Harper Collins is proud to present its range of best-loved essential classics. ' Cheerfulness it would appear is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within as on the state of things without & around us.' Considered one of her less well-known novels Shirley is Charlotte Bronte's only historical work set during the Napoleonic Wars. Wealthy & independent Shirley is very different from her friend Caroline who has few prospects & is dependent on her uncle. Struggling mill owner Robert Moore considers marriage to the monied Shirley in order to secure his financial future; however it is Caroline who he loves while Shirley has fallen for Robert's brother an impoverished tutor who is deemed an unsuitable match for her. Unsentimental yet unflinching in her honest portrayal of love class conflict & identity Bronte uses the backdrop of her beloved Yorkshire to play out the tensions & dramas of a society facing social & industrial upheaval.