Anne Brontë | Author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Brontë’s Books on PageVio
Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846)
Agnes Grey (1847)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet best known for her novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. She is considered one of the first writers of the Victorian era to deal with social issues such as women’s rights and alcoholism. She is the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Her two other famous sisters are Charlotte and Emily Brontë.
Early Life
Anne Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in 1820, the sixth child of Patrick Brontë, an Irish Anglican clergyman, and Maria Branwell Brontë. Her siblings were Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Branwell, and Emily. When Anne was one year old, her mother died of cancer, and her Aunt Elizabeth Branwell came to live with the family and help raise the children. In 1824, the family moved to Haworth, where Patrick had been appointed as perpetual curate, and Anne lived the rest of her life.
The oldest child, Maria, died at the age of eleven. The next oldest, Elizabeth, also died young. These losses had a profound effect on the remaining siblings. Charlotte Brontë later said that her sisters’ deaths made her feel that she “must live for three.”
The Brontë children were home-schooled by their father and Elizabeth Branwell. They were encouraged to read, and this fed their imaginations. Anne and her sisters and Branwell would often spend hours in their home, creating an imaginary world, writing and telling stories. Anne and Emily went on to create their imaginary world called Gondal.
In 1835, Charlotte Brontë was teaching at Roe Head, and Emily went there as a pupil. Emily had trouble adjusting to her new school environment and became ill and homesick. Emily was withdrawn from school three months later, and she was replaced by Anne. It was Anne’s first time away from home.
Blake Hall
Anne Brontë left school in 1839 to become a governess for the Ingham family at Blake Hall, Mirfield. Anne became frustrated with her work at Blake Hall and was dismissed in 1839. Her experiences as a governess served as inspiration for her novel Agnes Grey.
Work as a Governess
In 1840, Anne became a governess for the Robinson family in Thorp Green Hall, Yorkshire, staying with them until 1846. In 1843, Anne secured a position for Branwell at Thorp Green, and Anne and Branwell taught there for the next three years.
Poems
In 1846, the three Brontë sisters published a collection of their poems under the pseudonyms Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton Bell (Anne). The volume was met with little success and only sold two copies during the sisters’ lifetimes.
The sisters were born into a time when women were not encouraged to pursue literary careers. To be taken seriously as writers, they had to adopt male pen names. This decision represents the struggles women writers faced at the time, who were often forced to choose between their art and societal approval.
Agnes Grey
Her governess’ experience inspired her first novel, Agnes Grey. The novel is based on her life, the lives of the families she worked for, and her time at Blake Hall. She was often treated poorly by her employers and was not given the respect she deserved. Agnes Grey was published in 1846.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second novel by Anne Brontë, published in 1848. It follows the life of its protagonist, Gilbert Markham, as he falls in love with and then marries the mysterious Helen Graham, a woman who has come to the small village of Helstone to escape her abusive husband.
The feminist novel is set in the early nineteenth century and is one of the first examples of the literary genre of the social novel. It critiques the social conventions of its time, particularly the institution of marriage. It is considered ahead of its time in exploring gender and power dynamics within relationships.
Anne Brontë’s Last Poem
Tragedy struck the Brontë family in 1849. Branwell Brontë died in 1848. After Branwell’s passing, Emily Brontë became very ill and died in December 1848. Emily’s passing deeply affected Anne and her health.
Anne caught influenza at the end of December 1848 and became weaker. She wrote her last poem, “A dreadful darkness closes in,” about how she wages her struggle against her illness. Anne died on May 28th, 1849, at the age of 29. Anne Brontë’s life and work are commemorated at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth. The museum is housed in the former home of the Brontë family and contains many original items belonging to the family, including furniture, clothes, and personal belongings.
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