Anne Brontë. Agnes Grey. 1847; Project Gutenberg, 2021.

For a shorter review see Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Brontë sisters are among the best known literary families, even thought their output is quite small. I consider Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights two of the most conscientiously written works of fiction ever created. Jane Eyre not only tells a dramatic romance, but it has many literary allusions which add great depth to the tale. Wuthering Heights not only describes an intense family drama, but is one of the most tightly written novels ever crafted.

I have also read Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which I found interesting, a nice story but lacking the depth of either Charlotte’s or Emily’s work I just mentioned. An acquaintance who is both a reader and writer of historical romances told me that Agnes Grey was her favorite of all the Brontë oeuvre. I had to check it out.

For those who are looking for literary depth and quality, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are superior. They are hard to match. Having said that, Agnes Grey was fun. Indeed, it was not so much like the stories of Anne’s sisters but written in the mold of Jane Austen.

Agnes narrates her story, and as she is now “above eighteen,” she wants to go out on her own. She hires herself out as a governess. Hints of Jane Eyre? Perhaps, but Agnes’s experience is probably more typical.

As I began reading it, I began to understand why the person I knew liked it. She has worked as a nanny and in early childhood education. The kids in the first family Agnes works for are spoiled brats. Indeed, when I think both of this book and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the British aristocracy does not come off too well in Anne’s stories—unlike, say, Jane Eyre where Jane’s soulmate is the aristocratic Rochester.

Agnes leaves and takes a second job where the youths she tutors are both teenaged girls or young women. The eldest has her début in the story and (very slight spoiler) ends up marrying a lord. Meanwhile, Agnes is developing a crush on the curate, or assistant minister, of the local church. This is where the humor really comes in. Any of us, male or female, who have had a crush can identify with the awkwardness and self-consciousness Agnes displays. How forward can one be without being immodest or making a fool of oneself?

I recall reading that Anne wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in response to Wuthering Heights (note the initials). The main male character in that story, if I recall, was meant to echo Heathcliff, if Heathcliff were wimpy and unappealing. While Agnes Grey, like Jane Eyre, is a first person story about a governess, I don’t think that it was written in reaction to Charlotte’s novel.

Having said that, Jane’s experience with her job as governess was much different. She had a single charge, the young Adèle, who had learned some manners and was generally respectful. Agnes’s experiences were likely more typical and realistic. I am sure that is one reason why the writer I mentioned liked it. And, of course, the humor provides its own entertainment. A fan of Emma or Pride and Prejudice would enjoy Agnes Grey.

I also appreciated the last line in the story. It might not be quite as dramatic as Jane Eyre’s final “Reader, I married him” chapter or as romantic as the parallel descriptions of both Catherines side by side with their respective lovers in Wuthering Heights, but it is hard to duplicate. More writers should probably think the way Agnes/Anne concludes her story. You will smile.