The Professor

By: Charlotte Brontë

Narrated by: James Wilby

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

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 only male narrator and protagonist in her stories, 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.

Well educated and eager to enthuse others, William becomes a teacher and leaves his scornful family behind to work at a boy's boarding school in Brussels. Unimpeded by his gender, unlike the female characters in her stories, Charlotte takes advantage of William's freedom to travel and delight in the pleasures of the opposite sex. Her hero becomes enamoured with the headmistress of a neighbouring girl's school and this tempestuous relationship is mirrored with the sweet and gentle bond he forges with pupil, Frances Henri.

Described by Brontë herself as possessing more 'pith, more substance' and 'more reality' than Jane Eyre, this audiobook provides greater insight into the short life of the beloved author and reaffirms that her reputation as one of the greats of English Literature, is well deserved.

Narrator Biography

James Wilby trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and later became an associate member of the institution.

He is an English actor, celebrated for appearing in films such as Maurice, Gosford Park, Howard's End and A Room with a View.

James' breakthrough performance was in the production of Privileged, in which he starred alongside Hugh Grant. This led to his being cast in the critically acclaimed Maurice, for which he won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor award.

His stage performances include Helping Harry, Don Juan, Less Than Kind, On Emotion and The Consultant. He starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company's revival of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me, which was met with very favourable reviews.

James has also worked on the making of various audiobooks and is widely considered to be one of the greatest voices of the British drama. His audio work includes Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, Graham Greene's It's a Battlefield, Ian McEwan's Saturday and The Girl at the Lion D'Or by Sebastian Faulks.

©2005 BBC Audiobooks (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Beautiful

This beautiful story and impeccable narration makes you feel as if you were a participant in a beautiful concert. Everything comes together in such a beautiful way- you won't experience such poetic writing or plot anywhere else. It's a loss for anyone who doesn't experience this joy .

The perfect narrator for Charlotte's great book

The professor is so underrated!! I adored it. The narrator was perfect and I found myself absolutely entranced.
Must listen!!!
You won't be disappointed

A Positive Bronte!

Having been stung by Villette, and finding Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights very frustrating, I was reluctant to try another of the Bronte sisters' efforts, but this is quite different and has its appeal. The performance is masterful and literally made the listening experience one toward which I looked forward with anticipation as I sat down each evening. The values are solid, if a bit given to a female's flight of fancy when philosophizing on behalf of the male protagonist. Worth a listen.

A Charming Romance...

this posthumously published novel is every bit as good as the best of 1800s romance. Bronte at her best!

Virtuous, steady living brings blossoming love.

The reading was supurb! The professor and Frances are an ideal happily ever after. I wish I knew Victor's life. It would have been a nice sequel.

Least favorite bronte story

Plot felt meandering. Actor tried but couldn't make it work. The bronte sisters have done so much better

Life well-lived is affirmed !

Very good story & narration. To think that Ms Bronte could not find a publisher until she had another book succeed is surprising. This is a sweet story about sticking to your principles and the resulting good life.

Charlotte’s Progressive Insight

Modern readers need to be aware of the times in which Ms Brontë lived to understand how boldly, bravely she wrote. Not only having the audacity to write from the viewpoint of a male narrator (highly unusual at the time), she creates for us her personal ideal in him. The protagonist she weaves isn’t attracted so much to surface, transient beauty, but rather to intellect, insight and depth of character. Finding such a man, even today, is rare. So, I deeply appreciate this story as it defies sensationalism and sexism in a way uniquely suited to the era in which Brontë lived, as well as offers hope and resolve for modern readers.

Language: English. That's misleading.

If you look at the description, this title claims to be in English. It is MOSTLY in English, but if you really want to be able to follow a lot of the dialogue, you need to know some French, or your enjoyment will be limited, as mine currently is. I wish I had known before I got invested in the story.

Fine Brontë but you must know some French

A shy man, though empowered by his time’s mores and a powerful young woman, though made submissive by her time’s mores combine after a delicate and protracted romance . Since much the dialogue is in French, it helps to know this tongue, the langue favored by Frances in her rebellious mood. An ensemble piece with bug few characters, all well drawn

Beautfil use of the English language

I love the use of the English language, so flowery and descriptive. The story gives great insight into the minds of men and women from that period, and the codes of conduct and protocol. Unfortunately, I don't speak a word of French, so some passages get lost on me.

A Compelling Story

I found this book hard to put down. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are all found interwoven into the story.
However the narrator, ie the Professor, is rather twee, almost too good to be true. It is a quieter story than some of the Bronte novels, but the passion and romance are there and it is a good "listen".

Great if you speak French

I love the Brontes but I’m sad to say that I gave up on this book in the end. I found the characters unlikable but that usually isn’t a reason for me to quit a book. However, the sections in French were so frequent that I felt I was missing whole conversations and I felt like I was wasting my time listening to a book I didn’t understand whole chunks of. Such a shame for me but I’m sure it’s great if you do speak French!

James Wilby is an excellent narrator.

The story follows William Crimsworth from his humble beginnings, to his career as a teacher and eventual marriage to the woman he loves. Though intended to be a sympathetic hero, Crimsworth is a very judgemental and xenophobic character and goes on at some length about how superior he is to absolutely everyone. While this book did lack the underlying passion and angst that Bronte became so brilliant at writing, later on,
This is the third audiobook I have listened to narrated by James WIlby and he really does an excellent job of catching the feeling and flavor of the story.

need to be French speaking

Couldn't finish it, first chapters good but far to much French spoken in latter chapters

Ghastly!

Interesting. There isn’t a sympathetic character among them. She hadn’t yet found her theme. It’s interesting to see how Jane Eyre developed from it, but other than that, the publishers who rejected it were spot on. (Re the French, if you don’t understand it, you’re not missing much, and you can always hover your phone over the text to translate it.)

Poor story from a great author

Well narrated but the story itself is dull & protracted with no subtlety as to the plot or characters.

I really enjoyed listening to this again

I read this years ago and have really enjoyed listening to it again I might get more Brontë books to explore all over again.

just dreadful

not a single likeable character. William himself is an absolute sleezebag; he made my skin crawl. I only kept going because I'm reading all the Bronte books, but this one will never be repeated. so glad it's over!

A long and winding road

The book is extremely well written but the main character is not one that I could relate with easily. The reader was exceptionally pleasant to listen to and that’s what kept me going on.