Charlotte and Emily followed shortly after with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.Īs Anne passed away from what is now known to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of just 29, she only published one further title The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.Īnne Brontë, the somewhat lesser known sister, was in fact the first to finish and publish Agnes Grey under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity.Ī tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family.Įcstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. A fortnight later, Anne was diagnosed with the same disease.An alternate cover edition can be found here.ĭrawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position. That year, both Anne’s brother Branwell and her sister Emily died of tuberculosis. She published Agnes Grey in 1847 and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in 1848. In 1846, along with Charlotte and Emily, she published Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.
She worked as a governess with the Inghamįamily (1839–40) and with the Robinson family (1840–45). After that, Anne, Charlotte, Emily and Branwell were taught at home for a few years, and together, they created vivid fantasy worlds which they explored in their writing.
She was four when her older sisters were sent to the Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge, where Maria and Elizabeth both caught tuberculosis and died. That April, the Brontës moved to Haworth, a village on the edge of the moors, where Anne’s father had become the curate. Anne Brontë was born at Thornton in Yorkshire on 17 January 1820, the youngest of six children.
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