Shirley

Shirley is Charlotte Bront:e e's only historical novel and her most topical one. Written at a time of social unrest; it is set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars; when economic hardship led to riots in the woollen district of Yorkshire. A mill-owner; Robert Moore; is determined to introduce new machinery despite fierce opposition from his workers; he ignores their suffering; and puts his own life at risk .Robert sees marriage to the wealthy Shirley Keeldar as the solution to his difficulties; but he loves his cousin Caroline. She suffers misery and frustration; and Shirley has her own ideas about the man she will choose to marry. The friendship between the two women; and the contrast between their situations; is at the heart of this compelling novel; which is suffused with Bront'':'s deep yearning for an earlier time.