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    Agnes Grey
    Agnes Grey
    Agnes Grey
    Audiobook7 hours

    Agnes Grey

    Written by Anne Brontë

    Narrated by Rachel Bavidge

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From its opening sentences Agnes Grey introduces a heroine who is honest, perceptive and charming. Unfortunately, the Bloomfields, who engage her as a governess, are rather less appealing, and the incarnation of the suppressed cruelties and hypocrisies of the Victorian age. When Agnes moves to a marginally less alarming family, one of her charges sets out to disrupt her only romantic hope. Critical, satirical, direct, and honest, Agnes Grey is a fine reflection of its author.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateMay 12, 2010
    ISBN9789629549329
    Author

    Anne Brontë

    Anne Brontë (1820-1849) was an English novelist and poet and the youngest of a trio of legendary writers who became known as "the Brontë sisters." Each of the three siblings managed to create novels that would become classics of English literature: Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." The youngest of six children born to clergyman Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria, Anne was home-schooled after two of her older sisters died of tuberculosis which they were believed to have acquired while attending the Clergy Daughter's School. The four surviving siblings, Branwell, Emily, Anne and Charlotte, created an imaginary world called "Glass Town," and would each contribute poems, stories and geographical details of this mythical place to help them escape the difficulties and isolation of their childhood and this early, escapist writing would plant the seeds for their later literary success. At the time, the idea of publishing a female author was frowned upon, thus the sisters created a pseudonymous trio of brothers - Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell - in order to get their books into print. Anne actually completed two full novels during her brief career: "Agnes Grey" and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall," but the enjoyment of their literary success was short-lived. The family suffered the deaths of Branwell, Emily and Anne in just a few short months in late 1848/early 1949 (the latter two of tuberculosis) and Charlotte herself, while struggling through her first, difficult pregnancy, died in 1854 at the age of thirty-eight. Few families in history have produced as many literary powerhouses as the Brontë sisters and their works have been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen.

