Shirley
Set amid the labor unrest and economic hardship of Yorkshire during the Napoleonic Wars, Charlotte Brontë’s ambitious social novel follows two contrasting heroines—the spirited, independent heiress Shirley Keeldar and the gentle Caroline Helstone—as love, industry, and class collide. Broader in scope than Jane Eyre, it blends romance with a serious portrait of a community strained by change and the constricted lives of women. Rich in character and social observation, Shirley reveals Brontë’s engagement with the great questions of her age. Passionate and thoughtful, it is a compelling Victorian novel of love, work, and the yearning of women for wider, freer lives.
About the Author
Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) was an English novelist and the eldest of the three writing Brontë sisters of Yorkshire. Writing first under the male pen name Currer Bell, she drew on her own hard years as a governess and teacher to create heroines of unusual inner…
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Listen to Shirley Audiobook Free
Listen to Shirley by Charlotte Brontë free online. The full audiobook (23 hr 21 min, 58 chapters, read by volunteer narrators) streams free on this page.
Shirley (1849) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levitical | 30:40 | |
| 2 | The Wagons Part 1 | 16:22 | |
| 3 | The Wagons Part 2 | 17:24 | |
| 4 | Mr. Yorke | 20:05 | |
| 5 | Mr. Yorke (Continued) | 25:50 | |
| 6 | Hollow's Cottage Part 1 | 13:20 | |
| 7 | Hollow's Cottage Part 2 | 17:25 | |
| 8 | Coriolanus Part 1 | 18:17 | |
| 9 | Coriolanus Part 2 | 25:02 | |
| 10 | The Curates at Tea Part 1 | 17:08 | |
| 11 | The Curates at Tea Part 2 | 21:51 | |
| 12 | The Curates at Tea Part 3 | 19:40 | |
| 13 | Noah and Moses Part 1 | 17:12 | |
| 14 | Noah and Moses Part 2 | 18:24 | |
| 15 | Briarmains Part 1 | 28:34 | |
| 16 | Briarmains Part 2 | 20:55 | |
| 17 | Old Maids Part 1 | 22:08 | |
| 18 | Old Maids Part 2 | 21:50 | |
| 19 | Fieldhead Part 1 | 22:53 | |
| 20 | Fieldhead Part 2 | 21:57 | |
| 21 | Shirley and Caroline Part 1 | 25:08 | |
| 22 | Shirley and Caroline Part 2 | 28:51 | |
| 23 | Further Communications on Business Part 1 | 25:23 | |
| 24 | Further Communications on Business Part 2 | 21:05 | |
| 25 | Further Communications on Business Part 3 | 20:10 | |
| 26 | Shirley Seeks to Be Saved by Works | 36:57 | |
| 27 | Mr. Donne's Exodus | 37:02 | |
| 28 | Whitsuntide | 30:13 | |
| 29 | The School-Feast Part 1 | 18:18 | |
| 30 | The School-Feast Part 2 | 19:38 | |
| 31 | Which the Genteel Reader is Recommended to Skip, Low Persons Being Here Introduced | 24:40 | |
| 32 | A Summer Night Part 1 | 17:50 | |
| 33 | A Summer Night Part 2 | 16:20 | |
| 34 | To-Morrow | 26:42 | |
| 35 | Mrs. Pryor Part 1 | 23:26 | |
| 36 | Mrs. Pryor Part 2 | 24:20 | |
| 37 | Two Lives | 24:40 | |
| 38 | An Evening Out Part 1 | 31:55 | |
| 39 | An Evening Out Part 2 | 26:32 | |
| 40 | The Valley of the Shadow of Death Part 1 | 22:26 | |
| 41 | The Valley of the Shadow of Death Part 2 | 23:48 | |
| 42 | The West Wind Blows | 15:43 | |
| 43 | Old Copy-Books Part 1 | 20:07 | |
| 44 | Old Copy-Books Part 2 | 18:10 | |
| 45 | The First Blue-Stocking Part 1 | 27:52 | |
| 46 | The First Blue-Stocking Part 2 | 27:42 | |
| 47 | Phoebe Part 1 | 23:34 | |
| 48 | Phoebe Part 2 | 28:59 | |
| 49 | Louis Moore | 23:33 | |
| 50 | Rushedge, a Confessional | 38:50 | |
| 51 | Uncle and Niece | 39:44 | |
| 52 | The Schoolboy and the Wood-Nymph | 28:00 | |
| 53 | Martin's Tactics | 25:14 | |
| 54 | Case of Domestic Persecution - Remarkable Instance of Pious Perseverance in the Discharge of Religious Duties | 20:55 | |
| 55 | Wherein Matters Make Some Progress, But Not Much | 33:53 | |
| 56 | Written in the Schoolroom Part 1 | 23:25 | |
| 57 | Written in the Schoolroom Part 2 | 24:11 | |
| 58 | The Winding-Up | 38:55 |
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