Agnes Grey (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

By Anne Brontë and Fred Schwarzbach

Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

• New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
• Comments by other famous authors
• Study questions to challenge the readers viewpoints and expectations
• Bibliographies for further reading
• Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each readers understanding of these enduring works.

Written when women—and workers generally—had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-nineteenth century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess. Pampered and protected at home, she is unprepared for the harsh reality of a governess’s life. At the Bloomfields and later the Murrays, she suffers under the snobbery and sadism of the selfish, self-indulgent upper-class adults and the shrieking insolence of their spoiled children. Worse, the unique social and economic position of a governess—“beneath” her employers but “above” their servants—condemns her to a life of loneliness.

Less celebrated than her older sisters Charlotte and Emily, Anne Bronte was also less interested in spinning wildly symbolic, romantic tales and more determined to draw realistic images of conditions in Victorian England that need changing. While Charlotte’s Jane Eyre features a governess who eventually and improbably marries her employer, Agnes Grey deals with the actual experiences of middle-class working women, experiences Anne had herself endured during her hateful tenure as a governess.

Fred Schwarzbach serves as Associate Dean and teaches in the General Studies Program of New York University. He is the author of Dickens and the City, the editor of Victorian Artists and the City and Dickens’s American Notes, a contributor to the Oxford Reader’s Companion to Dickens, and the author of scores of articles, essays, and reviews on Victorian life and letters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
• Release date: Jun 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781411431720

Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë was born in Yorkshire in 1820. She was the youngest of six children and the sister of fellow novelists Charlotte and Emily, the authors of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights respectively. Her mother died when she was a baby and she was raised by her aunt and her father, The Reverend Patrick Brontë. Anne worked as a governess before returning to Haworth where she and her sisters published poems under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. She published her first novel, Agnes Grey in 1847 and this was followed by The Tenant of Wildfell Hallin 1848. She died from tuberculosis in 1849

Book preview

Table of Contents

From the Pages of Agnes Grey

Title Page

Copyright Page

Anne Brontë

The World of Anne Brontë and Agnes Grey

Introduction

A Note on the Text

CHAPTER I - The Parsonage

CHAPTER II - First Lessons in the Art of Instruction

CHAPTER III - A Few More Lessons

CHAPTER IV - The Grandmamma

CHAPTER V - The Uncle

CHAPTER VI - The Parsonage Again

CHAPTER VII - Horton Lodge

CHAPTER VIII - The Coming Out

CHAPTER IX - The Ball

CHAPTER X - The Church

CHAPTER XI - The Cottagers

CHAPTER XII - The Shower

CHAPTER XIII - The Primroses

CHAPTER XIV - The Rector

CHAPTER XV - The Walk

CHAPTER XVI - The Substitution

CHAPTER XVII - Confessions

CHAPTER XVIII - Mirth and Mourning

CHAPTER XIX - The Letter

CHAPTER XX - The Farewell

CHAPTER XXI - The School

CHAPTER XXII - The Visit

CHAPTER XXIII - The Park

CHAPTER XXIV - The Sands

CHAPTER XXV - Conclusion

Appendix: Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell

Endnotes

Inspired by Agnes Grey

Comments & Questions

For Further Reading

From the Pages of Agnes Grey

001

All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut. (page 3)

"You a governess, Agnes! What can you be dreaming of?" (page 10)

How delightful it would be to be a governess! To go out into the world; to enter upon a new life; to act for myself; to exercise my unused faculties; to try my unknown powers; to earn my own maintenance, and something to comfort and help my father, mother, and sister, besides exonerating them from the provision of my food and clothing; to show papa what his little Agnes could do; to convince mamma and Mary that I was not quite the helpless, thoughtless being they supposed. (page 11)

As an animal, Matilda was all right, full of life, vigour, and activity; as an intelligent being, she was barbarously ignorant, indocile, careless, and irrational, and, consequently, very distressing to one who had the task of cultivating her understanding, reforming her manners, and aiding her to acquire those ornamental attainments which, unlike her sister, she despised as much as the rest. (page 64)

I really do detest them all; but Harry Meltham is the handsomest and most amusing, and Mr. Hatfield the cleverest, Sir Thomas the wickedest, and Mr. Green the most stupid. But the one I’m to have, I suppose, if I’m doomed to have any of them, is Sir Thomas Ashby. (page 77)

And I, as I could not make my young companions better, feared exceedingly that they would make me worse—would gradually bring my feelings, habits, capacities to the level of their own, without, however, imparting to me their light-heartedness, and cheerful vivacity. (page 97)

The human heart is like indian-rubber, a little swells it, but a great deal will not burst it. (page 106)

It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior. (page 134)

"Instead of repining, Miss Grey, be thankful for the privileges you enjoy. There’s many a poor clergyman whose family would be plunged into ruin by the event of his death; but you, you see, have influential friends ready to continue their patronage, and to show you every consideration." (page 153)

Oh, no matter! I never care about the footmen; they’re mere automatons—it’s nothing to them what their superiors say or do; they won’t dare to repeat it; and as to what they think—if they presume to think at all—of course, nobody cares for that. It would be a pretty thing indeed, if we were to be tongue-tied by our servants! (page 175)

I shall never forget that glorious Summer evening, and always remember with delight that steep hill, and the edge of the precipice where we stood together watching the splendid sunset mirrored in the restless world of waters at our feet—with hearts filled with gratitude to Heaven, and happiness, and love—almost too full for speech. (page 192)

002003

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Agnes Grey was originally published in 1847 under Brontë’s pseudonym Acton Bell.

