Villette

Charlotte Bronte (1816-55) was the third of the three famous Bronte sisters. Along with their brother, they grew up in the isolated Yorkshire village of Haworth with no real schooling and little care. The Bronte sisters tried for ten years to make their living as governesses. Finding the occupation hateful, they decided to set up their own school. To prepare themselves, Charlotte and Emily set off for Brussels to learn French and German. Back in Haworth, Charlotte and her sisters published a volume of poems; though only two copies were sold, the Brontes were stimulated to attempt novels. Emily's Wuthering Heights and Anne's Agnes Grey found publishers, but Charlotte's offering was returned with the suggestion she try again. The manuscript of her next novel, Jane Eyre, was accepted overnight and became an immediate success. Shirley, Villette, and The Professor complete the tally of her novels. Helen Benedict is the author of seven books, including the novels A World Like This, Bad Angel, and The Sailor's Wife. She is a professor at Columbia University, where she teaches writing and literature in the Graduate School of Journalism.Brontë, Charlotte is the author of 'Villette', published 2004 under ISBN 9780451529220 and ISBN 0451529227.