This one was a pleasurable read for which I took my time, sometimes I think Victorian Literature should be read that way. Do you?

“No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What does such advice mean?”

In this novel our Lucy Snowe is an introvert who holds little hope for herself and her future. She dares not hope and dream and is content to stay in the background. Yet there is passion in her character underneath the surface which she must quell in order to maintain her quiet life. You get the sense that she has been badly disappointed In the past and this is her survival mechanism.

“Do not let me think of them too often, too much, too fondly,' I implored: 'let me be content with a temperate draught of this living stream: let me not run athirst, and apply passionately to its welcome waters: let me not imagine in them a sweeter taste than earth's fountains know.”

And yet our quite dispassionate Lucy Snows goes on quite and adventure in the first half of the novel. Due to traumatic events in her past, alluded to but not revealed, Lucy Snowe leaves England and arrives at "Villette" (presumably and imaginary Brussels). She does not know the language and must learn it quickly and find herself a place in society and a job. She eventually becomes an English teacher at Madame Beck's school. From here we have a story about unrequited loves, ghosts of Nuns and okay some of the characters do actually manage to pair up in romantic matches before the end.

I have to say that like Lucy Snowe. I know a lot of readers don’t agree with me but I have a fondness for introverts who are their own worst enemy and have known and called a few of them friend in my own life. Yet despite her self-acclaimed humbleness there is also a sense of superiority in Lucy Snow that I rather dislike. She, like many English Victorian heroines, believe in the superiority of the breed of English Ladies over foreign ladies. She also preaches the virtues of Protestant Christianity over Roman Catholic Papist heresies (though in fairness the Catholics also try and convert her too their way of thinking). Still I feel for Lucy. There is a summer when she has an emotional breakdown brought on by her isolation. This is described so well I wonder did a similar event inflict itself on the life of her writer Charlotte Bronte?

What could be considered as annoying in this novel is the large amount of dialogue in French. In However that is not so dissimilar to Lucy Snows experiences in a foreign land so it is not totally without merit as a technique.
The fault I do find with this novel is that the plot and pacing are patchy at times. Somehow this story feels like a badly made patchwork quilt but with some beautifully exquisite patches. Perhaps I have not read enough Victorian literature and this is what writing was like before editors?

Overall I recommend this lovers of Victorian Literature and anyone who has read a liked Jane Eyre and would like to try a more sedate novel by the same author.

P.S. A note on my reading experience.
My edition of this book was printed a folio society copy printed in 1967. It is lovely and illustrated as in the picture. As this copy is so precious to me I only read it from home and in circumstances where I will not damage the book (no baths or eating at the same time). I also listened to it on audio - narrated by Davina Porter - who did such an excellent job of reading the audio version of the Outlander series and did a smashing job of this one too. So, my reading pleasure was increased by the medium from which I read.