Published in 2005 by Barnes & Noble Classics with new Introduction, Notes, Biography, Chronology, Inspired By, Comments & Questions, and For Further Reading.

Introduction, A Note on the Text, Notes, and For Further Reading

Copyright © by Fred Schwarzbach.

Note on Anne Brontë, The World of Anne Brontë and Agnes Grey, Inspired by Agnes Grey, and Comments & Questions Copyright © 2005 by Barnes & Noble, Inc.

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Agnes Grey

ISBN-13: 1-978-59308-323-6 ISBN-10: 1-59308-323-8

eISBN : 978-1-411-43172-0

LC Control Number 2005923977

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FIRST PRINTING

Anne Brontë

004

Anne Brontë was born on January 17, 1820, into one of English literature’s most remarkable families. The youngest of Patrick and Maria Branwell Brontë’s six children, Anne was only a year old when her mother became ill with cancer. Within months, Maria Branwell Brontë died, the first of many early deaths that would ultimately decimate the large family. Patrick Brontë, by then a curate at Haworth, turned to his wife’s sister, Elizabeth Branwell, for help in raising his children; Anne grew very close to her aunt. In 1825 the eldest Brontë children, Maria and Elizabeth, died within weeks of one another, leaving Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne.

The babies of the family, Emily and Anne created an imaginative kingdom called Gondal that they filled with fantastic characters and stories. Although she attended school at Roe Head for two years, Anne was primarily educated at home, where the children studied literature and poetry as well as the Bible. An illness at school prompted her return to Haworth in 1837 and provoked a religious crisis, raising doubts and concerns Anne would revisit later in life.

Seeking financial independence, Anne found work in 1839 as a governess at Blake Hall, near Mirfield, caring for the unruly children of Joshua Ingham. Within a year, she had left the Inghams and was employed as governess for the family of Reverend Edmund Robinson at Thorp Green, near York. She remained in their household for five years, each summer accompanying the family to the seaside resort of Scarborough. Away from her family, she often turned to poetry for solace, sometimes writing her own. In 1843 Anne secured a position with the Robinsons for her brother, Branwell. In June 1845 Anne resigned and returned to Haworth, followed shortly by Branwell, who, under the shadow of a scandal, was dismissed.

Back home, Anne’s literary career was initiated by Charlotte’s enthusiastic discovery of Emily’s Gondal poems. The sisters each agreed to contribute poems to a collection for publication. Under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, respectively), the Brontës published the collection in 1846 at their own expense, to positive criticism but dismal sales. Undaunted, the sisters turned their attentions to novel writing, each bringing a unique and highly inventive style to the effort. In 1847 Anne’s labors produced Agnes Grey, published jointly with Emily’s Wuthering Heights in December of that year by Thomas Cautley Newby. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre had been published two months earlier by a more prestigious house, Smith, Elder and Co., to great success, overshadowing her sisters’ novels and surpassing them in acclaim. Less sensational in its subject matter than either Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, Anne’s Agnes Grey received relatively little attention. Nonetheless, Anne began work immediately on her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (published by Newby in 1848), which was a commercial and critical success. The novel’s frank depictions of alcoholism and violence shocked readers but fueled its popularity. Wild speculation about its mysterious authorship prompted Charlotte and Anne to disclose to their publishers their true identities.

In September 1848, Branwell Brontë died, his body destroyed by illness and alcohol. In December, Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis, following a rapid decline. Anne herself became ill with influenza, then tuberculosis. Though weak and frail, she determined to travel once more to her beloved Scarborough, ostensibly for the curative powers of the sea air. The trip proved her last; Anne Brontë died on May 28, 1849, and was buried in Scarborough.

The World of Anne Brontë and Agnes Grey

005

Introduction

006

It is impossible for any of us to approach the Brontës without calling up the Brontë myth. We are all familiar with its outlines. The isolated family house on the edge of a bleak Yorkshire moor. The four young children, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne, their mother and elder sisters all dead, now in the care of a stern Calvinist aunt. The Reverend Patrick Brontë, a failed writer himself, reclusive, brooding, and subject to periods of dark rage. Then, through the agency of a present of toy soldiers, the children begin writing sagas in which the soldiers come to life. All four are gifted, though Branwell drinks himself to an early death, while the three young women precociously develop writing careers—Emily dying young of the family curse of tuberculosis, and Charlotte living longer, only to die shortly after her marriage. Anne, the youngest, is also the quietest and least talented; modest, religious, and industrious, she too dies of TB at an early age.

The narrative, like any myth, partakes of some truths but embodies a great deal of fantasy—and a great deal of that linked to the famous Wyler-Olivier-Oberon film of Wuthering Heights (1939). To begin: The parsonage was at the edge of a large, bustling mill town; the aunt appears to have been loving and kind and an evangelical Methodist, a far cry from Calvinism; Patrick Brontë was actively engaged in the affairs of the parish and the community, and clearly much concerned with the education and welfare of his children; and so on. But the myth is probably most unfair in its relegation of Anne Brontë to a bit player in the family drama—in fact, she was, though the youngest, probably the most precocious of them all as a writer, producing two novels and a substantial body of poems by the time she died at twenty-nine.

