Coming from an obssessive Brontë devotee who has read all of their works, this was the one that I read last. I tried, several times, to read it, but my interest always wained. Having said that, I am thrilled to have finally finished it and was really impressed with Charlottte's attempt at writing in the third person omniscient...her only attept with regard to her novels, though the technique was prevelant in her juvenilia. "Shirley" is set during the Napoleonic war as England is struggling with the class implications of the war and the Industrial Revolution. The opening chapters are slow-going, but despite her claims of the story being "as unromantic as Monday morning", Charlotte does have love, marriage, and class as a central theme - enough of it to satisfy, though not overwhelm, those looking for a romantic Austen-like outcome. The story speeds up around chapter four, but the title character does not make an appearance until 1/3 of the way through the book. This story is especially interesting to Emily Brontë enthusiasts, for the character of Shirley is based upon Emily if she had been "of means and in health". A good tid-bit to know since we are priviledged with so little information regarding Emily. The novel was written during the span of 9 months in which Charlotte lost her brother, Emily, and Anne -- all to tuberculosis. An amazing feat that she was even able to write at all. Not as dramatic or forceful as "Jane Eyre" or "Villette" but much better than the "Professor", "Shirley" is still a good portrayal of the sufferings resulting from the Industrial Revolution and life in the early 19th century in northern England.