Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

When venturing forth on Anne's work, I decided to start with Agnes Grey, rather than her more popular The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Agnes Grey is more autobiographical.

One of the things I noticed that differentiated Anne from her sisters was she was more to the point, more realistic in her writing. There was no taking the long way around, she got you to the point good and fast, yet without missing the sights along the way.

Agnes Grey is the story of a young woman basically forced to become a governess due to her family's financial woes. Her first family is just plain cruel. I wanted to deck those kids. We saw the real treatment of the working class during this period, where they were thought of less than human. The sad thing is that someone like Agnes basically had to put up with the cruel treatment because what else was a young woman to do for work in those days?

The second family she was employed by was a little better, but she was still treated badly, especially by the older girl who saw Agnes as some sort of rival for a gentlemen's admiration. Ah, but that young lady later got what she deserved, the conceited brat.

Anne is just as brilliant as her sisters, but often overlooked. I very much appreciate her way of storytelling and would suggest readers of Charlotte and Emily to not forget about their little sister!