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Agnes Grey & Poems
Agnes Grey is a governess, her charge the wealthy and beautiful Matilda. Possessed of an unshakeable sense of entitlement and a boundless sense of self-worth, assured of the adoration of all, Matilda can break men's hearts for fun. Agnes-diffident, careworn and poor-can only gape in astonishment at the figure her pupil cuts in the world. Employed to lead and form her, she is instead buffeted about in Matilda's tumultuous wake. She loves her young student-it is impossible not to. But it is hard not to wonder if Matilda's good fortunes will ever end.
185 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Anne Brontë
660 books3,937 followersAnne Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne's two novels, written in a sharp and ironic style, are completely different from the romanticism followed by her sisters, Emily Brontë and Charlotte Brontë. She wrote in a realistic, rather than a romantic style. Mainly because the re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was prevented by Charlotte Brontë after Anne's death, she is less known than her sisters. However, her novels, like those of her sisters, have become classics of English literature.
The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. In Elizabeth Gaskell's biography, Anne's father remembered her as precocious, reporting that once, when she was four years old, in reply to his question about what a child most wanted, she answered: "age and experience".
During her life Anne was particularly close to Emily. When Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey visited Haworth in 1833, she reported that Emily and Anne were "like twins", "inseparable companions". Together they created imaginary world Gondal after they broke up from Charlotte and Branwell who created another imaginary world – Angria.
For a couple of years she went to a boarding school. At the age of 19 she left Haworth and worked as a governess between 1839 and 1845.
After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, appeared in 1848 and was an instant, phenomenal success; within six weeks it was sold out.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is perhaps the most shocking of the Brontës' novels. In seeking to present the truth in literature, Anne's depiction of alcoholism and debauchery was profoundly disturbing to 19th-century sensibilities. Helen Graham, the tenant of the title, intrigues Gilbert Markham and gradually she reveals her past as an artist and wife of the dissipated Arthur Huntingdon. The book's brilliance lies in its revelation of the position of women at the time, and its multi-layered plot.
Her sister Emily's death on 19 December 1848 deeply affected Anne and her grief undermined her physical health. Over Christmas, Anne caught influenza. Her symptoms intensified, and in early January, her father sent for a Leeds physician, who diagnosed her condition as consumption, and intimated that it was quite advanced leaving little hope of recovery. Anne met the news with characteristic determination and self-control.
Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines, and responded to the advice she was given. That same month she wrote her last poem, " A dreadful darkness closes in", in which she deals with being terminally ill.
In February 1849, Anne decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the change of location and fresh sea air might initiate a recovery. However, it was clear that she had little strength left.
Dying, Anne expressed her love and concern for Ellen and Charlotte, and seeing Charlotte's distress, whispered to her to "take courage". Conscious and calm, Anne died at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, 28 May 1849.
The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. In Elizabeth Gaskell's biography, Anne's father remembered her as precocious, reporting that once, when she was four years old, in reply to his question about what a child most wanted, she answered: "age and experience".
During her life Anne was particularly close to Emily. When Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey visited Haworth in 1833, she reported that Emily and Anne were "like twins", "inseparable companions". Together they created imaginary world Gondal after they broke up from Charlotte and Branwell who created another imaginary world – Angria.
For a couple of years she went to a boarding school. At the age of 19 she left Haworth and worked as a governess between 1839 and 1845.
After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, appeared in 1848 and was an instant, phenomenal success; within six weeks it was sold out.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is perhaps the most shocking of the Brontës' novels. In seeking to present the truth in literature, Anne's depiction of alcoholism and debauchery was profoundly disturbing to 19th-century sensibilities. Helen Graham, the tenant of the title, intrigues Gilbert Markham and gradually she reveals her past as an artist and wife of the dissipated Arthur Huntingdon. The book's brilliance lies in its revelation of the position of women at the time, and its multi-layered plot.
Her sister Emily's death on 19 December 1848 deeply affected Anne and her grief undermined her physical health. Over Christmas, Anne caught influenza. Her symptoms intensified, and in early January, her father sent for a Leeds physician, who diagnosed her condition as consumption, and intimated that it was quite advanced leaving little hope of recovery. Anne met the news with characteristic determination and self-control.
Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines, and responded to the advice she was given. That same month she wrote her last poem, " A dreadful darkness closes in", in which she deals with being terminally ill.
In February 1849, Anne decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the change of location and fresh sea air might initiate a recovery. However, it was clear that she had little strength left.
