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Agnes Grey
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
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Agnes Grey
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
Drawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position.
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family.
Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity.
A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.
Anne Brontë, the somewhat lesser known sister, was in fact the first to finish and publish Agnes Grey under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. Charlotte and Emily followed shortly after with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
As Anne passed away from what is now known to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of just 29, she only published one further title; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As feminist in nature as Agnes Grey, Anne's brave voice resonates and permeates during one of the most prejudiced and patriarchal times of English history.
Narrator Biography
Emilia Fox is an English stage, film and TV actress, best known for playing the role of Dr Nikki Alexander on the BBC's crime drama Silent Witness. Having been involved in the programme since 2004, she is now its longest serving cast member.
Her other credits include Merlin, Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca, and her theatre background includes performances of The Cherry Orchard with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Emilia has also starred alongside Adrien Brody in Roman Polanski's The Pianist, beside Billie Piper and Dougray Scott in Things to Do Before You're 30 and with Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas in Keeping Mum.
She has voiced many audiobooks for Audible, including Philippa Gregory's The White Queen, William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Sylvia Plath's Lady Lazarus and Victoria Hislop's The Island.
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What listeners say about Agnes Grey
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Betty Hunter
- 10-10-21
It was a different world but so real I was there
I loved this story and Emillia Foxes excellent rendering of it I was sorry when the end came I felt I knew all the characters and really cared what happened to them. Also the English language was so beautiful in those days
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lyn
- 04-07-20
Wonderful to listen to
I enjoyed this thoroughly. The narration and content perfect . It was calming, relaxing but engaging too
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- CTRichardson
- 05-08-22
Brilliant!
An excellent performance by Emilia fox and a deeply moving novel of great percipience. Thoroughly recommended.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- RedAgnes
- 23-10-23
Flirtation and Frustrations
The Brontes and Jane Austin drive me crazy. I love the language and prose but living in that era must have been horrendous. Agnes/Anne bemoans the lot of the lower middle classes but never a thought to the scullery maids and suchlike they need to dismiss when her father’s investments sink. Everyone of the middle and upper classes are simply awful. It’s a good job that she’s got God.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Barbara Murray
- 04-04-18
A sweet simple story
I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it. The story was simple, not anything extraordinary with no twists or turns. The thing I enjoyed the most was the actual narration. Emilia Fox did a superb job
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Client d'Amazon
- 29-12-21
Entertaining, though rather trite.
A simple love story, set in Brontë time. Enjoyable easy listening. Nicely read, and one of the lesser known Brontë novels.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lucy Thorpe
- 11-12-20
A gentle tale
Not a great deal happens in Agnes Grey but that was really the charm of it. Beautifully read by Emilia Fox - her voice is quite soothing and just the right side of plummy. If you’re after a listen which soothes the mind and transports to a slower pace of life then this is just the ticket.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ray
- 14-12-21
Great
Although it sometimes feels painful listening to the requirements of restraint that were necessary for you to be considered a good woman and the blatant hypocrisy of the patriarchal society, this is of lovely book and I had a little weep at the end.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- richard2
- 18-12-22
A sweet Victorian love story with sharper undertow
Anne Brontë is such a pious person that this story, like ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ can read a bit too goody two shoes for modern readers, but it is undercut by an understated but scathing criticism of the rich and either vapid or obnoxious families she has experienced as a poor governess.
She has a lovely and gentle appreciation of the natural world too, especially animals and birds. I think this is a charming story, full of virtue rewarded!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs S. Lane
- 12-04-24
Honest and not overly sentimental
Anne is a better story teller than her sister Emily in many ways it seems
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