Anne’s relegation to a minor role within the family happened not long after her death. Her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall—the story of a wife who abandons her husband to live under an assumed name and who commits the even greater moral crime of falling in love with another man while her husband lives—was nothing short of scandalous in its subject matter. By contemporary standards, no young woman could write about immoral acts without either knowing of them firsthand or by being tainted by having imagined them—in either case, her reputation was tarnished beyond repair. After Anne died, Charlotte tried to defend her sister against charges of moral impropriety by controlling the public representation of Anne’s character (and, similarly, that of Emily, whose reputation suffered from her authorship of Wuthering Heights), and it was she who began constructing the image of a quiet, passive, deeply religious (and by implication not as talented) Anne. Deeply religious she was, but far from quiet and passive—and she was very talented.

A useful starting point will be the facts of her life, which shed some considerable light on her character and her interests. The circumstances of the family are somewhat exceptional: Anne’s father was very much a self-made man, even making of his humble Irish surname (Prunty or Brunty) the rather more impressive, aristocratic, and vaguely French-sounding Brontë. The son of a farmer, and at first a blacksmith’s assistant, he was by age seventeen a village schoolmaster, but in 1802 his prospects changed dramatically when he managed to secure a scholarship to St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he prepared for a clerical career. He rose through the ranks of the church, acquiring along the way, in 1812, a respectable and mature wife, Maria Branwell. By 1820 they were settled in Haworth, where Reverend Brontë was perpetual curate (that is, he held the office for life) of a large, populous parish. Anne, the sixth and last child, was born on January 17, 1820, three months before the move to Haworth.

Not long after, in 1821, Mrs. Brontë died. Her sister Elizabeth joined the family to superintend the children and the household. But further tragedy was in store, when the two eldest girls, Maria and Elizabeth, returned from school ill in 1825 and soon died. (Charlotte and Emily had followed their sisters to the same school but now were brought home.) This may have been due to the arrival of what would, sadly, be their only lasting legacy to the family—tuberculosis, which many years later would carry off Emily and Anne, and possibly Branwell, too. One effect of this was Patrick’s determination that he would educate the remaining children at home, at least for the major part of their schooling; another effect was that the remaining children became extremely close emotionally, tied to each other, to their aunt, to their father, and to Haworth itself.

Still, though none of us can choose our parents, it was a great stroke of luck for any girl at this time to be the daughter of a clergyman. Young women of the lower ranks of the professional and middle classes rarely were allowed any education beyond music, drawing, and the smattering of general knowledge deemed sufficient to entertain prospective husbands by the distaff side of the hearth. But a clergyman’s daughter had access to both a learned father and his library, and the Brontë girls were luckier still in that Patrick seemed ready to teach them fully much as he did Branwell. Certainly it was also fortuitous that Patrick was an author himself, a writer not only (necessarily) of weekly sermons, but a published poet and essayist of some genuine local repute. They read widely in the standard works of English literature; they subscribed to leading periodicals; and they had access to a lending library an easy walk away in the next town, Keighley. Anne could not have known this at first, but she was receiving excellent training to be a governess, learning music, drawing, and even Latin along with more general studies in literature, history, and geography.

Another key event in their lives was the seemingly inauspicious arrival of a set of toy soldiers purchased by Patrick in 1826. The eldest children, Charlotte and Branwell, apparently soon began transforming the figures into favorite semi-historical characters and inventing plays and tales involving them; the youngest, Emily and Anne, were brought in on the game as well. The writings developed over time into a remarkable series of extended prose manuscripts relating to a fictional kingdom called Glasstown, which the children located at the mouth of the Niger in Africa. Eventually, Emily and Anne split off to form a rival kingdom in the North Pacific known as Gondal. Here they imitated and wove together elements from all of their reading—newspapers and magazines, histories, poetry (including George Gordon, Lord Byron), and fiction (principally Sir Walter Scott)—in a series of interlinked narratives and poems.

Clearly, this was not an unhappy family, despite many adversities, yet there was one impediment to any prospect. Patrick Brontë was fortunate in his rise from humble circumstances to become a gentleman in England, yet he had few financial resources beyond his stipend as perpetual curate at Haworth. Moreover, his income must cease with his demise; and, with a family as large as his, he had no opportunity to save in order to provide a professional or university education for Branwell or dowries for the girls. No doubt from an early age all the children were aware of the fragility of their social and economic standing, and all were driven to a greater or lesser degree to establish some security against their father’s inevitable death. (It was sadly ironic that he was to outlive all of his children by many years.)

Anne’s character seems to have been distinct from a relatively early age. Anecdotes about her as a child show her as tenacious and determined—qualities that were tested later in her service as a governess. As adolescents and young adults, her sisters and brother—whatever the reasons—had difficulty settling upon any situation or project for very long. Branwell in particular drifted from career to career and position to position without success. Anne alone appears to have had the ability to adapt to her circumstances, beginning in 1835, when she was sent to replace Emily at Roe Head School, where Charlotte was serving as a teacher. She stayed until 1837, when illness (perhaps the first active episode of TB infection) forced her return to Haworth.

It was during this illness that she appears to have undergone a spiritual crisis over the nature of salvation. Anne’s religious devotion cannot be doubted—her faith informs almost all of her poetry, which is largely autobiographical, and much of her fiction as well. Anne took from her father (and probably from her Aunt Branwell’s Methodism) a firm evangelical cast of mind, that is, a belief in the immediacy of Christ’s message, a desire to transform one’s whole life into an act of worship, and a commitment to good works. In her illness, she was attended by the Reverend James La Trobe, a Moravian bishop, and probably at this time she adopted (or confirmed) her universalist convictions (shared by Charlotte). This was a belief of universal salvation—in other words, that every soul was potentially capable of good, and that God allowed even the most abject sinner multiple opportunities to repent, to accept Christ, and to be saved.

