The Teacher

Charlotte Brontë's first novel, a trial run for her future masterpieces: you can already see the recognizable power of psychological portraiture, a rebellion against conventions, and a struggle for the right to be oneself.

After graduating from Eton, William Crimsworth is left with no money and relies on the help of his relatives, but finds only coldness and disdain.

He escapes to Belgium, becomes an English teacher at a girls' boarding school – and gets caught up in a whirlwind of intrigues and his own feelings.