73.
Author: Ruth Brandon
Title: Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres
Publication: Hardback, 2008.
Pages: 257 pages
Genre: Nonfiction
Acquisition: LT 75er suggestion
Date Completed: September 13, 2010
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Ruth Brandon's Governess treats a subject well-known to anyone who has any level of experience with nineteenth-century British novels. Historically, the governess is a sad figure, isolated from all societies by the strange social distinctions her occupation creates. Brandon's presentation of a few selected women seeks to enlighten readers as to the true experiences of this fictional trope, but as a reader I question her proclaimed intentions versus the material she actually presents. Indeed, Brandon presents brief biographies of selected governesses, based on careful research and primary documentation such as letters and journals. However, my own reading suggests that Brandon's true goal is to champion the rights of women - socially and intellectually - as opposed to exploring the occupation and the effects of that occupation on the individuals. Much of Brandon's text is concerned with presenting the shameful realities of women's lives (kept purposefully ignorant, losing rights to their children, and specific maltreatment at the hands of various men), while the material itself is selected based on the fact that the women were at some time or another a governess.

This is not to say that Brandon's text is unsuccessful - rather, it is an interesting examination of individual lives that illustrate larger social problems - but I found the subject of governessing to be, at times, secondary to questions of gender analysis.

If a reader is at all familiar with the lives of the Brontes or Mary Shelly, or even if they've read a novel such as The Tenant of Wildfell Hall or Jane Eyre, Governess will provide no enlightenment. However, if a reader has only a brief understanding of Victorian culture, Governess will provide an interesting introduction to the roles of women in society.