Shirley

Shirley is a novel set in Yorkshire during the Napoleonic Wars, when new machinery in the wool mills has caused hardship and unrest among workers. It centres on two contrasting young women: the shy, thoughtful Caroline Helstone and the spirited, wealthy heiress Shirley Keeldar. Their friendship and their hopes in love run alongside a mill owner's struggle with angry weavers. The book combines social history with questions about women's limited choices and place in society. It is often seen as the least known of the author's completed novels, but it offers a broad portrait of a real region and time.