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    Reviews for Agnes Grey

    3.5/5

    1,288 ratings96 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Agnes is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grey, a pastor and his wife, who begins a career as a governess in order to supplement the family's income. She goes through many trials with first a family of young children and then with a family of two older girls, who while she is there, one has her coming out and is eventually married.Agnes then helps her mother open a small school after the death of her father. It is here where she is reacquainted with Mr. Weston who she, of course, marries after a while. (She met Mr. Weston at her second position.)This book was a good portrayal of the conditions of the working governess and the folly of mothers and daughters looking for a good match . It was a bit slow in places, but overall really good.
    • 4/5
      "Agnes Grey" is a book I could have written and ought to like: the story of a deeply religious woman who finds her first teaching position intolerable and her second improved but disheartening because of her pupils' lack of moral sentiment. But it bores me. I try to do Anne Brontë the credit of interpreting her apart from her sisters' legacies (to my mind, she bears far more resemblance to Jane Austen, anyway), but it is not just the lack of sensationalistic romantic fervour that leaves me wanting after reading this book. The plot is sparse and devotes more time to character sketches than to events, and the moralising is overt, repeating strings of Bible verses rather than expressing religious convictions through learned experience. This book is largely purported to be semi-autobiographical, and lauded for its endeavour to present the daily experiences of a governess in a realistic light. They may appeal to some readers for that very reason, but if I'm going to pick up an autobiography, I want to pick up a true autobiography, and if I'm going to pick up a novel, I want it to spend more time exploring symbolism and developing characters through their experiences. I'm sorry, Agnes. I just can't love you, but I hope someone else can.The Barnes and Noble edition of this book contains a list of significant quotations from the book, an introduction and notes by Fred Schwarzbach, a preface and timeline outlining the life of the Brontë family, the "Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell" written by Charlotte Brontë in 1850, an "Inspired by Agnes Grey" section, critical comments and questions on the novel, and a bibliography of further biographical and critical readings on Anne. The notes to this book are disappointing, often spelling out things that a learned reader could figure out on his or her own, and occasionally offering spoilers about the rest of the plot. The "Inspired by Agnes Grey" chapter features nothing actually inspired by "Agnes Grey," but instead further describes the mixed reception of Anne's work and offers up one of her poems. The critical comments, however, are relatively interesting.
    • 3/5
      Anne Bronte takes us in to the simple life experiences of Agnes Grey. Eager to help her family she becomes a governess to two different families both with unruly charges. It seemed her life experiences started with the jobs she didn't like. Unfortunately we don't see Agnes improve in speech, confidence or duties. She's just there. Life is just passing her by. All the while she's madly in love with the preacher, Mr. Weston. We have no clue how Mr. Weston feels about Agnes. Not even one romantic notion was sent Agnes's way. But the words he did speak were cherished and played in a loop in her mind. This was the only thing I could find relatable to Agnes. Every young girl knows the feeling of being fully infatuated with a guy and your mind goes into deductions regarding every word he says to you. She was madly in love. But tragedy occurs with the death of her Father. She decided to move back home and work along side her Mother. Unbeknownst to her Mr. Weston has been searching for her. He finds her, meets her Mother and offers Agnes the most unromantic marriage proposal. She says yes and they live happily ever after. Nice story yet highly predictable. I thought we were going to hear some of the perils of married life and how they over came it but no. Bronte saw it fitting to end the story the same way we met Agnes. A young woman, with no issues to over come or any personal growth journeys to master.
    • 3/5
      There are half a dozen recordings of 'Agnes Grey' and I sampled all prior to purchase; the American reader just wasn't going to sound right - but neither did any of others particularly, ranging from old maid, albeit Agnes does come across as such, to just too conventionally middle class, even though she is. So I plumbed for the most popular. A reading is necessarily a performance and thoroughly inhibits, I suspect, any possible further reading of the text, if like me you've not read the book initially. Thus inevitably Agnes comes across in this performance as priggish and judgmental, the younger daughter of a clergyman, who becomes a governesses as she feels that this would enhance her experience of life and that she'd greatly enjoy putting her skills to a practical end. Alas the world that she enters - the gentry, are dissolute, often idle, rude and snobbish and treat Agnes little better than a servant - which is what she is.She holds to her principles largely based on Christian values and her own class prejudices and ultimately her virtue and long suffering is rewarded. 'Tis but a short tale of love and toil and illness, unhappiness and great meanness of spirit, though I did enjoy some of the arch sentence construction, and a genuinely informative novel of country life in mid 19th Century England. By the end of the book I'd accommodated to Virginia Leishman's reading style, but wondered how a younger less knowing narrator might have tipped the story at different and more sympathetic angle.
