Brontë Novels Ranked: Villette #1, The Professor #7
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- The Professor – Charlotte Brontë’s first completed novel, written 1846, published 1857 after nine rejections; narrated by male voice William Crimsworth, offers a downbeat middle‑class story, and was considered promising despite being too short.
- Agnes Grey – Anne Brontë’s 1847 novel, based on her own governess experience, portrays an underpaid governess and a cruel child, and was overshadowed by Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights at publication.
- Shirley – Charlotte Brontë’s 1849 novel, written after family deaths, set during the 1811‑12 Luddite riots, explores social unrest, capitalism, and the “woman question,” but its diffuse third‑person narrative limited its appeal compared to Jane Eyre.
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë’s 1848 novel, considered the most radical among the sisters, depicts Helen Huntingdon fleeing an abusive husband, exposing Victorian marriage law constraints and toxic masculinity, shocking readers with its frank depiction of addiction and adultery.
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 breakthrough novel, first published with a female first‑person narrator, praised for its “strange power of subjective representation,” but faced sexist criticism for its assertive heroine.
- Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, written alongside her sisters’ works, described as a “strange book baffling all regular criticism,” noted for its minimal adjectives, Greek‑tragedy style, and enduring status as a canonical masterpiece.
- Villette – Charlotte Brontë’s 1853 novel, considered her masterpiece, revisits Brussels setting, features an unreliable narrator Lucy Snowe, explores repression and the unconscious, and blends naturalism, gothic, and autofiction.
Why it matters: The ranking reshapes readers’ and scholars’ perception of the Brontë oeuvre by elevating under‑appreciated works like Villette and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, while acknowledging the historical neglect of early novels such as The Professor, thereby prompting renewed academic and popular interest in the sisters’ full literary output.
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