“Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.”
Jane Austin - Pride & Prejudice
The least known Brontë sister
I had heard of Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë. I was forced to read it for a highschool literature class and hated every second of it. On my complaining loudly about the Brontës my long-suffering teacher told me to read some of Charlotte’s work. I suspect she just wanted to shut me up (I do have an annoying voice!).
I read Jane Eyre - I loved Jane Eyre - I read it several times. So my mum (bless her) went second-hand shopping and bought me all the Brontë novels she could find.(Again, I suspect she just wanted to shut me up.)
To my surprise there was a third Brontë novelist.
That I hadn’t known of Anne Brontë is not that astonishing when you google it and find that Charlotte actively sought to prevent Anne’s writings from being published. Anne’s stories are very real. She does not blunt the truth, nor does she pretend that everyone lives very proper lives indeed.
Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë is a personal favourite of mine. Anne herself was a governess for many years, and her experiences are recounted in this story. I love the tale of Agnes as it is very true to life. As a teacher I can relate to how she is treated by both her charges and the parents. Agnes (and no doubt Anne too) had to do it tough. She had no personal time, received no support from the parents, and had to cope with several devilish and violent children at a time.
Anne does not try to create romance out of a governess’ life. The master of the house does not fall in love with her - he barely even acknowledges her existence. To be sure, there is some romance in Agnes’ life, but not in a soppy-yeah-right-that-would-never-happen sort of way.
Anne Brontë’s novels are more applicable to modern society. Human nature is not blurred and, when I read her stories, I feel I am getting a more accurate portrayal of the nineteenth century than if I were to read Emily or Charlotte.
So please, dear reader, give poor Anne a go! You could probably pick her works up for $2 second hand, and she is worth so much more than that.
