AnneBronte MY CHOICE FOR WOMAN OF POWER The

WWith the theme for this month’s edition of SHETribe being Women of Power, I decided to dip into the literary world for inspiration. And it didn’t take me long to find it.

Anne Bronte has long been one of my favorite authors, as well as being my favorite Bronte sister. Her work is astute. With observations about relationships and interactions between people that are incredibly insightful.

But what is truly remarkable is that she achieved so much, and was the catalyst for the success of her sisters’ writing, in her short life. There is a lot to be inspired by this courageous woman. Who lifted the lid on many unspoken topics. And who couldn’t even write under her own name. Instead, she used a male pseudonym. Because of course, back then, women of her class weren’t allowed to do anything much beyond childbearing.

It was Anne who started the Bronte story in the first place. It was her poetry that catapulted her and her sisters into the world of publishing. She, who insisted they send their pieces off, under the names of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.

A Her debut novel, Agnes Grey, largely biographical, explored the travails of a governess of those times. I use it as an example of good structure in my own fiction author courses.