The Professor

Set in Brussels, the story follows William Crimsworth, a young man navigating his career as a teacher and his personal relationships. Presented as a first-person narrative, it captures his maturation and experiences, reflecting Charlotte Brontë's own time in the city as a language student and teacher. Written before Jane Eyre but published posthumously in 1857, the novel showcases themes of ambition and identity, with elements later reimagined in Brontë's work, Villette.