Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

Lindsay Sullivan (Cardiff University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1847

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Romance

Resources

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Agnes Grey

tells the story of the eponymous heroine's experiences working as a governess for the Bloomfield and Murray families and can be compared with other novels that are concerned with governesses, such as Charlotte Brontë's

Jane Eyre

(1847), William Makepeace Thackeray's

Vanity Fair

(1847-8), Harriet Martineau's

Deerbrook

(1839) and Mrs Henry Wood's

East Lynne

(1861). It is assumed that in its writing Anne Brontë drew on her own experiences as a governess at Blake Hall and Thorp Green Hall. The novel was written in the winter and spring of 1845-6 (whilst Emily worked on

Wuthering Heights

and Charlotte worked on

The Professor

) but proved hard to place with a publisher, and it was only after the success of Charlotte Brontë's

Jane Eyre

(published 16th October 1847) that Thomas…

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1526 words

Citation: Sullivan, Lindsay. "Agnes Grey". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6803, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

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