-
Shirley
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.88
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Bronte's finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl's school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader, for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense - and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.
-
-
classical heart
- By Chloe on 01-14-08
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her daring first novel, the youngest Brontë sister drew upon her own experiences to tell the unvarnished truth about life as a governess. Like Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte was a young middle-class Victorian lady whose family fortunes had faltered. Like so many other unmarried women of the 19th century, Bronte accepted the only "respectable" employment available - and entered a world of hardship, humiliation, and loneliness.
-
-
Unexpected love for this Novel
- By Rachel on 03-18-21
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Making of a Marchioness
- By: Frances Hodgson-Burnett
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Hodgson Burnett published The Making of a Marchioness in 1901. She had written Little Lord Fauntleroy 15 years before and would write The Secret Garden in 10 years' time; it is these two books for which she is best known. Yet Marchioness was one of Nancy Mitford's favourite books, was considered 'the best novel Mrs Hodgson Burnett wrote' by Marghanita Laski, and is taught on a university course in America together with novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Daisy Miller.
-
-
A Sweet Romantic Tale
- By Curatina on 11-23-11
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Bronte's finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl's school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader, for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense - and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.
-
-
classical heart
- By Chloe on 01-14-08
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her daring first novel, the youngest Brontë sister drew upon her own experiences to tell the unvarnished truth about life as a governess. Like Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte was a young middle-class Victorian lady whose family fortunes had faltered. Like so many other unmarried women of the 19th century, Bronte accepted the only "respectable" employment available - and entered a world of hardship, humiliation, and loneliness.
-
-
Unexpected love for this Novel
- By Rachel on 03-18-21
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Making of a Marchioness
- By: Frances Hodgson-Burnett
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Hodgson Burnett published The Making of a Marchioness in 1901. She had written Little Lord Fauntleroy 15 years before and would write The Secret Garden in 10 years' time; it is these two books for which she is best known. Yet Marchioness was one of Nancy Mitford's favourite books, was considered 'the best novel Mrs Hodgson Burnett wrote' by Marghanita Laski, and is taught on a university course in America together with novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Daisy Miller.
-
-
A Sweet Romantic Tale
- By Curatina on 11-23-11
-
Romola
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 22 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the turbulent years following the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, George Eliot's fourth novel, Romola, moves the stage from the English countryside of the 19th century to an Italy four centuries before her time. It tells the tale of a young Florentine woman, Romola de' Bardi, and her coming of age through her troubled marriage to the suave and self-absorbed Greek Tito. Slowly Tito's true character begins to unfurl, and his lies and treachery push Romola toward a more spiritual path, where she transcends into a majestic, Madonna-like role.
-
-
Listened to it 4 times in a row
- By Theodoc on 12-14-21
By: George Eliot
-
Villette (Dramatised)
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Catherine McCormack, Joseph Fiennes, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine McCormack, Joseph Fiennes, and Harriet Walter star in this BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's last and most remarkable novel. Passion and perception run through this fascinating study of loneliness, love, and ultimate triumph over adversity.
-
-
So good, it's almost a movie
- By Rebekah on 10-13-12
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Professor
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: James Wilby
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Professor is Charlotte Brontë's first novel albeit the last to have been published. Edited and distributed by Arthur Bell Nicholls, two years after Brontë's death, it is based on her experiences of living as a language student in Brussels. The Professor follows the career and love affairs of William Crimsworth, a reserved but compassionate aristocrat who has been ostracised by his family and left penniless.
-
-
Beautiful
- By ilene on 12-26-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Three Clerks
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bound together by dreams of success, three clerks Harry Norman, Alaric Tudor, and Charley Tudor navigate the ranks of the Civil Service, each of them drawn into a web of temptation and moral dilemmas.
-
-
Trollope Never Fails
- By John on 07-26-23
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
-
-
Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
-
Camilla
- A Picture of Youth
- By: Fanny Burney
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 37 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among Jane Austen's favorite novels, and a key work in the rise of Romanticism, Camilla follows the story of three young women, from childhood to young adulthood, and their pursuit of matrimony. Kind but naive Camilla is in love with Edgar Mandlebert, a handsome and noble young man. Intelligent Eugenia, destined to inherit her uncle's great wealth, is plagued with misfortune as she is left disfigured by smallpox and has men court her for financial gain only. Meanwhile their cousin, beautiful but selfish Indiana, never finds a fortune for her good looks.
