Agnes Grey (Illustrated‪)‬

Agnes Grey is the debut novel of English author Anne Brontë. The novel follows Agnes Grey, a governess, as she works in several bourgeois families. It is suggested the novel is largely based on Anne Brontë's own experiences as a governess for 5 years. Like her sister Charlotte's novel Jane Eyre, it addresses what the precarious position of governess entailed and how it affected a young woman.


The choice of central character allows Anne to deal with issues of oppression & abuse of women and governesses, isolation and ideas of empathy. Agnes Grey also mimics some of the stylistic approaches of bildungsromans, employing ideas of personal growth and coming to age, but representing a character who in fact does not gain in virtue. (Wikipedia)