Anne Brontë is perhaps the least known of the three literary Brontë sisters (the other two being Emily and Charlotte of “Wuthering Heights†and “Jane Eyre†fame, respectively). Anne initially wrote under the pseudonym “Acton Bell†and is most known for her novels “Agnes Grey†and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall†as well as various poetry. If you’ve read any of the Brontë sister’s works then you won’t be surprised to learn they grew up on the desolate moors of Yorkshire, the daughters of a poor Irish clergyman who, despite his early childhood poverty in Ireland, managed to learn how to read and write (and gain a clergy position in the Church of England). The girls’ mother was also well-read and intelligent (although she died when Anne was very young). There were six Brontë children in total: Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Patrick, Emily and Anne. Maria and Elizabeth died before the age of 11 of consumption (contracted while away at school), and so the remaining children were kept home to be schooled. Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s imaginations were ignited by their environment of play and their father’s rich library of classical literature that they were able to fuel their own literary geniuses. It was through their restricted station in life (i.e., poor, educated girls’ only means of employment was that of a teacher or governess) where they found there inspiration in subject matter. While the girls’ were met with contemporary success in the debut of their novels, it was Anne who most vocally asserted her right as a female author in an otherwise mid-18th century restrictive atmosphere. She died at the young age of 29 of tuberculosis following the likewise untimely death of her beloved sister Emily. It was Charlotte who inadvertently subdued her sister Anne’s legacy by repressing the release of the somewhat scandalous (for its time) nature of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall†after Anne’s death. Only more recently have critics come to appreciate the literary giant Anne Brontë was in her own right.