-
-
Perfection!
- By Jen42 on 11-19-20
By: Fanny Burney
-
Daniel Deronda
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 36 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meeting by chance at a gambling hall in Europe, the separate lives of Daniel Deronda and Gwendolen Harleth are immediately intertwined. Daniel, an Englishman of uncertain parentage, becomes Gwendolyn's redeemer as she finds herself drawn to his spiritual and altruistic nature after a loveless marriage. But Daniel's path was already set when he rescued a young Jewess from suicide.
-
-
Give it a try!
- By Tucker LaPrade on 01-30-16
By: George Eliot
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
-
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
-
The Complete Novels : Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 81 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since Colin Firth's Mr Darcy emerged from the lake in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the novels of Jane Austen have become more popular than ever, delighting millions of fans all over the world. Now, Alison Larkin's critically acclaimed narrations of Austen's six completed novels are brought together in this very special 200th anniversary audio edition. "Alison Larkin's narration will captivate listeners from the first sentence" raves AudioFile magazine about the Earphones Award-winning recording of Sense and Sensibility, which starts the collection.
-
-
Table of Contents/Navigation Guide!
- By Jim on 02-23-18
By: Jane Austen
-
East of Eden
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
-
-
Why have I avoided this Beautiful Book???
- By Kelly on 03-25-17
By: John Steinbeck
-
Emma
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Jane Austen, Anna Lea - adaptation
- Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, Isabella Inchbald, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
-
-
Background sonds RUINED this
- By Sandra Dodd on 09-09-18
By: Jane Austen, and others
-
The Portrait of a Lady
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 26 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Portrait of a Lady tells the compelling and ultimately tragic tale of a beautiful young American woman's encounter with European sophistication. Set principally in England and Italy, the story follows Isabel Archer's fortunes as a variety of admirers vie for her hand. Her choice will be crucial, and she is not wanting for advice, whether from the generous-spirited Ralph Touchett or the charming Madame Merle.
-
-
Couldn't get past the terrible American accents.
- By Sarah on 04-07-17
By: Henry James
Publisher's summary
More from the same
What listeners say about Shirley
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Joseph R
- 09-15-09
"As Romantic As Monday Morning"
I have read this book many times since the seventies but this was my first time with the audio version. I knew the story or thought I knew the story but Anna Bentinck's performance allowed me to understand things which I had missed entirely. She is wonderful. Her voice reveals the subtle humor and touches of playfulness of the story. The oppressive sense of loneliness or despair which figure in the Bronte sisters' works, Agnes Grey, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or Villette is somehow replaced with optimism and hope.
Charlotte Bronte had a dust-up with her publisher over his praise of Jane Austen. Charlotte had some negative thoughts about Austen and was not shy in expressing them. After listening to this story, I now wonder if she wasn't influenced a bit after all. The Charlotte who wrote Jane Eyre and the one who wrote Shirley seem to be different writers. This story has dirt under the fingernails. Not to overstate the case, the sprinkle of comic characters would suggest an Austen influence. Now I have done it! The Bronte sisters will rise from their graves to pummel me as I sleep.
My title quotes the author describing her story I think with accuracy. If she were a portrait artist, her paintings would be in the fashion of Vincent van Gogh's "The Potato Eaters" or in the harsh interplay of shadow and light on the canvas of Edgar Degas. Charlotte Bronte paints with fine brush strokes one color, one image after another, piling them on the canvas until the ungainly rough features of her story takes form. Yet, there are even flashes of Johannes Vermeer's delicate brush strokes, brilliant colors and of love shinning in the eyes of the "Girl with the Pearl Earring". Sometimes she paints the delicate beauty of flower gardens in moonlight evenings but also of harsh, glaring Monday mornings, the gritty, sometimes mean realities and human flaws.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
70 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Zuleika
- 06-04-09
Holy Mackerel!
