The Professor – Charlotte Brontë

"I am no Oriental; white necks, carmine lips and cheeks, clusters of bright curls, do not suffice for me."

William Crimsworth, an orphaned young man, rejects a humiliating job with his wealthy brother to seek his fortune in Brussels. He becomes a teacher at a girls' school, where he resists the manipulations of the directress, Mlle Reuter, and finds love with a shy but intelligent student, Frances Henri. Together, they work to establish their own school.

Brontë's first written novel (published posthumously) is a realistic study of a man's struggle for professional and personal fulfillment. It contains the seeds of 'Villette' but offers a more sober, masculine perspective on the teacher's life.