Shirley which I'll probably cross off at some point this year too. I do have a book of poetry by Emily that I want to read too, but I have a hard time finding the motivation to read poetry in general.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
becky2309's review against another edition
4.0
A greatly underrated tale about a man who becomes a professor after hardship with his brother and finds love but is beset with obstacles to be with the woman he loves. I highly recommend it!
syyslukija's review against another edition
4.0
Ihana positiivinen yllätys! Tykkään Kotiopettajattaren romaanista niin paljon, etten uskaltanut asettaa tälle liian suuria odotuksia pettymyksen pelossa.
Mieskertoja toimi, tarina kulki mukavasti, ranska antoi hauskaisen lisän ja loppukin oli ihana.
Mieskertoja toimi, tarina kulki mukavasti, ranska antoi hauskaisen lisän ja loppukin oli ihana.
oana_dragomir_'s review against another edition
Nope. Just nope. This goes to my DNF shelf
heat_ha's review against another edition
5.0
A rare view of an adult man from a teen girl which makes for an interesting read.
ccxo's review against another edition
3.0
https://clavie.co/2019/11/27/bookclub-reads-the-professor/
The Professor is the first novel Charlotte Bronte ever wrote, but the last to published. I feel like Charlotte was still searching for her own style when writing this story and I found it a bit less accomplished than the other novels I’ve read from her, but that’s to be expected.
The main character being male brought a new viewpoint to the novel’s setting as I’ve pretty much only read about it from the women’s point of view. It was interesting to see how it might have been for a man to live in 18th century England, and in this case The Netherlands as well.
The story is straight forward and quite simple, what plot twists Charlotte tried to create was easy to foresee. But that didn’t matter. What I enjoyed most about The Professor is its atmosphere, descriptions of the time and place, relationship struggles and in the end, a lovely, heartwarming romance.
Though something that did bother me somewhat is when Charlotte over-described things or people to be more precise. There are painfully long descriptions of people we would never hear from again. I understand that Charlotte has the skill for writing about the way people look, but enough is enough. Especially for such a short novel.
The Professor is the first novel Charlotte Bronte ever wrote, but the last to published. I feel like Charlotte was still searching for her own style when writing this story and I found it a bit less accomplished than the other novels I’ve read from her, but that’s to be expected.
The main character being male brought a new viewpoint to the novel’s setting as I’ve pretty much only read about it from the women’s point of view. It was interesting to see how it might have been for a man to live in 18th century England, and in this case The Netherlands as well.
The story is straight forward and quite simple, what plot twists Charlotte tried to create was easy to foresee. But that didn’t matter. What I enjoyed most about The Professor is its atmosphere, descriptions of the time and place, relationship struggles and in the end, a lovely, heartwarming romance.
Though something that did bother me somewhat is when Charlotte over-described things or people to be more precise. There are painfully long descriptions of people we would never hear from again. I understand that Charlotte has the skill for writing about the way people look, but enough is enough. Especially for such a short novel.
lottie1803's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jesshc's review against another edition
2.0
Charlotte is my favorite of the Brontes, in large part for the exquisitely complex and compelling heroines of Vilette and Jane Eyre (I have not read Shirley yet), so it is with respect and slight disappointment that I report that this first attempt is a HOT MESS (as many are!).
The 2 stars aren't for the meandering plot or the one-dimensional characters lacking any kind of arc or development, because in that case my love for her prose would probably have still granted it a 3. The biggest issue with the text is the titular Professor. I read that he was later reworked as the professor character in Vilette, whom I also did not care for, and her certainly exaggerates all of the worst qualities of that character: he is pompous, arrogant, patriarchal. This professor is also completely devoid of empathy, whines ceaselessly, is completely lacking in wit or humor (reasons why I can't help but like the problematic Mr. Rochester) and is convinced that every female character in the narrative is passionately in love with him even though it was unfathomable to me why given how poorly he treats women. Throw in the ickiness of Sting in "Don't Stand So Close To Me" in his descriptions and behavior towards his teenage students to top off the disaster.
As if that weren't all enough, there is a completely unnecessary and barely relevant "dog gets rabies and the professor shoots him" storyline crammed into the last 3 pages! Charlotte, what were you thinking?
The 2 stars aren't for the meandering plot or the one-dimensional characters lacking any kind of arc or development, because in that case my love for her prose would probably have still granted it a 3. The biggest issue with the text is the titular Professor. I read that he was later reworked as the professor character in Vilette, whom I also did not care for, and her certainly exaggerates all of the worst qualities of that character: he is pompous, arrogant, patriarchal. This professor is also completely devoid of empathy, whines ceaselessly, is completely lacking in wit or humor (reasons why I can't help but like the problematic Mr. Rochester) and is convinced that every female character in the narrative is passionately in love with him even though it was unfathomable to me why given how poorly he treats women. Throw in the ickiness of Sting in "Don't Stand So Close To Me" in his descriptions and behavior towards his teenage students to top off the disaster.
As if that weren't all enough, there is a completely unnecessary and barely relevant "dog gets rabies and the professor shoots him" storyline crammed into the last 3 pages! Charlotte, what were you thinking?