This work, Charlotte Bronte's second, is set in the England of the early 1800's, which was beset with political and social changes, represented by the Industrial Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. And there is much to do with those changes in values from those of the past. But at its core, this novel is about romance. And the plot primarily follows the struggles and triumphs of two couples, the two brothers Moore, Louis and Robert, and Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar. The final scenes capture the essence of the change in this world, and one hopes for the more philanthropic and egalitarian world pictured there, but at the same time one laments the loss of a world of magic and of a respect for natural beauty.