She was at the time of her leaving Roe Head just about to turn eighteen, but despite her place as the baby of the family, she evidently was quite determined to go off and earn her own keep. The family record was not encouraging: At this time, Emily had only recently returned from a short engagement as a governess; Charlotte had several times gone off to teach and come back as well. What was it, then, that drove Anne at this age to seek employment as a governess? Patrick now was sixty-two, quite an elderly man by the standards of the day, and with three daughters and a wayward son in his household, he must have worried ceaselessly about the future. Anne seems to have been gifted (or cursed) with a premature sense of responsibility to her family, no doubt reinforced by her evangelical inclination. Her decision expressed her determination to make her life meaningful in all ways; a life devoted to work not only removed her as a cause of worry to her family but allowed her to do the work of God in the world in her own right.

Her first family (found through a distant connection) were the Inghams of Blake Hall, Mirfield, supposedly the originals of the Bloomfields of Agnes Grey. The children, apparently, were both dull and undisciplined, and it would seem that Anne was never

Reviews for Agnes Grey (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A slow to boil and very engaging semi-autobiographical novel of working as a governess.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shy, retiring Agnes Grey is ill-suited to the role of governess, yet due to her family’s financial problems and the limited job prospects for genteel young women in Victorian England, she is forced to serve in this disagreeable position. The families she works for are caricatures of the haughty and dissolute rich. Agnes always manages to hide her true feelings and carry on. I enjoyed this brief novel even more than I thought I would. Recommended.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read for TBR takedown, 4/4/22. This is the debut novel of Anne Bronte writing under the name Acton Bell. The story is of the governess who is trying to help her family out by working. She engages with these two different jobs which involves spoiled children. The father is ill, the girls of the family do not have good prospects that they'll be able to find marriages because of their poverty. The governess meets various guys while working for the last family of young ladies who are working on marriages. The author worked as a governess and may be based on her own experiences. The book is a classic and will appeal to readers who enjoy reading classics. Agnes Grey is a strong woman and not a character that is "dependent" on males in anyway. Rating 3.5

[reallifereading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this simple and relatively short classic about a young woman who becomes a governess. It's based on Brontë's own experiences as a governess. Horrendous children abound and she is rather abused but she has to earn her keep. She does eventually find some happiness though and it's all quite lovely. My second book of 2018 #backtotheclassics

[tungsten_peerts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't do much with this. Flat characters, uninvolving plot (as far as I was able to make it, that is) ... and once animal cruelty set in with a vengeance I was out of there.

[stevelindahl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Agnes Grey has been on my “to read” list since I read and enjoyed D.M. Denton's novel Without the Veil Between, Anne Brontë: A Fine and Subtle Spirit. I am familiar with the most famous works of her sisters, Charlotte (Jane Eyre) and Emily (Wuthering Heights), so I was expecting a novel that had more excitement in its plot. Instead this is a character study of a strong willed woman living in an era where women have limited options.When Agnes' father loses most of the family savings through a failed investment, Agnes decides to become a governess to help with their financial problems. She has to deal with another problem of that era, class prejudice. The parents of the children she is charged with educating treat her with little respect. The children are even worse. She is supposed to be in charge, yet they run all over her and she receives no backing from the parents.I was somewhat disappointed that Agnes never took responsibility for any of the problems she encountered. Although she was placed in many no-win situations, she often came off sounding whiny and defensive. Later in the book Agnes moves on to a different family and encounters more problems tied to her role, including lies told about her.Agnes Grey presents an interesting picture of the problems working class women faced in nineteenth century England. I intend to read Anne Bronte's other novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which has a reputation as one of the first feminist novels.

[eglinton_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Always appealing but never gripping, Anne Brontë’s first novel recalls the well-loved, confiding voices and upright standards from, say, Jane Eyre, or the works of Jane Austen. The tone is all there, but the narrative drive is not. That Anne’s life was cut so tragically short (she wrote only one further novel, then died, still in her 20s) was a great loss too for the works she might have produced as she developed. This edition’s Introduction (by Angeline Goreau) ably makes the case that bossy elder sister Charlotte Brontë tended to minimise the worth of Anne (and Emily) in life, and has likewise led to her works being sidelined by posterity. This reader can affirm that Agnes Grey, at least, is informative, insightful, and a pleasure to read.

[alsocass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's by Bronte, so it must be good. The thing is that I have read this book at least three times, and I still cannot remember a thing about it.

