Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.

 “Reading is my favourite occupation, when I have leisure for it and books to read.” 

Anne Bronte was the only Bronte I hadn't met yet. Neither of her books made it onto my 250 project list, but I made sure to include them both on my Classics Club List. And since Agnes Grey was both short and by the last Bronte sister, I wanted to make sure that I got to it during the Victorian event.

I am so glad I did.

My experiences with both Emily and Charlotte have been wonderful. I met Emily first when I read Wuthering Heights. And while I didn't really love the characters, I admired the story and Emily. I've also read both Jane Eyre and Villette by Charlotte. Both of those blew me away and definitely overshadowed my reading experience with Emily. So, it was time for Anne to speak to me. And speak to me she did.

I should first say that while I wasn't completely blown away by Agnes Grey, I did love it. It was her first novel, and it seemed a bit rough around the edges...almost as if she wasn't sure what she was going to write about and say when she began. The book opens with telling the reader a bit about Agnes' life. Her family isn't super well off, and while she doesn't have to, she decides to find work as a governess. The first family she works for has a bunch of little hellions, and the parents aren't much better. She eventually finds a second situation that seems to be a little better, but not perfect. I really loved the descriptions of her struggles with her students. Some bits made me chuckle because guess what, I go through the same thing when I'm teaching!

“I had been seasoned by adversity, and tutored by experience, and I longed to redeem my lost honour in the eyes of those whose opinion was more than that of all the world to me.”

But, the book shifts gears about midway through when Agnes is in her second placement. A love interest emerges, and while he isn't necessarily all the book focuses on from that point forward, the change made the novel feel a bit disjointed.

The novel begins to focus a bit on one of Agnes' students-Rosalie-and her quest to find a proper husband. In some ways, I felt that the novel took a bit of a shallow turn here. Where I was interested in Agnes' almost invisible role as the governess to spoiled and rotten children (I really did love her observations of the children and her own reactions to their actions), I felt that her observations of Rosalie's situation were...well...judgemental.

Let me explain. As a governess, Agnes would have been almost invisible to the wealthy members of the family. As long as she did her job properly, she would lead a lonely life among the children of the family-her charges. Those observations, like those that took place in the beginning of the book, were fascinating on their own. But once Agnes' observations became intertwined with Rosalie, I began to lose a bit of interest.

However, there were some interesting and underlying things that caught my attention once I shut the book. First, the Bronte sisters worked as governesses, so obviously some of the material was probably inspired by Anne's own experiences. She wanted to show the life of a governess in this time period to those who were unfamiliar with the lonely and unrecognized side of taking on that kind of employment. I am sure that the experiences poor Agnes had as a governess would have meant something different to men and women reading this novel back in the 19th century.

But I was also struck by the difference in lifestyle between Agnes and Rosalie-arguably the two main female characters. Agnes made it a point to tell her readers that she lived in a reasonably well off family (I would say a middle-class family. She never really wanted for anything and her family always supported her) and that Rosalie came from money. So, here are two women with slightly different circumstances...but such a difference in choice.

Agnes was allowed to choose to go and find work on her own. She wanted to help support her family, so she found work as a governess and pursued it. She was allowed to do almost as she pleased in her spare time-spend time with the poor, read, write letters, etc. On the other hand, Rosalie was raised more by a governess than her own mother. She was instructed from the beginning to be a flirt and to find a place with a well to do man. Her life was consumed by finding a husband whereas Agnes was allowed to be herself.

It was an interesting comparison and one that really struck me only when I finished the novel. In many ways, I think that Agnes' story was a way for Anne to acknowledge that her own life was something more than many others could hope for. If you really think about it, the Brontes were an incredibly interesting family. The three sisters were allowed a lot of freedom and choice in what they wished to do-something that probably wasn't all that common.

In the end, I really did love Agnes Grey. Do I think it would have been better to have a novel focused on the plight of a governess and a separate one to point out the comparison between classes? Absolutely. But this was still fabulous and gave me a lot of food for thought once I finished it. It also made me eager to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which I am hoping to get to later this fall.

“I still preserve those relics of past sufferings and experience, like pillars of witness set up in travelling through the valve of life, to mark particular occurrences. The footsteps are obliterated now; the face of the country may be changed; but the pillar is still there, to remind me how all things were when it was reared.”

