Miss Miles: Or, a Tale of Yorkshire Life 60 Years Ago

by Mary Taylor and Mary Taylor

Book Overview

The close friendship between Charlotte Bront and Mary Taylor began in boarding school and lasted for the rest of their lives. It was Mary Taylor, in fact, who inspired Bront to leave her oppressive parsonage home and go to Brussels, the eventual setting for her novel, Villette. Mary herself led a much less restricted life, especially in her later years as a feminist essayist who strongly urged women to consider their "first duty" to be working to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195064925
• ISBN13: 9780195064926
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

a feminist novel by Charlotte Bronte's closest friend

Apparently there's some controversy over whether Taylor wrote the book or whether Bronte did. I'm no Bronte scholar, but the style didn't particularly remind me of Bronte (and I've read all of her novels, some multiple times), and the subject matter was far more overtly feminist than Bronte ever allowed herself to be. The novel traces the lives of four women - Sarah (the "Miss Miles" of the title), Maria, Dora, and Amelia - focusing particularly on their efforts to gain economic independence and thus on women's role in society. Perhaps fewer heroines would have improved the plot, as it was a little confusing to be constantly switching viewpoints and plot threads. However, it was extremely refreshing to read a Victorian novel that actually showed women out earning a living for themselves (or trying - one of them fails and pays the price).