[lethalmauve · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey is certainly subpar with the magnificent and pioneering work of feminism The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; more so compared to what’s considered to be the better known, better Brontë works Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. A partly autobiographical work, Agnes Grey takes us to its titular character’s challenges and an expectedly monotonous life as a governess. From one household to another, from a set of bratty kids to vain, spoiled female young adults, Agnes Grey mostly keeps to herself and rebel in the subtlest of ways. Perhaps this subtlety prevents the novel from imparting a lingering emotional punch hence it can be rather dull though thankfully a quick read. As its romance also almost follows this similar vein of subtlety, pack with a lot of religious sentiments, it’s not at all very exciting and intriguing. Rochester and Heathcliff read like the ultimate, problematic bad boys you can’t help but love against the boringly forgettable mr. nice guy Weston. There is also not much of a family drama present save for some expected death and of course, significantly, its inclusion of feministic views much ahead of its time with regards to profession and the “moral responsibility” one have to one’s own parents (which I think is somehow losing its traction in modern times for the better or for worse). Eventually this closes in predictable contentment. As Agnes Grey starts off with a lot of acceptable promises, it does end committing to these promises albeit only acceptably so.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another hit for Team Anne! I have no idea why I took so long to read this delightful little novel - the threat of animal abuse in the introduction, I think - but I'm glad I finally did. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a triumph of realism over romanticism, and Agnes Grey does the same for the governess tale (I'm not a fan of Jane Eyre!)Agnes Grey, unlike her fictional cousin Jane, volunteers to become a governess in order to support her family. The first family she works for, the Bloomfields, are living example of why some people shouldn't have children just because they can (and why taking charge of the monsters they produce is a thankless task). The three young children are spoiled rotten and Agnes, much like Anne herself, is soon let go because she can do nothing with them. Moving onto a new family, the Murrays, who are of a better class than the Bloomfields, Agnes is given the task of 'improving' the two young ladies, Rosalie and Matilda, while the sons are sent away to school. I actually loved the Murrays, particularly Rosalie, who knows she is a beauty and treats men like playthings! Like Austen's Emma, not a lot happens - Agnes stays with the Murrays and gets ignored and blamed on a regular basis, while finding herself drawn to the local curate - but the eponymous narrator is so delightfully blunt - in her thoughts, if not her speech - that I was instantly drawn into her small world. There is a boring chapter given over to the religious ramblings of a 'cottager' - not in that sense! - who requires Agnes to read the Bible to her and sings the praises of Weston the curate during her visits, and Agnes herself is ridiculously slow to pick up on a proposal towards the end of the book, but overall, I enjoyed Anne's first novel. She is honest about cruelty, ignorance and vanity without going overboard (*cough cough* Charlotte and Emily) and her heroine might be pious in person but she's wonderfully haughty in thought (walk in front of Agnes and ignore her? How very dare!)

[ludiegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Those Brontë sisters were a wonder. This isn't a masterpiece like Jane Eyre, and it's not epic like Wuthering Heights; at times, characters could have been rounded out more. But I still found it a beautifully written, very human story. More Austen-esque. I found it easy to love and identify with Agnes as she left home and grew up. It's hard not to be moved by her drudgery as a governess (to sociopathic children!), and there is some interesting commentary on class as well as, in Chapter XI, "The Cottagers," some fantastic allusions to tensions within mid-nineteenth-century, post-Oxford Movement CofE churchmanship; I ate that stuff up and wished for more. Oh, yes, and I LOVED the sweetness and restraint between Agnes and Weston near the end of the novel. I eat that stuff up, too.

[philsyphe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When some people talk about the Brontë sisters, they refer to Anne as “the other one”. I refer to Anne as “the best one”. Her writing style is notably different to her sisters Charlotte and Emily, who both write romantic fiction. Anne was a realist author, and a damn good one at that.When I first read “Agnes Grey” in 201o, I did so shortly after reading her classic novel “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”. As a result, I was a little disappointed. I expected a story similar to “TTOWH”, but “AG” is very different.Ten years later, to pay tribute to Anne on her 200th birthday, I gave both novels another read, this time starting with “AG”. Must say, I enjoyed infinitely more on the second time around. With no high expectations, I concentrated on the story for what it is, rather than wishing it was like Anne’s greatest work.Anne drew much from her own personal life for this novel, particularly the scenes where Agnes – as a governess – is dealing with children. And what horrid children they are! What’s worse, the parents are utterly useless – total snobs – who have no sympathy or empathy for what poor Agnes has to endure.These scenes featuring Agnes and the “demonic” children are among the highlights in terms of vivid writing and believability. You can picture the scenes clearly, which is owing to Anne’s superb writing skills. I'll go as far as saying the woman was a genius.As the story progresses, we get a mild love story between Agnes and Mr Weston. Again, Anne’s skills as a realist author comes to the fore here. We don’t get overblown drama with the male and female lead expressing their undying love for each other. Instead, we have shyness, uncertainty, lack of confidence, insecurity, and such like, which suits both characters. While neither Agnes nor Mr Weston are charismatic heroes, they are realistic reflections of people of their class in the 1800s, and perhaps any century. It’s a sweet relationship, rather than a sensational one.At times, the narrative becomes didactic, preaching what’s morally right, and so on, which is a reflection of the author’s personality. Some readers may not like this, but personally, this is all fine by me. It suits the characters whilst reflecting values of nineteenth-century England.So, while Anne is overshadowed by her sisters, and while “Agnes Grey” is overshadowed by “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”, this shouldn’t put anyone off from reading this novel. Approach it for what it is, and not for what it isn’t, and you should take a lot of pleasure out of it. I’ve read it twice, and I’ve every intention of reading it again.

[valerieandbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"All true histories contain instruction; though in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut." Agnes Grey, begins with this great opening line. From Agnes' difficulties of being a governess to horrid kids, to observing class differences, to discussing reading and books with the man she falls in love with — this was a very good although somewhat quiet-feeling novel. All covered in only about 200 pages, but still satisfying. Read for #1001Books, Agnes Grey was better than I expected (it had been TBR for far too long). It's unfortunate that Anne Bronte didn't live long enough to produce more works -- so much lost potential.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Even though not a whole lot happens, I quite enjoyed this short novel, as well as the background material included in the edition I read. This is the start of a bit of a Brontë binge, because, well, what better to do during this oddest of springs?

