Agnes Grey is the debut novel of English author Anne Bront , 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 families. Anne's sister Charlotte Bront suggested the novel was largely based on Anne Bront '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. Anne Bront (17 January 1820 - 28 May 1849) was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Bront literary family.