I haven’t had a chance to watch To Walk Invisible yet, the BBC bio-drama that aired last week on the Brontës, but to satiate viewers for knowledge for more Brontë, The Guardian recently published a piece on Anne Brontë, the younger and lesser known sister of the family, on her body of work. The piece centers mostly on Anges Grey, Anne’s first book, a tale of a woman who is too educated to be a servant and too poor to be a lady which falls to her only option: becoming a governess.
Anges Grey is a sharp-witted observational tale of a governess who speaks directly to the reader and due to its frankness of the reality of the governess jobs these genteel women take, the book was set to cause an outrage when it was published. Except, dear reader, if you may remember, Jane Eyre (by sister Charlotte), does exactly what Anges Grey was supposed to do and Anges Grey has long been considered Jane Eyre’s poorer imitation. Except, Anges Grey was written first and scholars argue it was Anne who should have gotten the accolades first, not Charlotte.
The Guardian piece, which parallels Anne’s life with Anges’, is written by Samantha Ellis whose forthcoming book, Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life, is set to be released internationally this spring with no known US publishing date.