After finishing this one and writing a post about the Brontes last week, I was stuck thinking for awhile about which Bronte sister I am most like, now that I have "met" them all. I think I would like to be Charlotte. She was adventurous, romantic, and took chances. After all, she traveled to Belgium, and was resolute in getting the novels she and her sisters wrote published. She was also strong after losing her siblings and carried on. But I'm not really like that. Anne was the youngest and from her writing, she seemed incredibly passionate about social issues and exploring the nature of human relationships. She also ventured out on her own a bit and worked as a governess as well.

But Emily...she was a quietly passionate and stormy one. She was more of a homebody (she refused to go to London to prove her identity to her publisher) and seemed to be a bit more...dreamy. I think that if there was a Bronte I am the most like...it would have to be Emily.

Who do you think you would be most like? Or do you disagree with my observations on the sisters?

Author Focus: The Bronte Sisters and Giveaway (A Victorian Celebration).

This week's author focus is a 3 for 1 deal on the Bronte sisters. If you are interested  in any of the other posts I've written on other Victorian authors, they are linked here:

• George Eliot
• Wilkie Collins
• Charles Dickens
• Thomas Hardy

I'm excited to talk a little bit about the Brontes! I had never picked up a Bronte novel until my project, but with each new title, I am more and more in awe of the three sisters.

I should say up front that I am no expert on the sisters or their lives, but there are a number of biographies on them if you're interested in learning more. Think of this post as a very broad overview into their lives!

The Bronte family consisted of their parents, Patrick and Maria, as well as their two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, and their brother Branwell. Their mother and two older sisters all died when the girls were young, leaving the three sisters with their brother and father.

The Bronte Sisters.

Charlotte, the oldest of the trio, was born in 1816. As a child, she was sent away to school at the Cowan Bridge School, which later inspired Lowood School in Jane Eyre. It was there that her two older sisters contracted tuberculosis and passed away in 1825. After her removal from the school, she served as a teacher to Branwell, Emily, and Anne. Emily was born in 1818 and was also enrolled at the Cowan Bridge School. Like Charlotte, she was pulled from the school and sent home when disease spread in the school. The second youngest, she was under the care and instruction of Charlotte and her Aunt Elizabeth for the remainder of her schooling. Anne was the youngest of the Brontes. Born in 1820, she was too young to be sent away to school like her older sisters, so she was already at home when the girls returned and her eldest sisters passed away.

At home, the four remaining Bronte siblings had to entertain themselves as best they could. They created literary worlds where they could escape from the everyday and explore their own interpretations of literature. They even created their own mythical land and began to write stories centered on Branwell's toy soldiers and their own imaginings of events in their heads.

In 1831, Charlotte was sent away to school at Miss Wooler's school. She seemed to thrive in the environment, and when the opportunity arose, she took on work teaching. Emily also accompanied her for a time, but came back home after three months. Anne took her place.

Charlotte Bronte

During their education and travels, all three of the girls continued to write. There are excerpts of letters from Charlotte to Branwell with more descriptions and narratives to go along with their childhood stories. Before beginning to really focus on writing, both Charlotte and Anne worked as governesses to help out their family (perhaps their inspirations for Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey). Emily seemed to have issues with leaving home, so she stayed with her father while her sisters worked.

It was in 1842 that their Aunt Elizabeth determined to send both Charlotte and Emily to Brussels to study in a boarding school. She felt that this exposure outside of England would do both girls some good, and since both of them showed a high level of intelligence, she was happy to spend the money. Anne stayed back home and continued in her post as a governess. In Brussels, the girls studied under the Hegers. After 6 months, both were offered the opportunity to stay on for free if they also taught some lessons at the school. Both accepted, but returned to England a few months later when their aunt passed away. While their inheritance paid off their debts and would allow them to live comfortably, Charlotte chose to return to Brussels to teach a little longer while Emily chose to stay home.

Charlotte was away for another year before returning home. It's rumored and believed there was some level of affection on her part towards Mr. Heger, which may have encouraged her to come home. However, things were also going downhill at home. Mr. Bronte had been sick and Branwell was also in declining health.

Emily Bronte

It is after Charlotte returned home that the sisters began writing seriously. Charlotte began writing Jane Eyre while sitting beside her ailing father and brother. She also began to take interest in the writings of both of her sisters. Emily had been writing poetry and after being convinced by Charlotte, the three sisters decided to try and get a volume of their poetry published. It eventually was and they published the work under their pen names-Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. The volume only sold 3 copies, but it sparked more literary discussions around the dinner table.

