This version of the book has been reviewed in English(41) by readers.
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What are readers saying about Agnes Grey (Classics)?
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A reader posted a review at 2009-11-14 00:28:23.
(Language: English)
  
Admission time: I've never liked Wuthering Heights. My sister and I both tend to lump the Brontë sisters together as one category of literature but it's always grated on me that I couldn't enjoy Emily's contribution. I don't know precisely why I couldn't get into the novel - mainly, I think, because I didn't enjoy either Heathcliff or Catherine. My favourite of the sisters' works will always be Charlotte's Jane Eyre. And since I esteemed Eyre so highly, I thought I would enjoy Agnes Grey as well. I was partly right.It's no secret that these Victorian novels, when they are centred on young women, have two possible endings: the heroine dies or is married. Tragedy or comedy - and I mean comedy here in the antiquated sense. Agnes Grey is of the comedic variety. Unfortunately, the the romantic plot of the novel is it's weakest. Overall, Grey feels very segmented. There is the portion of the novel that deals with the horrible Bloomfield household, and then with the Murrays (mostly Miss Murray), and then Agnes's love interest competes for the reader's attention along with her mother and the storyline of the two women beginning their own school. Although Mr. Weston makes an early appearance in the novel, I can't help but feel that Agnes's desire for him is rather sudden. That would be just fine however, these rapidly-evolving feelings are not an uncommon motif, if Agnes herself wasn't such a doormat. Passive to the point of acting more like her charge's slave than governess, Agnes allows the children in her care to trample over her own feelings and desires constantly. When Miss Murray gets an inkling of Agnes's attraction to Mr. Weston, she takes it on herself to keep the two apart by setting Agnes menial task after menial task and doing her best to have Mr. Weston fall in love with her instead. Agnes is too much dependent on the living she makes to speak up for herself or speak truthfully about the children to their mother. I would have enjoyed her so much more if she had been capable of that. </center> All that said, Agnes Grey is still an enjoyable and quick read. It accomplishes what it set out to do in enlightening the reader about the limitations placed on women who must work to provide for themselves and the abuses they necessarily suffer. I would not, however, recommend this over Jane Eyre. Anne's novel is not the tremendous undertaking of Charlotte's, but I couldn't help comparing the two at every turn. To me, Agnes Grey was Jane Eyre without the strong characters, compelling romance, mystery, and that little touch of the supernatural. 
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A reader posted a review at 2009-11-13 06:53:31.
(Language: English)
Reminded me a lot of Villette. I enjoy this style of writing, hence the high rating, but I don't think the writing is as accomplished as her sisters'. The ending was also relatively quick, and not altogether unsurprising. Love the dramatic writing about the horrible children she looks after though!
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A reader posted a review at 2009-10-16 16:52:01.
(Language: English)
Agnes Grey is a little unbearable to get through because of the utter passivity and wet-blanketness of the narrator/titular character, but it's a slim enough tome and worth reading for the view into the time it provides and for the utter realness of the vain, spoiled Miss Murphy.
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María posted a review at 2009-08-16 16:57:08.
(Language: English)
Not as good as Jane Eyre, but still an agreable read.
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priya saha aka peu posted a review at 2009-07-11 12:39:23.
(Language: English)
l juz love dis buk...even though she isnt as popular as her sister vich l find quite unfair...itz al abt a governess'life
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A reader posted a review at 2009-05-03 21:04:50.
(Language: English)
Love this book. They are such talented sisters - two of whom died at a very young age. This book is about the triumph of goodness - and what it means to stay true to yourself no matter what. Can't wait to read her other book.....
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Mary Miller posted a review at 2009-05-01 05:39:28.
(Language: English)
They keep deleting my review, and it's harmless- a very positive review At first you think 'oh another dour serious book' but it is really kind of funny and bizarre the things she puts up with as a governess. I like her writing much better than Charlotte, but not as good as Emily's Wuthering Heights. Excellent, easy read for a Bronte work.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-04-05 21:53:43.
(Language: English)
Victorian England was a sad, sad place for middleclass, educated women. Not as powerhouse as Tenant, but still illuminating.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-03-31 01:40:12.
(Language: English)
The experiences, feelings, dreams and thoughts of an individual can never be known unless the person chooses to pen it all- in a diary, or... in a book. As with this book, readers are introduced to a world previously unknown to others- the world of an English governess- and the exposure that is granted through it. Reading this book is likened to stepping back in time, to an earlier era where the roles of a working-class governess were often not described. A detailed expression and recollection of the life of an English Governess in the 19th century; as well as the wards and charges she would have. This is an era long gone- the lives of these English families and even the patronage- are probably now but fading memories. Yet in this book, the years and time disappear, leaving us precious glimpses of life.
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