Agnes Grey is the debut novel of English author Anne Brontë, first published in December 1847, and republished in a second edition in 1850. The novel follows Agnes Grey, a governess, as she works in several bourgeois families. Scholarship and comments by Anne's sister Charlotte Brontë suggest the novel is largely based on Anne Brontë's own experiences as a governess for five years. Like her sister Charlotte's novel 'Jane Eyre', it addresses what the precarious position of governess entailed and how it affected a young woman.
The 1st edition, published as Volume 3 of a three-volume novel, the first two volumes being the first edition of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. It was published by T. C. Newby, who is renowned for poorly supervising the printing and correction of the novels that he published. This edition is no exception; it contains many errors.
The 2nd edition, posthumously edited by Charlotte Brontë and published in 1850 in a single volume together with Wuthering Heights. Charlotte Brontë corrected many errors but also made editorial changes that are not considered authoritative.