In 1847, the Bronte sisters each published a work. Jane Eyre by Charlotte, Wuthering Heights by Emily, and Agnes Grey by Anne were all published under their pen names to varying levels of success. It was after the publication of all three novels that rumors sprouted about Currer, Ellis, and Acton being only one person. To prove their publishers otherwise, Charlotte and Anne traveled to London with letters from their publisher (Emily refused to go and stayed home).

Branwell passed away in September 1848 from tuberculosis, but it was rumored he had a drinking problem. Emily fell ill in September of the same year and passed away in December-from tuberculosis. It is rumored she left behind a manuscript when she passed, with orders for Charlotte to burn it. After the publication of Wuthering Heights, she didn't want any more of her work out to the public (Wuthering Heights was a bit scandalous). Anne had published The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in the same year, but passed away in May 1849. Again, the cause of death was attributed to tuberculosis.

After suffering through the deaths of her three remaining siblings in only 8 months, Charlotte turned back to writing and published Shirley in October 1849. She also moved to London and befriended some of the other literary minds of the era-namely Elizabeth Gaskell and William Makepeace Thackeray. She became close friends with Gaskell, who later wrote a biography of Charlotte after her death.

Anne Bronte

Her third novel, Villette, was published in 1853. In June 1854, she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. She became pregnant shortly after her marriage, but her health declined. She passed away on March 31, 1855 at only 31 years old. Her last novel, The Professor, was published after her death (the novel was actually written around the time of Jane Eyre).

After Charlotte's death, the only surviving member of the Bronte family was their father Patrick. He outlived all of his children and passed away in 1861 at 84 years old. 

I think the Brontes are tragic in many ways. It is shame that such intelligent minds were taken far too soon. I wonder what other things they would have written given the time and opportunity to create more. To date, I have read Jane Eyre, Villette, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey. I have loved all four of the novels I've read so far, but I can't wait to read more. Their complete novels are as follows:

Anne Bronte:

• Agnes Grey (1847)
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)

 Emily Bronte:

• Wuthering Heights (1847) 

Charlotte Bronte:

• Jane Eyre (1847)
• Shirley (1849)
• Villette (1853)
• The Professor (1857)

There is also the collection of their poems that they published together and a fragment of Charlotte's unfinished work, Emma.

For this week's giveaway, I am giving away THREE Bronte titles-one from each sister. I will pull names based on which sister you choose (so if there is only one entry for one sister, that person will automatically win). To enter, read the following and comment below:

• This giveaway will be open internationally (I will be shipping from The Book Depository, so as long as they ship to you, you can enter)
• You MUST be a participant of A Victorian Celebration to enter.
• You MUST be 13 years or older
• You do not have to follow me or subscribe to qualify
• You MUST leave me your e-mail so that I contact you if you win
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will pick a new winner.
• To enter, comment on this post and answer the following question: Which Bronte sister is your favorite and why? Also, what book would you choose if you won?
• The giveaway will be open until 11:59 PM on Friday, July 27, 2012 EST.

Good luck and thanks for entering!

*All information came from wikipedia.org and Elizabeth Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Bronte*

Book 83: Jane Eyre and Book Stats.

Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)

First Published: 1847

My Edition: Penguin Clothbound Classic (seen at left)

Pages: 578

Other Works Include: Shirley (1849), Villette (1853), The Professor (1857)

I read Villette back in September/October and many of the comments I received mentioned that it was odd I wasn't started with Bronte's more famous novel, Jane Eyre. When I was deciding between the two, I was extremely hesitant to pick up this title, so I grabbed Villette first. To be honest, it looked more interesting and suited my mood. I ended up loving the novel and have wondered ever since how this one could possibly top it. That might be the reason I have been so hesitant to begin reading it.

Here are links to my posts on Villette if you are interested:

• Book Stats/Intro Post
• On Part One
• On Part Two
• On Part Three/Finished

In any case, with the new movie out and all the hype, I realized I should probably read the novel to avoid spoilers. Somehow I have managed to avoid any knowledge of the plot of the book during my lifetime. Impressive, isn't it? All I do know is that there is some fellow named Rochester, a girl named Jane, and that she is an orphan. There is a lot missing to make that a story.