Dying, Anne expressed her love and concern for Ellen and Charlotte, and seeing Charlotte's distress, whispered to her to "take courage". Conscious and calm, Anne died at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, 28 May 1849.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 10, 2018
[2010] I haven't read this in years and had forgotten how much I like it. It's far more restrained than her sisters' novels, yet the treatment Agnes receives from her employers, the way they deny her equality and humanity because she's only a governess, is as horrifying in its own way as anything suffered by Charlotte's Jane Eyre. On this reading, I especially noticed also Anne's quiet wit, rather akin to Austen's, and her feeling for nature and the outdoors, akin to her sister Emily's.
June 8, 2022
My review is for the novel, not the poems.
I've read multiple stories about children having horrible governesses, but this is the first book I've read about a governess with uncontrollable children. Honestly it made me feel quite cringy and I felt so much empathy for Agnes. There's no really exciting plot in this story, but I think it gave a good perspective of life through the eyes of a young woman in this time period. The ending was somewhat abrupt, but I thought it was good. Having recently read Gaskell, I noticed this novel had a more spiritual aspect which I found refreshing. (For the same reason, I didn't enjoy the poetry as much. I think Anne Bronte was struggling to accept grace.)
I've read multiple stories about children having horrible governesses, but this is the first book I've read about a governess with uncontrollable children. Honestly it made me feel quite cringy and I felt so much empathy for Agnes. There's no really exciting plot in this story, but I think it gave a good perspective of life through the eyes of a young woman in this time period. The ending was somewhat abrupt, but I thought it was good. Having recently read Gaskell, I noticed this novel had a more spiritual aspect which I found refreshing. (For the same reason, I didn't enjoy the poetry as much. I think Anne Bronte was struggling to accept grace.)
April 2, 2012
Though considered a straightforward and an inferior novel in contrast to the novels of the author's sisters--Ms. Charlotte Bronte and Ms.Emily Bronte, the novel can be as deeply poignant and moving should the reader be able to put himself or herself in the shoes of the heroine. With its portrayal of a governess's role, one can think, especially those who are both future and present Educators, the weight of its message's relevance to the present day. The novel is indeed a manifestation that Education is not a facile course as most people regard it. The novel is a manifestation of perseverance itself and trust to God's graceful hands both portrayed by Agnes as a governess; indeed a novel with a tone of a curate's daughter and an effective--that is, persevere and kind--tutor.
November 5, 2025
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte and adapted for The BBC
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
The life of Agnes Grey appeared so miserable at times that I wondered what the listening to the adaptation does to the psyche.
Coupled with Blindness by Jose Saramago, which I read at different times of the day, I feared for my positivity.
There is a more ample discussion:
- What happens when one reads a masterpiece, but a depressing one, with characters competing to be the vilest or most offensive?
- The answer probably is that we can learn to deal with adversity and trauma, to forgive and find solace in the considerable better position we are in
The family of Agnes Grey is affected by financial disaster, right at the start of this adaptation, with a grim future to envisage.
For in the old days and in our times in many ways, the economic catastrophe brought with it a social descent and ultimate unhappiness.
The difference between classes was staggering, even if there are many parts of the world where 1% controls a huge proportion of wealth.
In societies where differences of income and financial status are less severe, the life satisfaction for the whole nation is better:
- For this reason among others, Scandinavia-Norway, Denmark top the rankings of happiest countries
The head of the Grey family made an unfortunate investment in sugar and the ship carrying the precious cargo sunk.
With it, all the wealth of the family went to the bottom of the ocean and they became poor, having to dismiss the two maids.
The mother and the older sister of Agnes do all the cooking, while the latter is limited to…feeding the cat, for she is really young.
Nevertheless, she wants desperately to help, especially since her father is left seriously sick by the crisis.
She wants to be a governess, despite her mother’s warnings that this would be very difficult and she knows little about dressing children and the other tasks.
Agnes Grey becomes a governess for the children of the Bloomfield family, some of the most terrible I have read about.
It is of course mainly the fault of their parents and the appalling vies they held, even if DNA might have had something to do with it
- I like catching birds and giving them to the cat- says the boy and if the cat eats meat, this may be somewhat understandable, if not the following “pleasure”…
- It is good to roast them alive on the fire
- Why would you do something like that!? Asks horrified Agnes Grey
- Because I like to hear them scream!
The governess is offering egg shells to the children so that they can “play” without torturing animals and watch them suffer
But when the parents see this they are unsatisfied if not completely terrified by this innocent game which is not “suitable”
- But they wanted to inflict severe pain on birds
- This is how boys become men
- ??
- We don’t want them to grow scared; they need to do this with animals!!