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young, middle-class woman in mid-1800s England gets a harsh awakening from her sheltered life when she seeks employment as a governess to two different upper-class families. Mistreated by both the snobby employers and her charges *and* the lower-class servants, she leads a snubbed and lonely life.Slow to start (I'm still not certain what the point of the first third of the novel was, really), but once it gets going, I enjoyed Miss Grey's story. I especially enjoyed the quiet simplicity of the love story bit. It was interesting, too, how Anne tells the story of the governess life in a much different, much more realistic and everyday style than her sister, Charlotte.

[chrisblocker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's not fair that I'm always grouping "The Brontë Sisters" and comparing their respective works with one another. I'm not the only one who does this, though.At this point, I've now read everything from Emily and Anne, and only Jane Eyre from Charlotte. Stylistically, they're similar, but each has their own distinctive flair. Though Anne is probably the least recognized of the three sisters, I'd put her right up there with Emily.I thought Agnes Grey started particularly strong. In fact, of the Brontë works I've read thus far, this one probably hooked me the fastest. The backstory regarding Agnes's family and the details of her first assignment as governess were very entertaining and evocative.Midway, my attention did wane. The subsequent assignment and all that came with it just didn't hold my attention the same. Despite a stellar start, Agnes Grey is probably the least overall memorable of the stories I've read.I regret that more of Anne's and Emily's work doesn't still exist.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anne is very under appreciated.I like her more realistic style.The book is told in the first person by Agnes. As a governess Agnes is given no real authority to punish her charges. So of course they feel free to disrespect her.

[antao-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-02-06)I read "Agnes Grey" after a visit to the Mosteiros dos Jerónimos, supposing I ought to try the lesser known sister after reading so much of Charlotte's work and of course “Wuthering Heights.” What a wonderful surprise. Anne had me at "...she would rather live in a cottage with Richard Grey than in a palace with any other man in the world." It's a beautiful novel and undeservedly overlooked. The tone is on the surface much less dark, but Anne pulls no punches about women's oppression and the appalling behaviour of the 'noble' families she had the misfortune to encounter in her time as a governess. The dialogue reminds me of Jane Austen in places, exchanges that are gently witty and scathing. Mr. Weston is something of an unassuming romantic interest, but coming to the novel as an adult I rather more appreciate Anne's quietly decent men than the Byronic sociopaths her sisters were obsessed with. For me the novel is more about women. Agnes' relationship with her mother is genuinely touching, imbued with Anne's longing for her own. The final meeting between Agnes and Rosalie juxtaposing their characters and fates, now firmly fixed, is haunting stuff. Anne's heroines are not defined by the men they love, but by their own convictions and resources - how refreshing even in 1981!

[over.the.edge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

# 13 of 100 Classics Challenge

Agnes Grey🍒🍒🍒🍒
By Anne Bronte
1847

Partially influenced by her personal experience as a governess, Anne Bronte takes us into her world of the humble, mistreated and overworked governesses, with horribly undisciplined mean children of the rich.She falls for an impossible man, but eventually finds true love. And happiness.A great classic. My first Anne Bronte and not my last.

[griffin22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I looked at several reviews of Agnes Grey before reading it, but they were so varied in opinion I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t find the heroine as insipid as many readers did; although she mostly failed to change the children in her charge she never failed to try to the best of her abilities, including physical means; and remaining polite and ‘in her place’ didn’t mean she lacked strong feelings.Where I felt the novel lacked power was in its romance. The only thing holding the two apart was their inability to meet often. There was nothing like Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth and Darcy having to accept their own faults and evolve into better people - Agnes and Mr Weston are both essentially perfect and only require a little leisure time to get to know each other so that doubts about each other’s feelings can be overcome.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anne Bronte delivers a finely detailed account of the depressing trials of a untrained and timid young governess and her ruthless charges.She unfortunately gains little in self confidence as she moves with her mother to teach in their own school at the seaside.Mr. Weston, her concealed love interest, acts in his own secretive manner, as artful as the manipulations Agnes Grey despises in Miss Matilda,yet Agnes does not fault him for his many months of needless silence.His sterling act in her direction is the purchase of the dog, Snap. There is no reason given why Agnes did not purchase and so save the dog from cruelty herself.

[infjsarah · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am glad I read this. It wasn't terrible but compared to "Tenant" I would never believe it was written by the same woman. It's just rather dull. Agnes is self-righteous and to our modern eyes rather a wimp. Yes her charges are horrible little monsters and a reader can't judge her by our modern standards but "Tenant" has issues which are no longer relevant in it and it's still a great book. So of some interest but flawed. The fact that it has never been filmed probably about sums it up.

