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A review by melslostinabook
The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
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!