‎'‎I am only just returned to a sense of the real world about me‎,‎ for I have been reading Villette‎,‎ a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre‎.‎‎'‎ George Eliot Lucy Snowe‎,‎ in flight from an unhappy past‎,‎ leaves England and finds work as a teacher in Madame Beck‎'‎s school in ‎'‎Villette‎'‎‎.‎ Strongly drawn to the fiery autocratic schoolmaster Monsieur Paul Emanuel‎,‎ Lucy is compelled by Madame Beck‎'‎s jealous interference to assert her right to love and be loved‎.‎ Based in part on Charlotte Bronte‎'‎s experience in Brussels ten years earlier‎,‎ Villette ‎(‎1853‎)‎ is a cogent and dramatic exploration of a woman‎'‎s response to the challenge of a constricting social environment‎.‎ Its deployment of imagery comparable in power to that of Emily Bronte‎'‎s Wuthering Heights‎,‎ and its use of comedy‎-ironic or exuberant‎-in the service of an ultimately sombre vision‎,‎ make Villette especially appealing to the modern reader‎.‎ ABOUT THE SERIES‎:‎ For over 100 years Oxford World‎'‎s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe‎.‎ Each affordable volume reflects Oxford‎'‎s commitment to scholarship‎,‎ providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features‎,‎ including expert introductions by leading authorities‎,‎ helpful notes to clarify the text‎,‎ up‎-to‎-date bibliographies for further study‎,‎ and much more‎.‎