The Professor

The Professor was based on Bronte's experiences in Brussels as a pupil and teacher at Constantin Héger's school for girls. In the novel William Crimsworth, an Englishman, becomes a teacher in Brussels and falls in love with a fellow teacher. Crimsworth is based on Héger, to whom Brontë was devoted. In her novel Villette (1853), she used plot material from The Professor and expanded the character of Crimsworth into that of Paul Emanuel.