Brontë, Anne (1820-1849)

English novelist and member of the Brontë family. Although considered to have a more modest talent than her sisters Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë, her works include the fiction Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848).

Anne successfully held posts as a governess in England. She was particularly close to Emily, and shared with her an imaginary world they called ‘Gondal’, which gave rise to the bulk of Emily's poetry. Her own verse has less distinction, and her reputation has been overshadowed by that of her sisters. She died at Scarborough of tuberculosis.

Anne was continuously described as ‘gentle’, suggesting that she was less driven than her sisters. Nevertheless, her two novels, completed when she was already seriously ill, represent a considerable achievement. More than Charlotte's works, they need to be considered as period pieces, but they are notable for their realism and the then advanced and unconventional ideas on such themes as the position of women in society.