If the majority of people thought like that in those days, good riddance…some kind of “education” that was!
Of course, I had the chance to see the insensitivity of people in the countryside in this day and age, when they just take the little kittens to the river or lake and just kill them, without any fuss and consideration.
Agnes Grey moves on from the household with cruel parents and children to another position with the Murrays.
They have two daughters and Rosalie Murray likes to inflict pain to humans, even if they mistreat animals as well.
They have a dog for a while that is given to the rat catcher; even if it is common knowledge that he makes dogs suffer.
Luckily, Edward Weston enters the stage and Agnes Grey’s life that was all suffering and humiliation has a ray of sunshine and a better prospect.
Agnes Grey is a very likeable heroine, strong, honest, virtuous, kind, generous, intelligent and aristocratic in the true sense of the word.
And her story is meaningful, interesting and entertaining, provided the reader looks past the many setbacks with hope.
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
The life of Agnes Grey appeared so miserable at times that I wondered what the listening to the adaptation does to the psyche.
Coupled with Blindness by Jose Saramago, which I read at different times of the day, I feared for my positivity.
There is a more ample discussion:
- What happens when one reads a masterpiece, but a depressing one, with characters competing to be the vilest or most offensive?
- The answer probably is that we can learn to deal with adversity and trauma, to forgive and find solace in the considerable better position we are in
The family of Agnes Grey is affected by financial disaster, right at the start of this adaptation, with a grim future to envisage.
For in the old days and in our times in many ways, the economic catastrophe brought with it a social descent and ultimate unhappiness.
The difference between classes was staggering, even if there are many parts of the world where 1% controls a huge proportion of wealth.
In societies where differences of income and financial status are less severe, the life satisfaction for the whole nation is better:
- For this reason among others, Scandinavia-Norway, Denmark top the rankings of happiest countries
The head of the Grey family made an unfortunate investment in sugar and the ship carrying the precious cargo sunk.
With it, all the wealth of the family went to the bottom of the ocean and they became poor, having to dismiss the two maids.
The mother and the older sister of Agnes do all the cooking, while the latter is limited to…feeding the cat, for she is really young.
Nevertheless, she wants desperately to help, especially since her father is left seriously sick by the crisis.
She wants to be a governess, despite her mother’s warnings that this would be very difficult and she knows little about dressing children and the other tasks.
Agnes Grey becomes a governess for the children of the Bloomfield family, some of the most terrible I have read about.
It is of course mainly the fault of their parents and the appalling vies they held, even if DNA might have had something to do with it
- I like catching birds and giving them to the cat- says the boy and if the cat eats meat, this may be somewhat understandable, if not the following “pleasure”…
- It is good to roast them alive on the fire
- Why would you do something like that!? Asks horrified Agnes Grey
- Because I like to hear them scream!
The governess is offering egg shells to the children so that they can “play” without torturing animals and watch them suffer
But when the parents see this they are unsatisfied if not completely terrified by this innocent game which is not “suitable”
- But they wanted to inflict severe pain on birds
- This is how boys become men
- ??
- We don’t want them to grow scared; they need to do this with animals!!
If the majority of people thought like that in those days, good riddance…some kind of “education” that was!
Of course, I had the chance to see the insensitivity of people in the countryside in this day and age, when they just take the little kittens to the river or lake and just kill them, without any fuss and consideration.
Agnes Grey moves on from the household with cruel parents and children to another position with the Murrays.
They have two daughters and Rosalie Murray likes to inflict pain to humans, even if they mistreat animals as well.
They have a dog for a while that is given to the rat catcher; even if it is common knowledge that he makes dogs suffer.
Luckily, Edward Weston enters the stage and Agnes Grey’s life that was all suffering and humiliation has a ray of sunshine and a better prospect.
Agnes Grey is a very likeable heroine, strong, honest, virtuous, kind, generous, intelligent and aristocratic in the true sense of the word.
And her story is meaningful, interesting and entertaining, provided the reader looks past the many setbacks with hope.
May 14, 2024
3.5 Stars
Well, it was good, but I liked Tenant of the Wildfell Hall much more. It was much better fleshed out than this tiny book. Tho to be fair this is her first book. I really like Anne Bronte's writing style tho. Very simple.
As for the poems, in the end, they were good but forgettable.
Well, it was good, but I liked Tenant of the Wildfell Hall much more. It was much better fleshed out than this tiny book. Tho to be fair this is her first book. I really like Anne Bronte's writing style tho. Very simple.
As for the poems, in the end, they were good but forgettable.
