"You're to go to the schoolroom directly, mum - the young ladies is WAITING!!" Cimax of horror! Actually waiting for their governess!!!
After being traumatised by The Wasp Factory I wanted to read something "nice". So this was a perfect choice because, well, you don't get much nicer than Agnes Grey.
I thought I had not read this book before, but within a few pages I realised that I had. I felt slightly disappointed that it was not going to be new or surprising, but then again, it was never going to be that surprising was it?
Anne is definitely the least Bronte-ish of the famed sisters. Agnes Grey is much more Mansfield Park than Wuthering Heights. It is a very preachy little book. Agnes would give Fanny Price a run for her money in the goody-two-shoes department, although with the retrospective narrative position, Agnes at least carries a bit more authority and insight.
Just when you start to feel that the book is a little too nice Agnes goes ahead and falls in love. And then the moralising gets diluted by some good old fashioned romance. Exactly what I needed to help me recover from the torturing of wasps!
I tend to get mixed up with who's who and who wrote what amongst the Brontes. Fortunately a quick wiki search can set it all straight. To aid my memory, of the 3 Bronte sisters who survived childhood:
 | ||||
| The Bronte Sisters |
Charlotte, the eldest, outlived the rest, experienced some acclaim in her lifetime for Jane Eyre, married her father's curate, but died soon after at 38yo while pregnant. Her novels:
- Jane Eyre
- Shirley
- Villette
- The Professor (written before Jane Eyre but rejected by publishers during Charlotte's life)
Emily, the middle sister, died at 30 years old in December 1948, just 3 months after Branwell's death in September 1948. She published one glorious novel:
- Wuthering Heights
Anne, the youngest of the family, died at 29 years old, 5 months after Emily in May 1949. Her contribution:
- Agnes Grey
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
All three of the sisters also wrote poetry. Their first published volume, containing poems by all 3, was not well received at first. The portrait above was painted by Branwell. Apparently Branwell was also in this portrait originally but either removed himself, or was rubbed out by his father after an argument!
Poor little Anne is the apparently the least distinguished according to wikipedia. I guess her writing is the least like to be studied by high school English Literature students, if this is anything to gauge by! And yet the entry on wikipedia about her is much, much longer than either of the entries about her sisters. Go figure.
4 comments:
I've had a late start in life in terms of reading good literature (I was bogged down reading the same book over and over again! blah) aaaaanyhoo, so far I have read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre from the Bronte sisters collection. Which one would you recommend I read next? xo
Hi Maureen,
Did you enjoy Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights? I think it is high time there was a remake of WH with a very steamy Heathcliff!
If you are looking for another Bronte novel to read I definitely recommend The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It is a bit of a feminist classic. The heroine is a much more self-determined woman that dear Agnes Grey.
For some reason I forgot to say that I LOVED both of those books. I also like the recent Jane Eyre movie and I thought Tom Hardy was pretty hot in the 2009 Wuthering Heights TV production.
I'll read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall soon, looking forward to it, thanks :)
I haven't seen the version with Tom Hardy - might have to give it a go. Haven't even seen the version with Ralph Fiennes but I just can't see him as Heathcliff.
There is a really fabulous old version of Wuthering Hts with Laurence Olivier - now there's a Heathcliff! They leave out half the book but it is definitely still worth watching.
Hope you enjoy The Tenant of Wildfell hall :)
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