January 2012 at Lisa F's. We discussed Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey.Those who read it please comment below and rate it 1-10 (10=spectacular, 1=you hated it). A short review would be great too.
And if you really want to you can offer an overall rating and then rate different things. I'm often tempted to rate the plot and the writing separately, for instance.
Don't you just love that cover on the upper right? Actually all 3 covers were just too tempting to pass up. The one on the right seemed to sum up so much and the one to the left here I just fell in love with. And the one on the upper left, I love as well even though it's more traditional. If you haven't read it and still want to you can read the whole thing online here. (It was only about 150 pages).
You can also read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne's other novel that Charlotte so disapproved of. It is more typical Bronte style though.
For those of you wanting to read a bit more about Anne and her sisters' lives you can visit the sites listed here.You can find some odd and cool things too.
Here is a pretend Bronte sister power dolls ad (they look a lot like the angry ladies in waiting from Shrek 2, don't they): http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/05/bronte_sister_power_dolls.html
And here some very cool literature-themed wood engravings including a scene from Agnes Grey where Mr. Weston picks the flowers for Agnes. (It wouldn't let me copy the image-it's the 4th picture from the right)
http://www.harrybrockway.com/#!portfolio/vstc1=folio-books
RATING: 6.5
ReplyDeleteREVIEW:
(Edited from my goodreads review)
For fans of Charlotte and Emily Bronte, you might be disappointed that this book has no lunatic wife in the attic or vengeful maniac ruining people's lives, but is a simple story of a youngest child proving to her family that she is grown up and maintaining her integrity amongst those with lesser morals, although higher class.
I love the Brontes and I tend to be biased about their books. This one is a bit hard to get into, especially if you are expecting a love story. It's not a love story, but a governess' tale. If viewed in that light, you're less likely to be disappointed.
It's common in Bronte novels for the first section of the book to be disproportionately long considering its impact on the plot, this book is no exception.
I've been baffled by this for a long time and think I finally have it figured out. Anne never offers a love story, she offers a look at the life of Agnes Grey, which sadly for her, has a lot of dreariness and not a lot of love for a while there. Looking at Jane Eyre I think you could say the same thing. It really is the story of Jane. When I write I often provide unnecessary information because I want people to understand exactly what I've been through and where I'm coming from. As a writer, I totally understand her need to write it, even if by modern standards it would have been edited out. That section of the story is very autobiographical as well, and so we aren't just getting a glimpse into the life of Agnes Grey, but also into the life of Anne Bronte and really who doesn't want to know more about the amazing Bronte sisters, especially the youngest, often looked-over, least-heard-of, Anne.
The ending with the love story is the most fun to read and is worth the journey. I found myself grinning uncontrollably.
Not sure I sold it enough in the post. Watch that video with the Dolls. Too Funny.
ReplyDeleteLOVED the Bronte Sisters video. Thanks for setting this all up it's just what we need. Sorry I didn't comment before I didn't see the comment place. I'm not sure I see it still....I saw that there were comments so I'm adding to those. I already tired to post once but it didn't work. We'll see how this goes...I'm kind of a beginner to blogs.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it worked this time. I changed the comment format a bit so maybe it will be a little simpler too.
DeleteIsn't that video hilarious. Brontesaurus! It cracks me up.
Sheroes Rock!
ReplyDeleteWhen I grow up, I want to be a Brontesaurus!
ReplyDeleteFor those who are curious, the unknown comment is the one from my sister. I changed the setting after that and asked my husband to post to see if it worked the way it's supposed to and it did.
DeleteNow I just need to know if it still works ok for the authors.