Fleeing an unhappy past in England, penniless Lucy Snowe starts life anew at a boarding school in cosmopolitan Villette, a stand-in for Brussels. The mystery, jealousy, and love that she finds there give Charlotte Bronte's final novel much of the Gothic tone and psychological incisiveness that prompted George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and others to call "Villette" her finest work. Based on Bronte's own experiences in Brussels and her attachment to a brilliant teacher with a strong and eccentric personality, this superb ...
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Fleeing an unhappy past in England, penniless Lucy Snowe starts life anew at a boarding school in cosmopolitan Villette, a stand-in for Brussels. The mystery, jealousy, and love that she finds there give Charlotte Bronte's final novel much of the Gothic tone and psychological incisiveness that prompted George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and others to call "Villette" her finest work. Based on Bronte's own experiences in Brussels and her attachment to a brilliant teacher with a strong and eccentric personality, this superb romantic novel is an exceptional example of how a great writer transforms the ordinary events of her life into vivid and exciting art. "Villette" represents the inimitable Bronte genius by giving us a masterful portrait of Lucy Snowe, who belongs beside the great nineteenth-century literary heroines--and who will strongly appeal to modern readers. With a New Introduction by Adriana Trigiani and an Afterword by Helen Benedict
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Add this copy of Villette to cart. $16.09, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2013 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Add this copy of Villette to cart. $41.92, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publis.
Lucy Snowe isn't exactly a "lovable heroine" but a fascinating one... There's something about this book that keeps bringing me back to it. It could be that Lucy and Paul Emmanuel are two such idiosyncratic characters that it's hard to appreciate them at first glance. Hard sometimes even to like them. But that makes for a rewarding read, as we trace their relationship and the development of their back-stories. In the end Lucy is a strong, finely drawn character - somewhat prickly and strait-laced with fears and passions that sometimes peep through. She resists becoming an object of pity for the reader...even at the end, one has a feeling that Lucy will keep a stiff upper lip, so to speak, and survive.