The Classics Club Spin #17 - Update

30th April was the deadline to finish the book for this Classics Club Spin. My book for the spin was Shirley by Charlotte Brontë. Unfortunately, I didn't finish it and I can't see this occurring in the near future. The bookmark is at page 134. I've resisted removing it and returning the book to my bookshelf as this would admit defeat. So, Shirley is still "active" and in view, with the epynominous heroine yet to make an appearance. What should have been a great read
for me given the novel's setting (Yorkshire and the Napoleonic Wars) has turned out otherwise. However, aside from all this negativity, I am pleased to say that I have progressed further this time than in previous attempts to read this novel. It remains on my Classics Club list. I hope I have better luck with the next spin.

Synopsis

The Shirley of the title is a woman of independent means; her friend Caroline is not. Both struggle with what a woman's role is and can be. Their male counterparts - Louis, the powerless tutor, and Robert, his cloth-manufacturing brother - also stand at odds to society's expectations.

The novel is set in a period of social and political ferment, featuring class disenfranchisement, the drama of Luddite machine-breaking, and the divisive effects of the Napoleonic Wars. But Charlotte Brontë's particular strength lies in exploring the hidden psychological drama of love, loss and the quest for identity. Personal and public agitation are brought together against the dramatic backdrop of her native Yorkshire. As always, Brontë challenges convention, exploring the limitations of social justice whilst telling not one but two love stories.