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Primary sourceBookwritten 1846, published 1857

The Professor

Charlotte Brontë · written 1846, published 1857

Charlotte Brontë's first novel, written before Jane Eyre but rejected repeatedly and published only after her death.

Her first novel, rejected throughout her lifetime, was published posthumously under the care of her husband.

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Title page of the 1857 first edition of The Professor, a Tale, by Currer Bell, author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette, in two volumes, Vol. I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 65 Cornhill.
Charlotte Brontë, The Professor, first edition, 1857. Smith, Elder & Co., London.

About this source

What it is

The Professor is Charlotte Brontë's first novel, written in 1846 but rejected by many publishers during her lifetime. It was finally published in 1857, after her death, with her widower Arthur Bell Nicholls overseeing the editing. The story, told by the narrator William Crimsworth, follows his career as a teacher in Brussels and his personal relationships.

Why it matters

The novel shows how Brontë drew on her own experience as a teacher in Brussels before she achieved success with Jane Eyre. Its repeated rejection reveals how difficult it was even for a soon-to-be-famous author to get early work published, and its posthumous printing shows how her husband helped shape her literary legacy after her death.

Look closer

  • Why might publishers have rejected this novel before Jane Eyre succeeded?
  • What does it mean that the book was only published after Brontë's death?
  • How might Brontë's own experiences in Brussels have shaped this story?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charlotte Brontë on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the first edition of Jane Eyre, an Autobiography, edited by Currer Bell, in three volumes, Vol. I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill, 1847. Cream-colored paper with black printed text.Book

Primary source

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë · 1847

Pencil and chalk portrait on a pale tan paper of a woman with her hair pulled back in smooth bands, wearing a high-collared dress with a frilled lace collar and a tied bow at the neck. She gazes to one side with a slight smile. Handwritten inscription in the lower left corner.Painting

Primary source

Charlotte Brontë (chalk portrait by George Richmond)

George Richmond · 1850

Painted group portrait of three young women against a dark background with a pale green-yellow vertical light band. The woman on the left wears a grey collar and dark dress, the one in the centre wears a green dress and has curly hair, and the one on the right wears a dark brown dress with a grey collar. A wooden table edge is in the foreground.Painting

Primary source

The Brontë Sisters

Branwell Brontë · c. 1834

Title page of the 1857 London first edition of The Life of Charlotte Brontë by E. C. Gaskell, in two volumes, Vol. I, published by Smith, Elder & Co., Cornhill. Includes an Aurora Leigh quotation.Book

Secondary source

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell · 1857

Title page of the 1853 first edition of Villette, reading 'VILLETTE.' followed by 'By Currer Bell, author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, etc.', 'In Three Volumes, Vol. I', and publisher lines for Smith, Elder & Co., London, and Smith, Taylor & Co., Bombay, dated 1853.Book

Primary source

Villette

Charlotte Brontë · 1853

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