First published in 1853, Villette draws from Charlotte Brontë's experiences in Brussels in the 1840's. In this emotionally charged tale, we see Lucy Snowe's response to the challenges of her restrictive social environment as she flees from her unhappy past in England to a new life as a teacher at Madame Beck's school in Villette. This new edition features the definitive Clarendon edition of Villette which is derived from the earliest printings of Brontë's great work. The text is supplemented with a newly commissioned introduction, which gives a thorough and in depth analysis of the context of this fine example of the nineteenth century novel.