[rmckeown_9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am resolved to work my way through all the novels by the Brontë sisters – Ann, Emily, and Charlotte. Agnes Grey is Anne’s first of her two novels. Anne was born January 17, 1820. She was a novelist and a poet. She spent most of her life with her family at the parish church of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. She was a governess from 1839 to 1845. Agnes Grey was published in 1847. Anne died May 28, 1849.She drew on her experiences at Haworth and as a governess in writing the novel. The first paragraph sets forth her ideas on writing a novel. She wrote, “All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut. Whether this be the case with my history or not, I am hardly competent to judge; I sometimes think it might prove useful to some, and entertaining to others, but the world my judge for itself: shielded by my own obscurity, and by the lapse of years, and a few fictitious names, I do not fear to venture, and will candidly lay before the public what I would not disclose to the most intimate friend” (1). Every time I delve into one of the Brontës, I can not help to hear their voices—soft, gentle, erudite—as I imagine them to be.As was frequently the case in those days, a writer was at the mercy of the typesetters. In a letter to her publisher, she wrote, “There are numerous literal errors, and the text of Agnes Grey is marred by various peculiarities of punctuation, especially in the use of commas (some of these, however, may be authorial)” (xi). She began revising the text, and a copy of the third volume has “some 121 revisions made in pencil in her hand, many of them involving quite significant substantive alterations” (xi). James Joyce faced the same problem with Ulysses with typesetters who could not read English. I corrected the text for many years—nearly up to his death.Anne’s novel is considered quite an achievement. As the novel proceeds, she becomes more confident. Here is a conversation between Anne and Rosalie: “‘If you mean Mr. Weston to be one of your victims,’ said I, with affected indifference, ‘you will have to make such overtures yourself, that you will find it difficult to draw back when he asks you to fulfil the expectations you have raised’ // [Anne’s reply] ‘I don’t suppose he will ask me to marry him—nor should I desire it … that would be rather too much presumption! But I intend him to feel my power—he has felt it already, indeed—but he shall acknowledge it too; and what visionary hopes he may have, he must keep to himself, and only amuse me with the result of them—for a time’” (xii).As the Introduction to my paperback copy points out, “Agnes Grey is undoubtedly in many ways a deeply personal novel’ (xii). “Charlotte Brontë described the work as ‘the mirror of the mind of the writer” (xii-xiii). One of the things that Anne emphasized in her novels, comes right out of her experiences as a governess. The treatment of these young women was nothing less than atrocious. Agnes Grey speaks with the authority of experience. In addition, her moral and religious sensibilities are evident throughout the novel.I hope this taste of a fantastically talented young writer will inspire you to snuggle up with Anne Brontë and delve into Agnes Grey. All you need is a cup of tea, some patience, and the reward is a thoroughly satisfying picture of young women in England of the 1840s. 5 stars!--Jim, 12/6/17

[setnahkt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slowly working my way through the Brontë novels. Anne was the youngest Brontë sister (there were five altogether; Maria and Elizabeth died young). After experimenting with juvenilia stories about the imaginary countries of Angria and Gondal, the sisters sent off full-fledged novels to various publishers (Agnes Grey from Anne, The Professor from Charlotte, and Wuthering Heights from Emily). All were rejected. Charlotte came back with a second novel, Jane Eyre, which was accepted and led to the publication of the other sister’s works (publishers originally believed that all were the works of the same author, and that author was male; the sister’s use of the male pseudonyms Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell contributed to the belief).
Literary critics consider Anne the most “controversial” of the sisters. Agnes Grey is an autobiographical account of Anne’s experience as a governess; her other novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was even more “scandalous”. The main controversy in highly autobiographical Agnes Grey is the revelation that English governesses were poorly treated by the families that hired them; this doesn’t seem particular surprising nowadays but it may have been shocking to contemporaries that somebody actually bothered to write it down. The most risqué comment in the whole book is an observation that the wealthy husband of one of the characters has “opera girls” in London.
The account of child-rearing makes an interesting contrast to today’s “helicopter parents”; the parents of Agnes’ charges don’t usually see them as often as once a day. The children of her first family are horribly misbehaved by modern (and probably contemporary) standards; the most shocking revelation to modern sensibilities would probably be the gentle Agnes suggesting that the children’s manners could be considerably improved with a “stout birch rod”. The second batch is more tractable but also turns out rather poorly; Agnes (who actually seems to be something of a wimp) can’t bring them into conformity with her standards of behavior.
A good chunk of the second half of the novel is a romance – or what passes for one in Victorian England. Agnes eventually hooks up (not in the modern sense) with a local clergyman and Lives Happily Ever After.
Not so the actual Brontës, alas. In confirmation of a recent book I read about the historical incidence of disease in England, Maria died at 11 from unknown causes, but probably tuberculosis; Elizabeth at 10 also from unknown causes (but again probably tuberculosis); Charlotte at 38 (probably from tuberculosis, but typhus and dehydration have also been suggested); Patrick at 31 from tuberculosis exacerbated by alcoholism and laudanum addiction; Emily at 30 from tuberculosis; Anne at 29 from tuberculosis. Living in Yorkshire was apparently hard on the lungs.
Worth reading for the historical value. The degree that religion figures in Anne’s narrative – a lot of the dialog takes place after church services, and Agnes is always conveniently running into her clergyman while delivering uplifting reading to the poor – should serve to disabuse 19th century romance novel fans of the notion that life was all balls and hunts.

[rainpebble_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte; (2 1/2*)A clergyman's family falls into difficult financial times and one of the daughters must go into service as a governess. How many times and how many ways have we read this one? To give Bronte her due, she was young at the time she wrote this and she did have some experience of that which she wrote. I have to admit part of the reason I read this is that I was quite curious as to how this sister held up against her sisters and the outcome was 'rather poorly'. But then who can stand up against Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights? I found Agnes Grey rather predictable and somewhat of a snooze. Anne Bronte does bring some nice bits of writing to the table throughout her novel but I doubt I would have completed the read had it not been that I was taking part in a tutored & group read. I did love the very last part of the novel so the author did score some marks.

