10 h 0 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does independence cost when you have no money, no patron, and a brother determined to keep you small?
In Charlotte Brontë’s The Professor, William Crimsworth refuses help from wealthy relatives and seeks work with his older brother, Edward. But the Yorkshire mill offers humiliation rather than independence. Proud and watchful, William must find a way to earn his living without surrendering his self-respect.
A fresh start takes him to Brussels, where he teaches English in two neighbouring schools. Monsieur Pelet is smooth and calculating; Zoraïde Reuter knows how to charm. Among William’s pupils is Frances Evans Henri, a poor lace mender eager to learn. Work, ambition, and love test his ability to see beyond appearances.
What you’ll discover
- The price of pride Follow a young man whose refusal of charity makes earning his independence a difficult task.
- Power behind polite manners Enter schools where graceful words and careful flattery can conceal calculation and self-interest.
- A pupil hungry to learn Meet Frances, whose poverty does not diminish her pride or her serious desire for learning.
- Character before charm Watch William learn to judge people by their character rather than their looks or charm.
- Brontë in a quieter key Discover her first novel through a plain, watchful narrator who values work and self-respect.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like Victorian novels about work, money and conscience, and anyone curious about the first steps of Charlotte Brontë's writing. If you want gothic drama or a fast plot, you may find its calm pace less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A proud orphan refuses rich patrons
- Edward's mill is a place of humiliation
- Hunsden points the way to Brussels
- Teaching in Brussels shapes a new man
- Mademoiselle Reuter charms, then disappoints
- Frances Henri and the cost of worth
Who’s who
- William CrimsworthA proud, orphaned young Englishman who refuses charity and seeks to earn his own living and self-respect through teaching.
- Edward CrimsworthWilliam's older brother, a hard, successful mill owner who uses his power to keep William small.
- Hunsden Yorke HunsdenA blunt, eccentric mill owner who speaks harsh truths and helps William find a new start abroad.
- Monsieur PeletThe smooth, calculating French head of the boys' school in Brussels where William first teaches.
- Zoraïde ReuterThe graceful and shrewd head of the girls' school, skilled at charm and at managing others to her own ends.
- Frances Evans HenriA poor, quiet lace mender and pupil of Swiss and English descent, who is serious, proud and eager to learn.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Il professore
by Charlotte Brontë· 1857
A young Englishman seeks work and independence in Brussels.
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Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A proud orphan refuses rich patrons
The book opens with a letter in which William Crimsworth describes his past to an old school friend. His mother came from a wealthy and well-bred family, the Seacombes. She married a poor mill owner, and her relatives never forgave her. After both parents die, the boy is looked after by his mother's relatives.
Two of his mother's brothers, one of them a lord, pay for his schooling at Eton. They do not love him, and they treat him as a burden they carry out of duty. When he finishes school, they ask what he will do. They hint that if he marries one of their daughters or takes a place in the church, they will help him.
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The author
Charlotte Brontë
1816–1855 · English novelist and poet
Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was an English novelist and poet. She was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, and lived mainly in Haworth. She published Jane Eyre in 1847, Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853 under the name Currer Bell. Her novel The Professor appeared after her death, in 1857.
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What is The Professor by Charlotte Brontë about?
It tells of William Crimsworth, a young Englishman who leaves a harsh family situation, becomes a teacher in Brussels and learns about work, pride, love and character. He tells the story himself in a plain, steady voice.
When was The Professor written and published?
Charlotte Brontë wrote it before Jane Eyre, but publishers refused it. It appeared in 1857, two years after her death. It is fiction, though it draws on her own time as a student and teacher in Brussels.
Who is Hunsden in The Professor?
Hunsden Yorke Hunsden is an eccentric Yorkshire mill owner who befriends William. He speaks bluntly, mocks his pride and gives him the introductions that lead him to Brussels. He remains a friend through the book.
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