    • 5/5
      And it only took me about five years to get around to reading this book...so sad. But I loved it, how could I not love anything written by any of the Bronte sisters? I felt so for Agnes, and more than once wanted to bash in the heads of the people who were cruel to her. I enjoyed it very much and will definitley have to read it again, it's just not quite on par with Anne's "Tenant of Wildfell Hall", or even Charlotte's "Jane Eyre", but I'm biased concerning the latter. I admit it. :)
    • 4/5
      Although I didn't think this book was as good as Anne Bronte's other novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and it didn't have the feel of a must-read classic like Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, there was still a lot to like about Agnes Grey.The plot is simple, plain and linear. It's the story of a young woman in 19th century England who goes out to work as a governess when her family fall on hard times. Unfortunately Tom, Mary Ann and Fanny Bloomfield are three of the most badly-behaved children imaginable. When her short, unhappy time with the Bloomfields comes to an end, Agnes finds another situation with two older pupils, Rosalie and Matilda Murray. This second position is not much better than the first - the Murray girls are selfish and thoughtless and the only thing that makes Agnes's life bearable is her friendship with Mr Weston, the village curate.Agnes Grey has an autobiographical feel because Anne Bronte herself had worked as a governess and was able to draw on her own personal experiences to show how servants were often treated with cruelty and contempt by their employers. I could sympathise with Agnes as I would soon have lost my patience with the spoilt Bloomfield children and the self-centred, inconsiderate Murrays. I also thought it was unfair that the parents expected Agnes to control their children without actually giving her any real authority over them. It was such a difficult position to be in. However, I found it slightly disappointing that Agnes seemed prepared to just accept things the way they were and not do anything to change the situation. The book was more about tolerance and perseverance than about taking action to try to make things better.Another of the book's themes is the importance of morality, virtuousness and goodness, qualities in which the Bloomfield and Murray families seem to be sadly lacking, leading Agnes to feel isolated and miserable. However, I think many readers will find Agnes too self-righteous and superior, so if you prefer your heroines to be flawed and imperfect this probably isn't the book for you! Reading about the day to day life of a governess is not particularly exciting or dramatic, but I still found the book enjoyable and interesting - and at under 200 pages a very quick read compared to many of the other Bronte books.
    • 3/5
      Slow to get going. I think I only started enjoying myself from the middle of the book, but still the story is kind of bland. It's okay.
    • 4/5
      Story of a young woman, daughter of a poor minister and a cultured mother, becomes a governess in order to make her own living, lessening the financial burden on her parents. After suffering through two miserable positions, each with cruel children and arrogant parents, she finally finds love. Surprisingly good! I enjoyed the writing style very much.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed Agnes Grey, although I found it to be more similar to Jane Eyre than to anything by Jane Austen. Agnes Grey was a simple tale of a girl who decides to be a governess. Despite being simple, it held my interest and was quite enjoyable. I found the character development and setting to be done very well. In fact, the characters were so realistic that I found myself thinking of it quite autobiographically...that in itself must speak some to the talent of the author. All in all, it was a pleasant foray into some lesser known 19th cent. British Literature.
    • 4/5
      4 stars for the LibriVox recording (version 2) but only 3½ stars for the book. It was a quick and easy book to read but I found the character of Agnes rather one-dimensional and that dimension was a pious goody-good. If I had been a pupil of hers, I would have misbehaved too!That said, the author did make me think about how difficult it must have been to be a governess, in that awkward position of not being part of the family nor of the servants, being asked to do tasks without always being given the authority to accomplish them.
    • 4/5
      A slow to boil and very engaging semi-autobiographical novel of working as a governess.
    • 4/5
