Agnes Grey - Anne Brontë

Agnes Grey, published in the month of December, 1847, is the debut novel of Anne Brontë, writing under the pen name of Acton Bell. Scholarship and comments by Anne's sister Charlotte Brontë suggest the novel is largely based on Anne Brontë's own experiences as a governess for five years. Like her sister Charlotte's 1847 novel Jane Eyre, it addresses what a governess’ work entailed in the 1800s, and how precarious the position of governess can be.

Agnes, an eager young woman, tired of being treated as the youngest and filled with overwhelming ambition, takes on work as a governess for the rich and cruel Bloomfields. The unprecedented and abysmal depravity with which she is treated renders her lonely and isolated, missing her family, wanting to go back home.