First, Anna Bentinck gives a spectacular performance. She is clear, well-paced, and gives different characters to all of the major persona. Not an easy task in a book that you need a playbill for just to keep up. I'll definitely seek out more by her.
"Shirley" is something of a sleeper in the Bronte canon. It's an interesting treatise on the independence and status of women in the early 19th century -- long before there was much feminist activism. The book has an interesting political and economic aspect. A quick look at the Wikipedia page on Luddites will put things in context if your British history is as lacking as mine.
But it is also tragically romantic and downright steamy even at points. Perhaps it's just a modern perspective that sees this as so obvious, but it is hard to imagine how this wasn't considered scandalous by Victorian moral standards. Of course, everyone keeps their clothes on, both feet on the floor and no one ever does anything more than briedly hold hands.
My book club selected this as our "long" summer read, and two of us finished before June had barely begun. Worth a read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
43 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Wii Fit Momma
- 09-07-08
My love of the Classics
I recently fell in love with classic novels (less than a year) & I have found Charlotte Bronte's novels superb. The use of descriptive language makes me realize how much we (as a society) have lost with the growth in technology. No one utilizes language in this imaginative manner anymore! Shirley is an excellent, heart-warming novel. It is the perfect companion to any task or hobby.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- connie
- 06-06-08
a better listen than read
This was proof to me of the value of audiobooks! I picked up my paperback of "Shirley" several times over the last 20 years but never got past the introductory chapters. As a listen, I very much enjoyed "Shirley" as a 19th century novel-romance and for the characters and the commentary on women's roles. I was disappointed in it as an "industrial novel," but I guess it's the best the experience a Bronte could furnish. I thought Gaskill's later "North-South" was a better example of that sub genre, but I do not find Gaskill's novels as satisfying a reading (or listening) experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tad Davis
- 03-20-17
Loved it!
I loved this novel - it's one of my favorite Brontë novels, possibly even more so than "Jane Eyre." The pages are filled with affection and good humor. It's hard to believe it was written during a period that saw all of Charlotte Brontë's siblings die, one after the other. There are dark deeds here, and gloomy prospects, but all resolves in the end: a devotee of Jane Austen (which I also am) couldn't wish for anything better.
History impinges on the story: the Napoleonic Wars are in progress, Wellington is campaigning in Spain, and Luddite riots are damaging and destroying newly mechanized mills.Yorkshire is hard hit. Brontë meets this head-on, and while I wish she had gone into more detail there, she does make it a linchpin of her plot.
Anna Bentinck is an outstanding narrator. One of the main characters especially - Caroline, sometimes also known as Cary or Lina - is mostly a passive observer, and it would have been easy for her to come across as dull and dispirited; yet Bentinck's reading of her is almost sprightly. Caroline is quiet but is not without humor. It's a tough balancing act, because the title character, Shirley, IS a very sprightly, assertive, and unusual character. Yet Bentinck is able to fully characaterize her while still giving Caroline her due.
I've been on a campaign to read all the Brontë novels. In doing so I've discovered treat after treat. This is one of the best.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Diana
- 05-31-11
Nothing can stop me from loving Bronte
This novel is long, 24 hours of listening pleasure. It was so very interesting, considering it is a historical piece. I love learned about the Napolean era and the effects it had on England. Charlotte weaves in the characters within this terrible time in history. The narrator is excellent. I was lost in time once again. I am amazed that Charlotte wrote and completed this book during a span of which her 3 remaining siblings died. Her brother, Ann Bronte, and Emily Bronte. She is definitely a novelist I would have liked to meet!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Virginia Waldron
- 12-30-07
Shirley
This is not Charlotte Bronte's best book and at times it is a bit tedious but an enjoyable experience in spite of this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kristina
- 01-31-18
Best story I have listened to in years
I still can't believe this book has escaped me for nearly fifty years...it's now my favorite from Charlotte Bronte. For me, this story sort of has it all: great, sympathetic characters, many different story threads that come together beautifully, compelling protagonists, historical context, a bit of mystery, a bit of love story, terrific narration, and an excellent pace.