As I start this, I am nervous and hesitant. I am worried it won't live up to my high expectations, or that it will be overshadowed by the beauty of Villette. Another part of me is a little sad that I am reading this so soon. Once I finish it, I won't have any more Brontes to look forward to on my list (Obviously they have more novels between the three of them, and I haven't read any of Anne's work, but none of their other titles are on my 250 list). But, I am excited and I can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.

How many of you have read this one? How does it compare to the other Bronte titles you have read?

Book 28: Finished.

I really, really loved Wuthering Heights. It was not at all what I expected it to be, but that's okay-I loved it anyway.

I know that a lot of people cannot stand it, and I am sure it is for the very reasons I listed in my last post. All of the characters are horrible people. They all make decisions that leave the reader wondering, "Are they crazy? Stupid? or just extremely passionate?" I am thinking they are all of these things. Each character made me go crazy with anger. I kept yelling at them in my head to wake up and learn a little. They never did.

But I loved the book. It is a different portrait of love. Catherine and Heathcliff's love affair is certainly passionate and full of emotion. It is also nothing like what you would expect. It is violent at times, and scary-like watching two trains barreling towards one another on a track with no brakes. You want to look away, but you just can't.

The second half of the novel, which focuses on Catherine's daughter, is even more mind-boggling. If there ever was a spoiled little daddy's girl, little Catherine would be it. She is everything her mother was and more. Like her mother, she is also spoiled and passionate. She does what she thinks is best for herself, with hardly a care for the implication of her actions on those around her.

Overall, this is definitely an extremely powerful novel about just that. It is a good look at how our actions can harm those around us without our realizing it. It is about how we should be careful how we treat others around us because in the future, we could be at their mercy.

This is definitely a powerful novel and one that I will be sure to read over and over again.

Book 28: Characters.

I just feel like I should say this outright.

I really hate every character in Wuthering Heights.

There, I said it.

They are all whiny, selfish, self-absorbed, idiotic, uneducated, power-hungry, over-dramatic morons.

*sigh*

It feels good to get that out.

Now, with all of that being said, I love the novel.

Perhaps that is a contradiction, but it's true. While the characters make me cringe, I am sucked into the drama and passion that is Wuthering Heights.

I don't mean to harp on the Twilight references (after all, I got out some anger in yesterday's post), but I can't help but comparing the two. Perhaps Meyer really did base her characters on these selfish people. Heathcliff is so like Edward. He is controlling, violent, and overbearing. Catherine is the essence of all of Bella Swann's horrible characteristics. She is selfish and asks for pain and heartache.

It is almost as if Meyer loved these characters and just modernized them for the benefit of today's readership. Because, like the characters in Wuthering Heights, all of the characters in Twilight are cringeworthy.

Okay, no more Twilight from now on.

Anyway, I cannot stand any of the characters. The narrator is a whiny little man who seems a little too obsessed with the history of the place called Wuthering Heights. In all honesty, he has no business inquiring after any of the inhabitants or commenting on them. When he is fully in a scene, I find him annoying and whiny. He complains too much.

I also cannot stand the housekeeper-Nelly. Since most of the novel is from her point of view (she is relating the history of Wuthering Heights to the MC), we get to hear a lot from her. What irks me is that she knows better, but she still constantly plays into Heathcliff's traps and does what is worse in every situation. It is mind-boggling and aggravating.

The two main love interests in the first volume are also incredibly irritating. Heathcliff is overbearing and power-hungry. He is a violent character, moody, and downright mean. I can find nothing good in him.

And Catherine is a selfish woman who only cares about her own happiness.

Even with all of this being said, I still LIKE the book. I don't know why, but I am drawn to these horrible people and their poor messed up lives. I don't see the love in this story, but I am waiting to be surprised. I am waiting to see if Bronte can make these people into something meaningful and less disgusting. But even while I wait, I still like the book. I like how even though there is nothing to love, I want to know more.

I suppose that is the draw of this novel, and why when it first came out, critics were skeptic of the writing style. Books this dark didn't draw audiences back then like they might now.

So yes, I am curious to see where it goes.

Has there ever been a book where you hated the characters but still loved the story?

Book 28: Wuthering Heights.

I feel like this is one of those books I should have read a long time ago. I mean, I love Austen and often the Bronte sisters and Austen seem to go hand in hand. However, I never read any Austen until I was in my third year of college, and up until this point, I have never read anything by any of the Bronte sisters.

I am starting to think that my English degree is a joke.

But, I am trying to remedy all of these problems by reading these books now, right?

