Book Boyfriend #???: William Crimsworth


My second Charlotte Brontë book. I was pretty apprehensive to read it as the rating on Goodreads is below four stars. But I gave it a go anyways! It was a good read, but not a great un', if you know what I mean. The Professor is a very different read from Jane Eyre (read my review here). First, I'll point out that the book is told from a male's POV (aka William Crimsworth) and it is the only book of Charlotte that was written from a man's perspective. Also, the romance here isn't as lit up as Jane's story. Alas, it was still an enjoyable read as the story revolves around a forbidden romance (sort of).

The book starts off with William writing a letter to his friend Charles about his refusal to be a clergyman. He then aspired to be a tradesman which led his older and richer brother, Edward to give him a position as a clerk in his workplace. Long story short, Edward was a big ol' douche that was jealous of William's intelligence and education (he went to Eton college). William then met a gentleman called Mr. Hunsden (a big fan of him btw!), he was a very odd and sarcastic man that sympathized William's work situation with his brother and gave an William an opportunity to work in Belgium.

Without giving any spoilers away, the story took off when he arrived in Belgium. William worked as a teacher/professor in an all boys school. He aced his job as a teacher in the school and well, the all girls school next door hired him to be a teacher as well. William slowly fell in love with the headmaster of the girls school who's name is Mme Reuter. Just as he was about to profess his love to her the next day, he sadly found out that Mme Reuter was engaged to the headmaster of the boys school (aka his boss), Monsieur Pelet. He then began go act indifferent around her, and to be honest I was fine with that! Not much of a big fan of Mme Reuter in the first place.

That's when the real story kicks in. Mme Henri is one of his pupils in the all girls school and well, I guess it was love at first sight. Sorta. They were both described as "unhandsome" and I guess it all worked out in the end. Because hey, looks don't matter! What matters is the inside. Always. As I said before, the romance here isn't as prominent than the one in Jane Eyre, I would describe their love for each other as a slow paced one. But seriously though, I don't understand how people in the past find the people they're meant to marry in such a short period of time! If that still applied to our generation, the world would be much more chaotic than it already is. (Ha!).

Just like always, here are my favorite quotes from the book:

  • "In sunshine, in prosperity, the flowers are very well; but how many wet days are there in life - November seasons of disaster, when a man's hearth and home would be cold indeed, without the clear, cheering gleam of intellect."
  • "That to begin with; let respect be the foundation, affection the first floor, love the superstructure."
  • "Tact, if it be genuine, never sleeps."
  • "When are we quite happy? Was I so then? No; an urgent and growing dread worried my nerves, and had worried them since the first moment good tidings had reached me."
This is a book that I would read just this one time. Very different from Jane Eyre as I can read that a million times and not get bored. Bare in mind that this does have a happy ending, but it didn't fill me up as Jane Eyre did. But the cool thing is, this was Brontë first book. It was written way before Jane Eyre was written, but sadly it was rejected by publisher's and it was then released to the public just after her death. 

OVERALL RATING: ✩ ✩ ✩.5 / 5

Do tell me if you like my book reviews or if I should just stop!

Much love, Ashley xx

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Comments

  1. Lovely book.
    Good vibes, FOX
    check out my blog www.rochellefox.com.au and my latest VLOG

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  2. This is great!
    Good vibes, FOX
    check out my blog www.rochellefox.com.au and my latest VLOG

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  3. I like reading book reviews, at least I know what's out there so you should carry on doing that! There are some books I can read over and over again without getting bored and there are some that takes me months to finish, I guess it is all about how writer attaches you to the book. I haven't read this one, it sounds good tho, good review! x

    Ela BellaWorld

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    1. Thank you so much for your feedback, Ela! Much appreciated. Ahhh, yes I always read a review on a book before reading it. Hahaha, yeah totally! I finished this in six days, but for me it was just too slow if you know what I mean. Thank you once again, Ela! :) xx

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  4. I read it when I was in high school and I still have nice memory about that book!
    www.bonjourchiara.com

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    1. That's so cool! I didn't get to read British literature whilst I was in school, such a bummer.

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  5. Great in depth review. Never enough books. Will look into this one.

    TFM BLOG

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  6. I've never heard of this book before, but good review! I've actually not heard of the author either!
    Aleeha xXx
    http://www.halesaaw.com/

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    1. You should give it a go then! I say if you do wanna read it, give Jane Eyre a go before this one. xx

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  7. Definitely need to add this to my book list. Thanks for sharing!
    xo,
    Eda

    http://luxeandlinen.com

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  8. I've never read this one, but I've read Jane Eyre and liked it a lot. You should consider reading North And South by Elizabeth Gaskell, if you haven't already. It's a bit like Pride and Prejudice, but set later during the industrial age. The main male lead is basically perfect. There was a BBC mini series they made from it that's pretty great.

    http://thetatteredpassport.wordpress.com

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    1. Jane Eyre was so much better! Ohh I've heard of North & South before, even tried out watching the series once! Thanks for the suggestion, Karlie. :) x

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