‘I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep.’

First published in 1853, Villette is a stunningly dark and introspective coming-of-age tale that continues to captivate readers to this day.

Set in the gothic rural town of Villette, closely modelled on the city of Brussels where Brontë herself earned her keep as a teacher, this seminal classic begins with the quietly intelligent Lucy Snowe. Devoid of a home after a terrible family tragedy, our young heroine is forced to forge her own path, travelling to France in search of employment. After being hired as an English teacher in a local girls’ boarding school, Lucy is pulled into a world of untrusting headmistresses, unexpected old acquaintances, bitter periods of isolation and illness, life-affirming romance and so much more. Described by George Eliot as ‘almost preternatural in its power’, Villette is often considered Brontë’s most accomplished piece of writing.

Charlotte Brontë (1816 – 1855) was an English author. Passionate about education, Charlotte left school at sixteen to teach her younger sisters, Emily and Anne. She wrote from a young age, going on to publish the seminal classic Jane Eyre (1847) under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Brontë’s writing is still widely read and studied to this day.