Name: Agnes Grey
Rating: 3.450367647058823 (136 reviews)
ISBN: 9781473547834

Anne Bronte

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SAMANTHA ELLIS When Agnes’s father loses the family savings, young Agnes determines to make her own living – as a governess. Working for the Bloomfields, her enthusiasm is soon dampened by isolation and the cruelty of the children in her charge. Agnes hopes for better in her second job, but when the scheming elder daughter Rosalie makes designs on Agnes’s new friend, the kind curate Mr Weston, she feels herself silenced and sidelined. Becoming a governess is one thing, becoming invisible is quite another.

Agnes Grey

Anne Brontë

martian1138

this is surprisingly an easy read and i quite like it! my first anne brontë!! this one is so delightful to dive into

ayoni

"The ties that bind us to life are tougher than you imagine, or than any one can who has not felt how roughly they may be pulled without breaking."

Agnes Grey, published in 1847, offers a starkly realistic portrayal of the life of a governess in Victorian England. It's a quieter, more domestic novel but it holds its own in its honest depiction of the daily struggles and emotional toll of that profession. We follow Agnes's journey as she leaves her comfortable, albeit financially strained, home to work for two very different, and often difficult, families.

The novel explores themes of social class, the harsh realities of employment for women, and the importance of moral integrity. Brontë's message is clear: the governess's position was often precarious and undervalued, and the families she served could be cruel and inconsiderate. The book also touches on the importance of kindness and genuine faith—with a strong undercurrent of Christian values. The emphasis on Christian virtue is a defining characteristic of Anne Brontë's writing, and it contributes to the novel's overall sense of calm and moral clarity. 

Agnes Grey is a solid, well-written novel, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of its more famous contemporaries. For me, it's a bit... restrained. While the realism is commendable, there's a lack of the passionate intensity that I was expecting (a fault of mine for committing to such expectations). Though, it's a very competent novel. The characters are well-drawn, the social commentary is insightful, and the prose is clear. However, it doesn't leave you with a lingering sense of emotional impact. Essentially, it's a good book, and a valuable historical document, but it lacks that certain spark.

P.S. This experience would, of course, not deter me from trying Anne Brontë's other and much radical work, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which I am looking forward to read real soon.

Rien

"The ties that bind us to life are tougher than you imagine, or than any one can who has not felt how roughly they may be pulled without breaking."

Agnes Grey, published in 1847, offers a starkly realistic portrayal of the life of a governess in Victorian England. It's a quieter, more domestic novel but it holds its own in its honest depiction of the daily struggles and emotional toll of that profession. We follow Agnes's journey as she leaves her comfortable, albeit financially strained, home to work for two very different, and often difficult, families.

The novel explores themes of social class, the harsh realities of employment for women, and the importance of moral integrity. Brontë's message is clear: the governess's position was often precarious and undervalued, and the families she served could be cruel and inconsiderate. The book also touches on the importance of kindness and genuine faith—with a strong undercurrent of Christian values. The emphasis on Christian virtue is a defining characteristic of Anne Brontë's writing, and it contributes to the novel's overall sense of calm and moral clarity. 

Agnes Grey is a solid, well-written novel, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of its more famous contemporaries. For me, it's a bit... restrained. While the realism is commendable, there's a lack of the passionate intensity that I was expecting (a fault of mine for committing to such expectations). Though, it's a very competent novel. The characters are well-drawn, the social commentary is insightful, and the prose is clear. However, it doesn't leave you with a lingering sense of emotional impact. Essentially, it's a good book, and a valuable historical document, but it lacks that certain spark.

P.S. This experience would, of course, not deter me from trying Anne Brontë's other and much radical work, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which I am looking forward to read real soon.

Adam Scharf

i believe i'll like the tenant of wildfell hall more.

sani

“i was sorry for her; i was amazed, disgusted at her heartless vanity; i wondered why so much beauty should be given to those who made so bad a use of it, and denied to some who would make it a benefit to both themselves and others.”

in awe at how agnes grey is everything i would like to be. wise, strong-minded, kind, religious. anne brontë did great work in portraying how hard it was to be a governess during those times. one thing i loved was that it somehow had themes that reminded me of jane eyre considering how it is my favourite book.

The well-educated daughter of a penniless clergyman, Agnes Grey is treated like a child by her family and so sets out to prove herself by seeking employment as a governess. Soon, however, her idealistic notions regarding the education and care of her wards are dashed as she battles to control the wild Bloomfield children in her first situation, and is then held in low regard by the superior Murray household. Drawing on Anne Brontë's own experiences, and dealing with themes such as the nature of childhood, the rise of the middle classes and the loneliness, cruelty and even ill treatment that life as a governess could entail, Agnes Grey is full of quiet passion and remains a beloved classic to this day.

Cait🪼

Thank fuck for the Brontë sisters. 
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite the innumerable Bible references lol (Agnes Grey is a pastor's daughter, but it became mildly stifling at points trying to find the story amongst meaningless quotes).

Gillian Rose

While this was way less depressing than her sisters' works, I really didn't connect to anything or could tell you much about the story. It was well-written, but I couldn't muster up a lot of feelings.

Celeste Richardson

Agnes Grey provides much more enlightenment regarding the lives of governesses than any other work I’ve read. It also speaks volumes about parents who coddle their children and ignore any negative traits they have instead of correcting them while there’s still a change to do so. These kids end up not living up to this potential as adults, and are often completely insufferable from childhood until their end of their days. As a former teacher, I could relate to Agnes’s experiences with both these indulgent parents and their obnoxious spawn.

I love Agnes as a protagonist. She’s honest to a fault, never puts on airs, and accepts herself for who she is. She’s also endearingly awkward around her love interest, which felt oddly refreshing to me. I appreciated Anne’s prose here, and her character development. Both felt far more modern that that of her sisters. Though I can’t say I love this book as much as I love Jane Eyre, it’s more accessible. And I like it far more than Wuthering Heights. Agnes Grey is a fun, easy-to-read classic that I think would be great for those who are just dipping their toes into classics.

A Novel Notions Classics Club buddy read with TS and Haïfa, with Emma hanging out in the wings!

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SAMANTHA ELLIS When Agnes's father loses the family savings, young Agnes determines to make her own living - as a governess. Working for the Bloomfields, her enthusiasm is soon dampened by isolation and the cruelty of the children in her charge. Agnes hopes for better in her second job, but when the scheming elder daughter Rosalie makes designs on Agnes's new friend, the kind curate Mr Weston, she feels herself silenced and sidelined. Becoming a governess is one thing, becoming invisible is quite another.

finn

man, Anne Brontë sure knows how to write

Grace Holding

** spoiler alert **
           It’s a classical book, but you can feel all the self righteousness on the book. It’s a good book, it’s well written, but the book is so slow.
The narrative is so slow, that it was hard to read at some points.
The idea of a teacher, the daughter of a preacher, and you can tell that it was wrote by one.
The whole book also works on how to teach humility to spoil brats, not really what I expected.
I had so high hopes for the book, and even tho it’s not a personal favourite, I still give it 4/5 starts.

Agnes Grey

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