The novel follows Anges and her uneasy path to personal happiness and a romance with Mr. Weston. Agnes, her sister, Mary, and their mother all try to keep expenses low and to bring in extra money, but Agnes is frustrated that everyone treats her like a child. To prove herself and to earn money, she starts working as a governess, teaching children of rich families. Agnes Grey is an autobiographical novel with strong parallels between its events and Anne Bronte's own life as a governess.

Anne Bronte was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Bronte sisters literary family. At the age of 19 she left home and worked as a governess. Agnes Grey follows similar path in Anne's eponymous novel. Anne Bronte's other notable works include The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, considered one of the best Bronte novels. After Anne's death, her sister Charlotte prevented re-publication of this hugely successful work and Anne remained not only the youngest, but also least known of the three sisters.