Back to Wuthering Heights. I'll be honest and say that I have a lot of reservations about this novel. Perhaps it might be that whenever I think about Wuthering Heights recently, I see a few images that have scarred my mind.

I am referring to this:



And this....



That very small part of that is a book snob cringes whenever I see these covers. It is not because the covers are modernized, it is because of how they are being marketed. You see those small little "stickers" on each edition? They both say, "Bella & Edward's Favorite Book." THAT makes me cringe.

I understand the Twilight phenomenon. I mean, I read all 4 books and while I enjoyed them, I would never, never refer to them as great literature. I see many big problems in them, the largest being Edward's insane level of stalkerish tendencies. So I have a really hard time with this Twilight themed brand of marketing. It makes me angry.

In my opinion, you should want to read Wuthering Heights because of its storyline and history. Not because it is Bella and Edward's favorite book. Why do two fictional characters have such an influence on what you read?

I also worry about how so many Twilight fans will interpret Wuthering Heights. In regards to writing style and ability, Bronte and Meyer are worlds apart. They come from different eras and backgrounds. I worry that fans of Twilight will read a few pages of Wuthering Heights and hate it outright, thinking, "This is NOT Twilight!!! I was LIED to!!"

*I feel I should note why I say this. When I first saw these editions in a book store, there were two young girls looking at them. One of them picked up a copy and started reading the first few lines, then set it down saying, "This is so boring. Who would want to read this?" The other girl looked at the book and said, "I think that is one of those old books. You know? One that Mrs. ****** would make us read.*

So yes, I go into reading Wuthering Heights with a lot of hesitation. Again, perhaps this is snobbish of me to be so worked up about new editions. After all, not every person who picks it up is doing it because of a book craze, but because they want to read good literature, like I do.

But I have to wonder, will marketing it this way give it more fans or fewer? Is this a clever way of getting teenagers to read more classics and give them a shot? Or is it simply going to make more readers turn away from classic literature from being mismarketed to? I am curious to find out.

What do you think?

Book 28: Book Stats.

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte (1818-1848)
First Published: 1847

My Edition: Penguin Classics Hardcover (one of the new fabric bound editions)
Pages: 353

Emily was the second of the three Bronte sisters. Her big sister was Charlotte (author of Villete and Jane Eyre). Her younger sister, Anne, was also an author and wrote Agnes Grey. Emily also wrote poetry as well, but Wuthering Heights was her only known novel. When it was first published in 1847, it was published under the name of Ellis Bell. In 1850, Charlotte decided to republish the novel using her sister's actual name.

I have never read any of the work of the Bronte sisters. Surprising, isn't it? I suppose it has been fear that has kept me away. I am mostly afraid of not liking novels that I "should."

Eventually I will be reading Charlotte Bronte's Villete and Jane Eyre.

Sunday Salon...on Monday.

This has been a horrid week. My laptop has some insane virus on it that is driving me crazy and while Matt and I have tried to get it off with a lot of different scans, nothing is working. We decided that we are just going to wipe it and reboot it tonight. Luckily, I got on yesterday and managed to save everything I needed, so I shouldn't lose anything else (I lost my novel in progress back in January when we tried to wipe the laptop-sensing a trend?)

Since I was so upset about not blogging and getting new posts up, reading fell by the wayside for most of the week. I did start Wuthering Heights on Saturday morning and now I only have about 50 pages left. But, reading was not as successful as it could have, and should have been.

I also had my first day of substitute teaching on Friday. I spent half the day in a kindergarten classroom. I was completely out of my element, since I am certified for 6-12, so I don't think I will be taking a job like that again any time soon. I do have a 2-day job lined up for Thursday and Friday at the district that wanted to hire me this past summer and the job is in my age group and subject matter, so it should be a fun 2 days!

I also signed up for the Classics Circuit in April. I am bummed not to be participating in the Zola tour. I read Germinal in December and loved it, but it was the only Zola on my list. To make up for my disappointment, I will be reading two novels for Dumas, which I am eager to read.

I am also disappointed in the lack of entries for my giveaway, so if you haven't already, please enter! And spread the word! There is a link at the top of my blog.

Goals for this week:

• Laptop back up and running.
• Finish posts for O Pioneers and Little Women
• Finish Wuthering Heights
• Read Alias Grace

Happy reading everyone and I hope to be back in the full swing of things soon!