Shirley is a historical novel by Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855). Written in 1849, it is Brontë’s second novel and followed the overwhelming success of Jane Eyre (1847). It was also very popular when it was published. Set in Yorkshire in 1812-1813, a time of financial depression, its setting engages directly with the Luddite uprisings in the North of England, when textile workers protested the unemployment caused by new mechanical equipment in mills and factories. Shirley follows two women from different social circles who become friends and fall in love with two brothers. The novel traces their experiences as they grapple with their role and identity as women, especially ideas of female competence, strength, and independence, and how these influence their actions, ambitions, and approaches to love and marriage. The book is still widely read today and is regarded as the novel that demonstrates Brontë’s proto-feminist ideas and principles most strongly. Brontë’s biographer Clare Harman has called it a “revolutionary” text (Harman, Clare. Charlotte Brontë: A Life, 2015). Charlotte Brontë was the eldest of the three famous Brontë sisters, whose novels and poetry are among the highest-regarded works in English literature.

This study guide refers to the Project Gutenberg online edition of the text. Citations given are page numbers in this edition.

Content Warning: The source text features instances of sexism, xenophobia, antisemitism, racism, classism, racial and ethnic slurs, and gun violence, elements of which this guide discusses.

Plot Summary

Shirley focuses on two protagonists, both women: Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar. The narratives of the two protagonists show the gulf in the lived experience of women in early 19th-century England during the Industrial Revolution. Caroline is an 18-year-old young woman who lives in Yorkshire with her uncle, the Rev. Matthew Helstone, as her parents are dead. She has no money of her own and she and her uncle live in modest circumstances, struggling to afford the signs of respectability which society demands. She is in love with her cousin Robert Moore, a mill owner of whom her uncle doesn’t approve. She is intelligent but timid and assumes that her life will never amount to anything and that she will remain a burden on her uncle.

Shirley, on the other hand, enjoys a life of privilege. She is 21 and the only child of a wealthy family. Her parents are both dead, and she has inherited their estate and the wealth that goes along with it. She lives with her former governess, Mrs. Pryor, but she has the unusual freedom to make her own decisions, despite being a woman. She is keen to exercise her independence in areas that are highly unusual for women at the time the novel is set, such as business and investment decisions to manage and spend her own money.

When Shirley opens, Robert Moore is awaiting new machinery for the mill. The machinery is replacing men whom he has laid off because his business is struggling financially. He loves Caroline, as she loves him, but he avoids her because he feels he can’t afford to support a wife. When they see each other, he keeps his distance, and Caroline assumes that he doesn’t like her. This always upsets her, but she has no one to talk to about it since her uncle doesn’t approve. Caroline wants to seek a new life. She tells her uncle she wants to work as a governess. Her uncle won’t let her because he insists that her place is in the home and that he can provide for her so she doesn’t need to work. Caroline argues that if she works then she will have something to do with her life other than become an “old maid.” Her uncle dismisses her pleas, and her resentment grows.

One day, Caroline meets Shirley by chance and a friendship develops. Caroline finds out that Shirley has business interests in Robert’s mill as he is a tenant on her land. Shirley lends Robert money to keep the mill open, and Caroline is impressed by Shirley’s tenacity and her ability to make professional decisions. She wishes she had that kind of freedom too. Meanwhile, Shirley spends a lot of time with Robert. Although Shirley is only working on the business, everyone assumes that they’re in love, and the town prepares itself for their marriage. Caroline is devastated to think that she’ll lose Robert, but she’s determined not to let it stand in the way of her growing friendship with Shirley.

Robert’s business is in financial difficulties. There is unrest and rioting in the town as unemployment for the workers increases. Although everyone assumes that Robert and Shirley will marry and her fortune will save his business, he suddenly leaves for London. Shirley introduces Caroline to her governess, Mrs. Pryor. Mrs. Pryor keeps Caroline entertained and they become close. One day, Mrs. Pryor tells Caroline a groundbreaking secret—she is Caroline’s mother, but she gave her up to be raised by her uncle because Mr. Pryor was a cruel and abusive man and they couldn’t afford to look after a child. Caroline is overjoyed that she has found her mother, and this helps to distract her from her unhappiness about Robert.

Robert’s brother, Louis, arrives in the town. As a younger son, he does not have money, and he struggles to make a living from teaching. Louis used to be Shirley’s tutor: They were comfortable with each other then, but now Shirley finds herself to be drawn to him but also embarrassed around him, for reasons she doesn’t fully understand. They sometimes ignore each other. Caroline suspects it is because Shirley is in love with him, but she keeps her suspicions to herself. Meanwhile, Shirley rejects a proposal from two men, including a rich nobleman, which upsets her remaining family.

Robert finally returns from London and is at home with a friend, in whom he confides that his business is failing. The friend asks why he left so suddenly when marrying Shirley seemed like the obvious solution. Robert reveals that he did propose to Shirley and she rejected him. She knew they did not love each other and was insulted that he would propose to her for her money. Robert felt ashamed and humiliated and departed for London. He has since realized that she was right and decided that he will close the mill if necessary and seek his fortune abroad. As the two friends converse, angry unemployed workers from the town riot, and the two men go out to meet them. A gunshot is heard and Robert falls from his horse, badly injured.

Robert recovers slowly and contemplates. Having been close to death and recognized the error of his ways, Robert knows he must marry Caroline for love. Meanwhile, Louis proposes to Shirley and she accepts. Robert proposes to Caroline, and the couples are married on the same day.