      Shy, retiring Agnes Grey is ill-suited to the role of governess, yet due to her family’s financial problems and the limited job prospects for genteel young women in Victorian England, she is forced to serve in this disagreeable position. The families she works for are caricatures of the haughty and dissolute rich. Agnes always manages to hide her true feelings and carry on. I enjoyed this brief novel even more than I thought I would. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Read for TBR takedown, 4/4/22. This is the debut novel of Anne Bronte writing under the name Acton Bell. The story is of the governess who is trying to help her family out by working. She engages with these two different jobs which involves spoiled children. The father is ill, the girls of the family do not have good prospects that they'll be able to find marriages because of their poverty. The governess meets various guys while working for the last family of young ladies who are working on marriages. The author worked as a governess and may be based on her own experiences. The book is a classic and will appeal to readers who enjoy reading classics. Agnes Grey is a strong woman and not a character that is "dependent" on males in anyway. Rating 3.5
    • 4/5
      I loved this simple and relatively short classic about a young woman who becomes a governess. It's based on Brontë's own experiences as a governess. Horrendous children abound and she is rather abused but she has to earn her keep. She does eventually find some happiness though and it's all quite lovely. My second book of 2018 #backtotheclassics
    • 4/5
      Couldn't do much with this. Flat characters, uninvolving plot (as far as I was able to make it, that is) ... and once animal cruelty set in with a vengeance I was out of there.
    • 4/5
      Agnes Grey has been on my “to read” list since I read and enjoyed D.M. Denton's novel Without the Veil Between, Anne Brontë: A Fine and Subtle Spirit. I am familiar with the most famous works of her sisters, Charlotte (Jane Eyre) and Emily (Wuthering Heights), so I was expecting a novel that had more excitement in its plot. Instead this is a character study of a strong willed woman living in an era where women have limited options.When Agnes' father loses most of the family savings through a failed investment, Agnes decides to become a governess to help with their financial problems. She has to deal with another problem of that era, class prejudice. The parents of the children she is charged with educating treat her with little respect. The children are even worse. She is supposed to be in charge, yet they run all over her and she receives no backing from the parents.I was somewhat disappointed that Agnes never took responsibility for any of the problems she encountered. Although she was placed in many no-win situations, she often came off sounding whiny and defensive. Later in the book Agnes moves on to a different family and encounters more problems tied to her role, including lies told about her.Agnes Grey presents an interesting picture of the problems working class women faced in nineteenth century England. I intend to read Anne Bronte's other novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which has a reputation as one of the first feminist novels.
    • 3/5
      Always appealing but never gripping, Anne Brontë’s first novel recalls the well-loved, confiding voices and upright standards from, say, Jane Eyre, or the works of Jane Austen. The tone is all there, but the narrative drive is not. That Anne’s life was cut so tragically short (she wrote only one further novel, then died, still in her 20s) was a great loss too for the works she might have produced as she developed. This edition’s Introduction (by Angeline Goreau) ably makes the case that bossy elder sister Charlotte Brontë tended to minimise the worth of Anne (and Emily) in life, and has likewise led to her works being sidelined by posterity. This reader can affirm that Agnes Grey, at least, is informative, insightful, and a pleasure to read.
    • 3/5
      It's by Bronte, so it must be good. The thing is that I have read this book at least three times, and I still cannot remember a thing about it.
    • 4/5
      Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey is certainly subpar with the magnificent and pioneering work of feminism The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; more so compared to what’s considered to be the better known, better Brontë works Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. A partly autobiographical work, Agnes Grey takes us to its titular character’s challenges and an expectedly monotonous life as a governess. From one household to another, from a set of bratty kids to vain, spoiled female young adults, Agnes Grey mostly keeps to herself and rebel in the subtlest of ways. Perhaps this subtlety prevents the novel from imparting a lingering emotional punch hence it can be rather dull though thankfully a quick read. As its romance also almost follows this similar vein of subtlety, pack with a lot of religious sentiments, it’s not at all very exciting and intriguing. Rochester and Heathcliff read like the ultimate, problematic bad boys you can’t help but love against the boringly forgettable mr. nice guy Weston. There is also not much of a family drama present save for some expected death and of course, significantly, its inclusion of feministic views much ahead of its time with regards to profession and the “moral responsibility” one have to one’s own parents (which I think is somehow losing its traction in modern times for the better or for worse). Eventually this closes in predictable contentment. As Agnes Grey starts off with a lot of acceptable promises, it does end committing to these promises albeit only acceptably so.
