Villette

Set in the fictional town of Villette in France, it is the story of the young and intelligent Lucy Snowe, the narrator in the book. She is described by another character in the book as having no beauty...no attractive accomplishments... and strangely seems to lack a personal history or living relatives. Her godmother Mrs. Bretton looks after the orphaned Lucy, who suddenly leaves the house for a reason that is not made clear to readers. She finds employment as a companion to an elderly widow, Mrs. Marchmont. When her employer dies, Lucy is left without a job or prospects. Impulsively, she decides to travel to Europe and en route, meets the young and spoiled heiress, Ginevra Fanshaw, a student of a girls' school in Villette. Lucy then travels to Villette to work first as a nanny to the principal's children and later as a teacher. Here she encounters two men who will play a great role in her life. The young and handsome Dr. John Bretton, her godmother's grandson, and the arrogant, bad tempered Professor Paul Emmanuel, a fellow lodger at her boarding house who gradually begins to thaw towards Lucy. The rest of the story follows Lucy's life in Villette.