The book is written from her direct experiences, and it's heartbreaking. Agnes feels the unhappiness of not fitting into a household, of not liking - or being liked by - parents or children, and great loneliness. Some of the children are ghastly, particularly the boys.
Apparently after the book was published some employers began to treat their governesses less cruelly.
Gill recommends the book.
Gill 21/4/02