Agnes Grey - Book Review

Book - Agnes Grey

Author - Anne Bronte

Publisher - Alma Classics

Pages - 214 (242-including extra material)

How long it took me to read - 4 days

Review - Anne Bronte was the youngest of the 3 Bronte sisters and probably is the most under rated of the three. I decided to pick her debut novel as my starting place with Brontes and I don't regret it. This novel was originally published along with Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (which became famous) in 1846. 

It is said to be semi autobiographical in nature since various incidents of Anne's life are written in the book as Agnes' experiences, for e.g., both the writer and protagonist are well-educated daughter of a penniless clergyman; both worked as governesses and had bitter experiences ,etc. But then, I feel, almost all authors leave a part of themselves in their work, either implicitly or explicitly. 

The story deals with the development of Agnes as a person. She is treated like a child by her parents and elder sister but then she undergoes hardships during her time as a governess in two different workplaces. She is shown as a strong-willed person who does her job no matter how much in pain she may be. Her mistresses disregard her, the children disobey her and even the servants seem to think of her lowly, in such situations she finds solace in one person, Mr. Weston, who is civil to her when everyone else is cruel and she slowly finds herself falling for him.

I'd not say that this book will offer you a lot of adventures or thrills or romance or anything, but it'll give you everything thing in small doses. I liked it because I don't mind a slow paced novel and unlike-able characters. Though one thing that I got quite annoyed with was the religiousness of the characters, specially Agnes. Every now and then some reference to Biblical verse is given which was not comfortable for me, since I'm not a Christian. But then I can overlook that aspect of it because it was prevalent during Victorian era and Anne herself was very religious, so it showed in her writing style. At times it felt as if the author wants to teach us morals through the characters, which many people don't like, but I did not find any problem with it. 

I'd recommend it as a starting point of reading Bronte sisters and ask the reader not to compare the works of three sisters since they had different personalities.

General Rating - 3.5/5

Emotional Appeal - 3.5/5

Entertainment Quotient - 3.5/5