Charlotte Brontë’s second published novel was Shirley.
Published in 1849, Shirley followed Jane Eyre, which had appeared in 1847 under Charlotte’s pseudonym, Currer Bell. Charlotte had written The Professor before Jane Eyre, but it was not published during her lifetime; it appeared posthumously in 1857. That distinction makes Shirley the correct answer when the question asks for her second published novel.
Set in Yorkshire during the industrial unrest of 1811–12, Shirley explores the effects of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 on the textile industry, including the Luddite uprisings. Its two central women, Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone, give the novel a strong focus on friendship, gender expectations, class, and women’s independence.
A common mix-up is to identify Villette as Charlotte’s second novel. Villette was her third published novel, appearing in 1853. Shirley also helped popularise Shirley as a feminine given name, although the novel presents it as a traditionally masculine family name.