I look forward to listening to this again very soon.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A close reader
- 04-11-16
Bronte Heaven
Although it's not as spectacular as Jane Eyre and not as psychologically compelling as Villette, Shirley still gives you 20 some hours of Brontë heaven. Bronte is one of our greatest writers ever to have lived. She writes from and about the soul.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Listener
- 02-20-10
Not good!
I really wanted to like this book, but it's so hard to be interested in. I gravitate to mid 19th century english fiction and I like historical novels. This has both, but the is so boring. Characters are described, but I don't feel any connection to them. I haven't completed the book (it's a drudge to turn on this book), but I wanted to warn others. The narrator is only OK - she struggles with the accents and too many of the characters are extremely nasily. Really - move on to something else - this is such a disappointment. At least this book made me investigate the Luddite era, so I did learn something - but much more from Wikpedia than from this story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Caroline
- 05-01-09
Very nice to listen to
Well narrated. Bentinck captures the right tone and makes distinction between the characters by giving him or her a different voice and accent. I like this, because I do not get confused about who is speaking and it makes the novel more animated. In addition Bentincks (first person) narrative mode is pleasant, not nasal e.g.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sarah
- 03-07-14
The forgotten Bronte novel
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Well forgotten by me anyway. I have recently been re-reading and listening to many of the better known 19th century novels and have really enjoyed them. Most recently I read and listened to Jane Eyre and then Villette which are both well known. However, Shirley meant little to me and I was pleased to find an audio edition available. Like both novels already mentioned Shirley deals with the plight of the poor 19th century woman through the character of Caroline Helstone (and her mother), but also the difficulties facing a rich one, Shirley, as well. It also comments on the behaviour of the clergy and the uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry. The story held my attention and it was beautifully written. While none of the main protagonists really pleased me I did care about what came of them. When listening to the Tenant of Wildfell Hall I really wished I had downloaded the abridged edition but I didn't regret any of the time spent listening to this and importantly it was beautifully read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Julie Bail
- 08-21-13
Feisty Wish Fulfillment Beautifully Read
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Anna Bentinck reads superbly including accents.
I had forgotten what Shirley was like or maybe I have changed. Such a patchwork of romance, even arch comedy (had never heard "enthronisation" before); the cry of the unvalued governess and the wishfulfilng( for the author perhaps) drawn out Belgian love affairs; the feminism on one hand and the need to to be conquered; the tears, the suffering and oh the joy and fine profiles and complexions; with a bit of violent class conflict; industrial revolution and church commentary, and Lady Audley's secret made right, in such colourful and flighty language.
Jane Eyre this is not, but it is a fascinating, wandery jumble of things with two love stories, beautifully read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Caroline Beatty
- 07-14-16
Shirley deserves a read!
hard going initially but wonderful language and great feminist exploration. Yorkshire textile industry early days
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- AMum
- 11-13-21
I'm glad this was an audiobook
I wouldn't have finished this book if I had had to also read it. I was grateful for Anna Bentinck's narration which was beautifully done.
Charlotte Brontë lost Anne, Emily and Branwell while writing this novel. This sad fact leaves me wondering about how different the book would have been if that had not been the case. It felt in need of strong editing and honest feedback - would the other sisters have helped this happen? Or is it that too many painful events happened as it was written that re-reading, reflecting and self-editing the first draft was an overwhelming reminder of the heartache of each sibling's death and so it wasn't done as completely as needed? I felt 'Shirley' was messy and disjointed, inconsistent and long-winded, although there is a good deal of wonderfully observant, moving and at times funny material in the story too.
Glad to now know the story, but I am unlikely to return to it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Maire Reier
- 06-12-16
nice company
very nice company to keep this book is. unfortunately I don't speak French, so some things I didn't understand, but I don't think it affects the enjoyment of this book.
very lovely experience and an excellent story nicely read. thank you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Teresa Gamble
- 11-19-14
perfect for Bronte Fans
What did you like most about Shirley?
the historical context-the northern countryside on the cusp of change and the wonderful descriptions of the landscape
What other book might you compare Shirley to, and why?
