First thoughts -- how did you find Shirley?

[Lucy]

Share your thoughts on Shirley here!

Here are some questions to get you started:

* Based on what you already know about Charlotte Brontë and her books, was Shirley as you expected it to be?
* What did you think about the way Charlotte portrays the Luddite movement and the industrial revolution in the book?
* Did you like Caroline and Shirley? Who was your favourite?
* How about the relationships in the book? What did you think of Caroline and Robert, and Louis and Shirley?
* What was your favourite scene from the book?

[Hannah]

Shirley was was favourite. Mostly because i see more of myself in her then Caroline ☺️

[Tina]

I’ve been watching YouTube videos on reading the classics, and decided to give Shirley a try. I’m only on chapter 1, and I’ll probably take me quite some time to get through (I try not to blast my way through classics, but rather read one or two chapters at a time so it can “sink in.”)

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, and I can’t wait to learn more about Shirley.

[Hannah]

*Spoiler alert if you haven’t finished l*

I was surprised how different Shirley was to all Charlottes other works. It had the romance plot line, but it focused more on the Luddite riots than i expected. It felt like she was leaning towards the content of Elizabeth Gaskells writing. They were both close friends.

I REALLY liked Shirley! Its set earlier than other industrial revolution works. Which surprised me. It took awhile to get into it, but then it really took off. So different to her works of Villette and The Professor. I was disappointed after reading Villette, because i was beginning to feel Charlotte just kept rehashing her stories.

This book doesnt really feel like a romance, though it has some of the features. In fact Charlotte absolutely states it! Its bot the entire purpose of the book. I like how Charlotte doesnt make each couple to be perfect. Heros are inconsiderate and shadowy. I truly was expecting a heart breaking triangle. But then theres a twist! But i do wish she’d elaborated more on Shirley’s relationship.
Anyway, those are a few of my books. Cant wait to read it again to see what i may have missed ☺️

[Hannah]

If i was a mutual friend of the characters. I’d love to give Robert a good kick!

[Thia Reads A Lot]

I struggled through this book.
Like ashappyasiget said, too much filler! The curates had no bearing in the story at all, yet we had to know them first for some reason? And Shirley appeared in Chapter 11 (almost a third of the way through the book), which mean not a lot happened in the first 10 chapters...
I was glad there wasn't a love triangle, but there sort of was. Wasn't it the whole reason that Caroline almost let herself die?
The reveal of Mrs Pryor was a bit unbelievable, yet predictable from her appearance and how well Caroline and her fitted each other.
The industrial side of the story was interesting, reminded me a lot of North and South by Gaskell.
Overall, I found the book way too long and predictable. 2/5 stars.