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A largely biographical novel, telling the trials and tribulations of a daughter of a clergyman who resorts to being a governess in order to reduce her burden on the family finances. Unfortunately, Agnes is allowed too little authority over her spoilt charges and has too little experience, character and authority in herself to be able to exert what little authority she does have over the brats. And they are uniformly brats who are neglected and over indulged by their parents. It is also a cycle that is difficult to break, with Rosalie Murray looking set to treat her child in the same manner as she was, thus perpetuating the cycle of bad behaviour. Agnes herself is not someone I'd want to spend a great deal of time with. Too innocent to know much of the ways of the world, she is entirely out of her depth for most of the novel. She is also too insipid to do much about it. She always takes the back seat and does little to develop her own character. I accept she's in a difficult situation, the governess sitting uncomfortably between the servants and the family, being a part of neither circle. It leads to a isolating position, despite Agnes' claim (about which she then does nothing) that she is the equal of the ladies and their friends that she has been employed to educate. The other topic this book covers is courtship & marriage. There are two very different end results, and, one suspects, one is supposed to take the message that a good marriage is deserved by the more godly (preachy and pious) person. I, however, take from it that I'm amazed any marriage was ever good, in that they seem to be based on a mere handful of meetings and those barely seem to scratch the surface of the kind of exploratory conversations you'd have on a modern date. Rosalie discovers her husband is not at all what she imagined he would be, and has no skills to manage him. I occasionally complain my husband is not at all romantic, but I did know that before I married him. Not the longest book, and not a difficult read. But it has that 19th century preaching tone about it - you're supposed to take a lesson from it. And so it's unlikely to be one I'll come back to.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am a big fan of the Brontes. While Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights are deservedly all time classics, Anne's two novels are less well known and comparatively neglected; and Agnes Grey is probably less known than Anne's other novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Agnes Grey is comparatively short and is a semi-autobiographical novel where Anne recounts the eponymous young lady's experiences as a governess to the children of wealthy families. When her father's business ventures fall apart after the sinking of a ship of his merchant business partner, young Agnes goes to work as a governess to earn the family some money, despite discouragement from her family. Her experiences are actually quite hilarious, dealing with spoiled and delinquent children and their oblivious parents who refuse to see any wrong in their offspring, particularly in the case of the Bloomfields. Later she looks after the older daughters of the Murrays, who are also a trial, being self-centred and needy, but with whom she is able eventually to establish a modus vivendi. She also falls in love with a vicar in the Murrays' local village, Mr Weston. This is a lovely and very satisfying novel, in some ways ahead of its time in dealing with "feral" children, as is Wildfell Hall in dealing with domestic abuse. A great read.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte was originally published in 1847 and feels much like a biography, based as it is on the author’s experiences as a governess working among families of the English gentry. Becoming a governess was at that time pretty much the only way a woman could earn a respectable living. The author does capture the awkwardness of being caught between the classes, she is above the servants, but not on the same level as those she works for. Even bearing in mind her upbringing and the time, I didn’t really like Agnes Grey, finding her rather judgmental and stiff although she did mellow quite a bit by the end of the book.The story tells of the two positions that Miss Grey was in, first with the Bloomfield family and then with the Murray family. The Bloomfield children were absolute horrors and she had no back up from the parents whatsoever. The Murray children were somewhat older and presented Miss Grey with a whole new set of behavioral problems. The eldest daughter was vain and self-centered and the other daughter was given to rough behavior and cursing like a stable boy. Being a governess was a very difficult job as on the one hand you are held responsible for the behavior of your charges but on the other you are meant to be invisible, there, but in the background.Being the daughter of a minister, herself, it came as no surprise that it is the local curate that sees beyond the governess to the woman that she is. Agnes returns his regard, but at the same time her elder charge was using all the men in the neighborhood to practice her wiles one, including the curate, Mr. Weston. Then Agnes gives up her position and returns home when her father dies. She and her mother open a small school but one day, while on a walk she again meets Mr. Weston who now lives in a nearby parsonage. The character of Agnes Grey was that of a very moral and religious young woman and it was very easy to see the parallels between this fictional character and the author herself. And although the book seemed to have an abrupt ending, I thought it was nice that the author wanted her governess to have that happy ending that she herself did not.

[snash_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book reads much like her sister's books although the subject manner may be less universal. It deals with the British class system and how it leaves many, particularly governesses in an isolated condition.

[booklove2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had to read an ANNE Bronte book after the movie 'Devotion' only describes Charlotte and Emily as geniuses. Why not Anne, too? This could not stand! I had been meaning to read this one for a while anyway. If I were deprived of Charlotte's and Emily's writing, Anne's writing would be all the more appreciated. The story or writing here might not be on the level of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, but I will take what I can get of the Brontes! I know I couldn't write like Anne anyway! Anne seems to overuse the comma here, which is the most irritating this book could be for me. I love the story of Agnes Grey and her perseverance with her job as governess to various children and teens and her perseverance with the disappointments of life overall. The Brontes sure had a handle on the story of the governess. I especially love the appreciation Agnes has for the ocean and her walks (my favorite part!), as I know Anne herself died at the ocean. Now I know how much Anne herself appreciated the ocean and that gives me comfort and reason enough to read the book alone.