Any other novel by Charlotte Bronte and also for the feeling for landscape, any Thomas Hardy
What does Anna Bentinck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The subtleties of character
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Hidden Love - a tale of two girls in the England of 1812
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 05-29-23
Much praise
To my mind Shirley is Charlotte Brontë best novel. This narration is brilliant. Highly recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- CTRichardson
- 05-14-23
Brilliant narration
An excellent performance by Anna Bentinck of a superb novel with well delineated characters and a well crafted plot.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- MRS S M MCCORMICK
- 10-20-23
So well read!
I loved listening to Anna Bentinck’s narration. I also felt close to the author. I would have loved to have met her .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Villette
- Penguin Classics
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Charlotte Ritchie
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster and her own complex feelings, first for the school's English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor Paul Emmanuel. Drawing on her own deeply unhappy experiences as a governess in Brussels, Charlotte Brontë's last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love....
-
-
Highly Recommended
- By Amazon Customer on 10-06-20
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Bronte's finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl's school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader, for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense - and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.
-
-
classical heart
- By Chloe on 01-14-08
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Shirley
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in a chaotic time in England, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Caroline Helstone's world is turned upside down when she meets the vivacious Shirley Keeldar. Shirley becomes a beacon of light for Caroline as the two become close friends. However, Caroline is soon shocked to discover that Shirley has won the affections of Robert Moore, the impoverished mill owner whom she loves. Fully representative of Yorkshire life at the time, Brontë's second novel is completely gripping, unrelenting and utterly wrenching in its portrayal.
-
-
Social Romance
- By Montcalm on 06-03-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
-
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed as Charlotte Brontë’s “finest novel” by Virginia Woolf, Villette is the timeless semi-autobiographical tale of Lucy Snowe. Left with no family and no money, Lucy goes against her own timid nature and travels to the small city of Villette, France, where she becomes a school teacher in Madame Beck’s school for girls. During her stay, she falls in love—twice—and discovers an independent, inner strength rarely seen in women of her time.
-
-
The Divine Ms. Porter delivers as always
- By peachnmario on 03-17-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Jenny Agutter
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fleeing a disastrous marriage, Helen Huntingdon retreats to the desolate mansion, Wildfell Hall, with her son, Arthur. There, she makes her living as a painter. Finding it difficult to avoid her neighbors, she is soon an object of speculation and gossip. Brontë portrays Helen's eloquent struggle for independence at a time when society defined a married woman as her husband's property.
-
-
Excellent performances of an abridged version
- By LSK on 04-21-19
By: Anne Brontë
-
Villette
- Penguin Classics
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Charlotte Ritchie
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster and her own complex feelings, first for the school's English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor Paul Emmanuel. Drawing on her own deeply unhappy experiences as a governess in Brussels, Charlotte Brontë's last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love....
-
-
Highly Recommended
- By Amazon Customer on 10-06-20
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Bronte's finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl's school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader, for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense - and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.
-
-
classical heart
- By Chloe on 01-14-08
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Shirley
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in a chaotic time in England, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Caroline Helstone's world is turned upside down when she meets the vivacious Shirley Keeldar. Shirley becomes a beacon of light for Caroline as the two become close friends. However, Caroline is soon shocked to discover that Shirley has won the affections of Robert Moore, the impoverished mill owner whom she loves. Fully representative of Yorkshire life at the time, Brontë's second novel is completely gripping, unrelenting and utterly wrenching in its portrayal.
-
-
Social Romance
- By Montcalm on 06-03-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
-
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed as Charlotte Brontë’s “finest novel” by Virginia Woolf, Villette is the timeless semi-autobiographical tale of Lucy Snowe. Left with no family and no money, Lucy goes against her own timid nature and travels to the small city of Villette, France, where she becomes a school teacher in Madame Beck’s school for girls. During her stay, she falls in love—twice—and discovers an independent, inner strength rarely seen in women of her time.
-
-
The Divine Ms. Porter delivers as always
- By peachnmario on 03-17-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Jenny Agutter
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance