Shirley

The second—and only historical—book from the author of Jane Eyre: “Revolutionary . . . Brontë’s most feminist novel.” (Lyndall Gordon, author of Charlotte Brontë: A Passionate Life).
Shirley, Charlotte Brontë’s second novel, following Jane Eyre, tells the story of two women of radically different circumstances, whose bond of friendship helps them emotionally navigate the romantic entanglements of Victorian society.
Curled Up with a Good Book).
 
“Charlotte Bronte sure knew how to write a sizzling romance. . . . Overall, there’s plenty of great passion, Charlotte Bronte’s descriptions are lyrical and second to none.” —The Vince Review
 
“Shirley, which differs considerably from Jane Eyre, declares its affinity with Benjamin Disraeli’s Sibyl and Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton and North and South. The novel contains an explicit social discourse about the Condition of England aimed at highlighting the class and gender divide and its possible social consequences.” —The Victorian Web