June 20, 2010
I read this as a double duty: 1) I have a lot of reading time this summer, since apparently I'm a stay-at-home mom (aka unemployed) in a strange Southern "city," so I should spend at least some time reading Literature, and 2) if I fancy myself a to-be English professor I should probably read more exhaustively in my field. It turned out to be a pleasure. The only reason I took so long in reading it is because I realized on or about page 20 that I should take notes for reasons of academic interest (this hasn't happened in a long time). Agnes Grey is basically what you get if you squish together Fanny Price, Jane Eyre, and Emily Bronte the way you imagined her after reading Wuthering Heights at age 15 and being kind of skeeved by the wrecking-ball intensity of love. A governess who's both passionate and neurotic? Merchant Ivory, where are you? Anyway, the youngest Bronte turns out to be kind of awkward and amazing, like many of my favorite people. Tenant of Wildfell Hall, here I come!
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November 2, 2013Simple-reading, make you relaxed and feel happy
June 2, 2022
3.5 stars. The intro was quite interesting in this book- framing it as a religious internal conflict.
I got Mansfield Park vibes from this- the woe is me, moral high ground themes, but I liked it better than Mansfield Park. Her poetry is also quite interesting.
Overall, I prefer Tenet of Wildfell Hall but Anne Brontë portrays the socioeconomic problems of women in the mid-1800s very well. As a reader who approaches the texts from a historical perspective, it’s a more complex take from the other Brontë sisters.
I got Mansfield Park vibes from this- the woe is me, moral high ground themes, but I liked it better than Mansfield Park. Her poetry is also quite interesting.
Overall, I prefer Tenet of Wildfell Hall but Anne Brontë portrays the socioeconomic problems of women in the mid-1800s very well. As a reader who approaches the texts from a historical perspective, it’s a more complex take from the other Brontë sisters.
November 30, 2016
Hum, I'm sceptical. Is there a moral here, or is Agnes just a saint for being perfectly meek and putting up with the antics of a whole gallery of awful people? She also seems to be a terrible governess since she can barely make any change to the despicable characters and habits of her charges, and hardly improves their education. It just sounds like Anne is telling us that bad people will be bad and there's nothing at all to be done about that (as the poet said).
The last couple of chapters brought in a bit of swoony romance, but this came a bit out of nowhere: Agnes had just been crushing on that guy from afar , but never actually spoke to him. So how is HE suddenly in love with her? This part of the story, while vaguely enjoyable, seemed to have nothing to do with the first 80%; it seemed like a weird, contrived addition.
I think I was seriously misguided by the summary on the back of my copy, which made Matilda stand out as Agnes's only charge and an essential character, while in fact she didn't show up until half the novel and was mostly a background character - they probably meant Rosalie...
In her introduction, Anne Smith says "there is much more to Agnes Grey than immediately meets the eye"; if there is, it is quite hard to see...
The last couple of chapters brought in a bit of swoony romance, but this came a bit out of nowhere: Agnes had just been crushing on that guy from afar , but never actually spoke to him. So how is HE suddenly in love with her? This part of the story, while vaguely enjoyable, seemed to have nothing to do with the first 80%; it seemed like a weird, contrived addition.
I think I was seriously misguided by the summary on the back of my copy, which made Matilda stand out as Agnes's only charge and an essential character, while in fact she didn't show up until half the novel and was mostly a background character - they probably meant Rosalie...
In her introduction, Anne Smith says "there is much more to Agnes Grey than immediately meets the eye"; if there is, it is quite hard to see...
September 24, 2016
OMG. So bore. SO BORE.
There are a couple of really great scenes, mostly with the various types of monstrous kids, but I found Agnes herself so uninteresting I just couldn't get invested, or engage with her various moralistic concerns and the revenge of the nerds style plot. You know the one where the plain introvert/governess wants to get with the popular kid at school/curate. Says nothing, but still beats the good looking jock/her student, and gets with the popular kid/curate while the jock/student goes on to be very unhappy/marry an abusive drunk and everyone cheers.
There are a couple of really great scenes, mostly with the various types of monstrous kids, but I found Agnes herself so uninteresting I just couldn't get invested, or engage with her various moralistic concerns and the revenge of the nerds style plot. You know the one where the plain introvert/governess wants to get with the popular kid at school/curate. Says nothing, but still beats the good looking jock/her student, and gets with the popular kid/curate while the jock/student goes on to be very unhappy/marry an abusive drunk and everyone cheers.
August 4, 2016
A young woman becomes a governess. Much about the ethics of her charges and their family.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews