Agnes Grey (Collins Classics)

Description

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior.' Anne Bronte's debut novel tells the story of Agnes Grey, a young woman who is determined to seek work as a governess after her family becomes impoverished. Drawing upon her own experiences as a governess, Anne describes the isolation, insensitivity and occasional harsh treatment bestowed on women in her position by their employers and through Agnes, demonstrates the resilience, integrity and survival of one woman in the face of upper class snobbery and changing social values.

English novelist and poet Anne Bronte was the youngest, and least recognized, member of the Bronte literary family. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, before publishing two novels under the name Acton Bell. Bronte achieved modest success with her first novel, Agnes Grey, which was based on her time working as a governess, but her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a triumph, selling out in just six weeks. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is also considered one of the first feminist novels, with depictions of alcoholism and immorality that were profoundly disturbing in the 19th century.