Anne Bronte is the youngest of the Bronte literary family. Agnes Grey is her autobiographical novel about her life as a governess. Much like the Victorian era novels, the reader is given the description of the estates and the moors and the walks and the tea-time stories et al. But this novel is as close to reality as it could be. Whereas, Charlotte’s and Emily’s novels were the heights of romanticism, this is the other end, it is pure realism. No character is an epitome of perfection/ imperfection. All are human. Some with more vices, some with little less. But all with emotions that you and I experience daily that of love, duty, exasperation, jealousy, longing, faith, determination.
It is written in the form of an address to an assumed reader. The words used are heavy but the structure is plain and narrative is explicit and wonderful. It is a good time pass read. I did not particularly find it very interesting and could have passed it. I read the edition from Popular Illustrated Classics and let me tell you that the illustrations are totally pathetic and nothing less than that. I mean it was ludicrous to look at the drawings. The book as such would have been much much better than those mocking illustrations. Well anyway, as I said earlier, for me it was a good time pass.
One is forced to wonder that what did these Bronte sisters eat? All of them turned out to be such great writers. Currently, onto Virginia Woolf’s “A room of One’s Own” and like her every novel, although short, it will take some time to read. So, the review might come tomorrow or today night as the circumstances stand.
As I like it 