    • 4/5
      Another hit for Team Anne! I have no idea why I took so long to read this delightful little novel - the threat of animal abuse in the introduction, I think - but I'm glad I finally did. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a triumph of realism over romanticism, and Agnes Grey does the same for the governess tale (I'm not a fan of Jane Eyre!)Agnes Grey, unlike her fictional cousin Jane, volunteers to become a governess in order to support her family. The first family she works for, the Bloomfields, are living example of why some people shouldn't have children just because they can (and why taking charge of the monsters they produce is a thankless task). The three young children are spoiled rotten and Agnes, much like Anne herself, is soon let go because she can do nothing with them. Moving onto a new family, the Murrays, who are of a better class than the Bloomfields, Agnes is given the task of 'improving' the two young ladies, Rosalie and Matilda, while the sons are sent away to school. I actually loved the Murrays, particularly Rosalie, who knows she is a beauty and treats men like playthings! Like Austen's Emma, not a lot happens - Agnes stays with the Murrays and gets ignored and blamed on a regular basis, while finding herself drawn to the local curate - but the eponymous narrator is so delightfully blunt - in her thoughts, if not her speech - that I was instantly drawn into her small world. There is a boring chapter given over to the religious ramblings of a 'cottager' - not in that sense! - who requires Agnes to read the Bible to her and sings the praises of Weston the curate during her visits, and Agnes herself is ridiculously slow to pick up on a proposal towards the end of the book, but overall, I enjoyed Anne's first novel. She is honest about cruelty, ignorance and vanity without going overboard (*cough cough* Charlotte and Emily) and her heroine might be pious in person but she's wonderfully haughty in thought (walk in front of Agnes and ignore her? How very dare!)
    • 4/5
      Those Brontë sisters were a wonder. This isn't a masterpiece like Jane Eyre, and it's not epic like Wuthering Heights; at times, characters could have been rounded out more. But I still found it a beautifully written, very human story. More Austen-esque. I found it easy to love and identify with Agnes as she left home and grew up. It's hard not to be moved by her drudgery as a governess (to sociopathic children!), and there is some interesting commentary on class as well as, in Chapter XI, "The Cottagers," some fantastic allusions to tensions within mid-nineteenth-century, post-Oxford Movement CofE churchmanship; I ate that stuff up and wished for more. Oh, yes, and I LOVED the sweetness and restraint between Agnes and Weston near the end of the novel. I eat that stuff up, too.
    • 5/5
      When some people talk about the Brontë sisters, they refer to Anne as “the other one”. I refer to Anne as “the best one”. Her writing style is notably different to her sisters Charlotte and Emily, who both write romantic fiction. Anne was a realist author, and a damn good one at that.When I first read “Agnes Grey” in 201o, I did so shortly after reading her classic novel “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”. As a result, I was a little disappointed. I expected a story similar to “TTOWH”, but “AG” is very different.Ten years later, to pay tribute to Anne on her 200th birthday, I gave both novels another read, this time starting with “AG”. Must say, I enjoyed infinitely more on the second time around. With no high expectations, I concentrated on the story for what it is, rather than wishing it was like Anne’s greatest work.Anne drew much from her own personal life for this novel, particularly the scenes where Agnes – as a governess – is dealing with children. And what horrid children they are! What’s worse, the parents are utterly useless – total snobs – who have no sympathy or empathy for what poor Agnes has to endure.These scenes featuring Agnes and the “demonic” children are among the highlights in terms of vivid writing and believability. You can picture the scenes clearly, which is owing to Anne’s superb writing skills. I'll go as far as saying the woman was a genius.As the story progresses, we get a mild love story between Agnes and Mr Weston. Again, Anne’s skills as a realist author comes to the fore here. We don’t get overblown drama with the male and female lead expressing their undying love for each other. Instead, we have shyness, uncertainty, lack of confidence, insecurity, and such like, which suits both characters. While neither Agnes nor Mr Weston are charismatic heroes, they are realistic reflections of people of their class in the 1800s, and perhaps any century. It’s a sweet relationship, rather than a sensational one.At times, the narrative becomes didactic, preaching what’s morally right, and so on, which is a reflection of the author’s personality. Some readers may not like this, but personally, this is all fine by me. It suits the characters whilst reflecting values of nineteenth-century England.So, while Anne is overshadowed by her sisters, and while “Agnes Grey” is overshadowed by “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”, this shouldn’t put anyone off from reading this novel. Approach it for what it is, and not for what it isn’t, and you should take a lot of pleasure out of it. I’ve read it twice, and I’ve every intention of reading it again.
    • 4/5
      "All true histories contain instruction; though in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut." Agnes Grey, begins with this great opening line. From Agnes' difficulties of being a governess to horrid kids, to observing class differences, to discussing reading and books with the man she falls in love with — this was a very good although somewhat quiet-feeling novel. All covered in only about 200 pages, but still satisfying. Read for #1001Books, Agnes Grey was better than I expected (it had been TBR for far too long). It's unfortunate that Anne Bronte didn't live long enough to produce more works -- so much lost potential.
    • 4/5
      Even though not a whole lot happens, I quite enjoyed this short novel, as well as the background material included in the edition I read. This is the start of a bit of a Brontë binge, because, well, what better to do during this oddest of springs?
    • 4/5
      A young, middle-class woman in mid-1800s England gets a harsh awakening from her sheltered life when she seeks employment as a governess to two different upper-class families. Mistreated by both the snobby employers and her charges *and* the lower-class servants, she leads a snubbed and lonely life.Slow to start (I'm still not certain what the point of the first third of the novel was, really), but once it gets going, I enjoyed Miss Grey's story. I especially enjoyed the quiet simplicity of the love story bit. It was interesting, too, how Anne tells the story of the governess life in a much different, much more realistic and everyday style than her sister, Charlotte.
    • 4/5
      It's not fair that I'm always grouping "The Brontë Sisters" and comparing their respective works with one another. I'm not the only one who does this, though.At this point, I've now read everything from Emily and Anne, and only Jane Eyre from Charlotte. Stylistically, they're similar, but each has their own distinctive flair. Though Anne is probably the least recognized of the three sisters, I'd put her right up there with Emily.I thought Agnes Grey started particularly strong. In fact, of the Brontë works I've read thus far, this one probably hooked me the fastest. The backstory regarding Agnes's family and the details of her first assignment as governess were very entertaining and evocative.Midway, my attention did wane. The subsequent assignment and all that came with it just didn't hold my attention the same. Despite a stellar start, Agnes Grey is probably the least overall memorable of the stories I've read.I regret that more of Anne's and Emily's work doesn't still exist.
    • 5/5
      Anne is very under appreciated.I like her more realistic style.The book is told in the first person by Agnes. As a governess Agnes is given no real authority to punish her charges. So of course they feel free to disrespect her.
    • 4/5
      (Original Review, 1981-02-06)I read "Agnes Grey" after a visit to the Mosteiros dos Jerónimos, supposing I ought to try the lesser known sister after reading so much of Charlotte's work and of course “Wuthering Heights.” What a wonderful surprise. Anne had me at "...she would rather live in a cottage with Richard Grey than in a palace with any other man in the world." It's a beautiful novel and undeservedly overlooked. The tone is on the surface much less dark, but Anne pulls no punches about women's oppression and the appalling behaviour of the 'noble' families she had the misfortune to encounter in her time as a governess. The dialogue reminds me of Jane Austen in places, exchanges that are gently witty and scathing. Mr. Weston is something of an unassuming romantic interest, but coming to the novel as an adult I rather more appreciate Anne's quietly decent men than the Byronic sociopaths her sisters were obsessed with. For me the novel is more about women. Agnes' relationship with her mother is genuinely touching, imbued with Anne's longing for her own. The final meeting between Agnes and Rosalie juxtaposing their characters and fates, now firmly fixed, is haunting stuff. Anne's heroines are not defined by the men they love, but by their own convictions and resources - how refreshing even in 1981!
    • 4/5
      # 13 of 100 Classics Challenge

      Agnes Grey🍒🍒🍒🍒
      By Anne Bronte
      1847

      Partially influenced by her personal experience as a governess, Anne Bronte takes us into her world of the humble, mistreated and overworked governesses, with horribly undisciplined mean children of the rich.She falls for an impossible man, but eventually finds true love. And happiness.A great classic. My first Anne Bronte and not my last.
    • 3/5
      I looked at several reviews of Agnes Grey before reading it, but they were so varied in opinion I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t find the heroine as insipid as many readers did; although she mostly failed to change the children in her charge she never failed to try to the best of her abilities, including physical means; and remaining polite and ‘in her place’ didn’t mean she lacked strong feelings.Where I felt the novel lacked power was in its romance. The only thing holding the two apart was their inability to meet often. There was nothing like Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth and Darcy having to accept their own faults and evolve into better people - Agnes and Mr Weston are both essentially perfect and only require a little leisure time to get to know each other so that doubts about each other’s feelings can be overcome.