The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

By Anne Bronte

Classic novel by the third Bronte sister.According to Wikipedia: "Anne Bronte ( 1820 - 1849) was a British novelist and poet, the youngest of the Bronte literary family. She used the pen name Acton Bell."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seltzer Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781455354924

Anne Bronte

Anne Brontë (1820–1849) hailed from an English literary family responsible for some of the medium’s most memorable works. She was the youngest of six children that included sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Their father was a clergyman, who raised them in a parish with very little money. As an adult, Anne took a position as a governess to financially support herself but found the position difficult and unfulfilling. In 1846, she and her sisters published a collection of poetry called Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, which marked a humble beginning to a short yet impactful career.

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Reviews for The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-02-04)“The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” has received a lot of scholarly attention more recently, it has various depths beyond the exploration of domestic violence. She was partly not appreciated because her sister openly and strongly disagreed with the subject matter of the novel and prevented republication after Anne's death which left the novel behind somewhat.Anne's work tends much more towards social realism than Charlotte or Emily, which also possibly turned Charlotte (a critic of Austen) against the novel. Everyone has their own opinion, I would personally say that it's not a 'how-to guide to perfect relationships' at all, it explores numerous topics such as class structure, art, hunting, religious hypocrisy etc., and the use of the diary form is clever in presenting the issues within upper class domestic spheres.Having said that, I just don't get it. I think without Emily and Charlotte, Anne wouldn't be read at all now. I find her characters one-sided and little more than stand-ins for positions in Victorian morality. Helen is good because she loves God and self-sacrifices. The alcoholic one obviously drinks himself to death. Whenever he came into the story I imagined a plinky plonky piano playing over a sepia silent film with captions about the evils of drink; Helen and her hideous drippy religious friends swooning in the background. I just don't get how you can compare that to the anguish and drama of Wuthering Heights or any of the Charlotte novels.

[griffin22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Weird book. It starts with the narrator meeting the mysterious widow, the Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but a quarter of the way through the book it becomes a flashback in the form of the widow’s diary where we learn her history. I kept waiting for the ‘flashback’ to end and get back to the ‘real’ story, but the diary went on and on. I got quite impatient. I eventually flicked ahead to check, and found that the diary takes a very substantial portion - around half the book. I had been in the wrong mindset, it was as much the real story as the ‘present day’ parts. Anyway, it was an ok story. As much drama as romance. Didn’t love it as I do the Austen novels or Jane Eyre. I didn’t like the narrator/romantic lead much, he is an overexcited puppy.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charlotte had this pulled from publication after Anne's death. There is speculation it is because the portrayal of the alcoholism and debauchery of the husband hit too close to home; that it shared with people the truth about their brother.Reading it now it seems strange that when this came out it was considered the most shocking of contemporary Victorian novels.Leaving her alcoholic, unfaithful husband was a very shocking act in a time when a married woman had no rights. She had no right to leave, no rights to her own child or her own income.

[sadiebabie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On the Bronte scale I'd say this is better than Wuthering Heights but not as good as Jane Eyre. I loved the strong female role. Which is strange as I didn't agree with the choices she made in the later stages of the book, and her piety made me want to slap her. Still, time and context play a part, and she was very brave with how she chose to live her life. I just wish the story hadn't been told from the male perspective. But it was a good book with some nice twists, and a lot of the insights still apply today.

[hes7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this feminist classic about a mysterious stranger, who proves her strength by dealing with local gossip and revealing the secrets of her past. It might even be a new favorite.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in Victorian England, this is the story, told through a series of letters (and then diary entries within letters) of a woman who marries for what she thinks is love but when she discovers that her husband is more than a bit of a cad, she escapes to (she thinks) a secluded life in her old family hall with her young son. She then, of course, meets Mr. Right, and then ensues much hand-wringing and tear-shedding because she won't be unfaithful to her wretched husband.There isn't one male character in this whole business who isn't at least marginally repugnant (which is, I'm certain, a big part of the point), but then, to be honest, I found Helen and her fanatical religious devotion to be fairly intolerable as well. And the whole "Oh, how I love you, oh, but we simply mustn't" schtick gets tiresome so very quickly. So, yeah, not my favorite thing ever.

[etxgardener · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've never read anything by Anne Bronte, and was surprised at how bold and modern in its views of women' rights are for a book that was published in 1848. The book is told through a series of letters between Gilbert Markham to his brother-in-law about the events surrounding the meeting of his wife.Helen Graham and her young son and servant arrive at Wildfell Hall, which has been vacant for many years where she lives in seclusion. Because of her secrecy she becomes the subject of local malicious gosip. Gilbert, however, refuses to believe any of the stories about her. Her befriends her and soon discovers her true story. Helen, who is from an upper class family has left her abusive, alcoholic husband hoping to save her son from his unhealthy influence. The depiction of her dissolute husband, her marital strife and her argument fof women's independence are extremely advanced for Victorian England and reflect the author's belief in both women's rights and universal salvation. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is now considered to be one of the first feminist novels published.

[infjsarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. It is still very relevant in many ways even if easy access to divorce may make it seem less so on superficial appearance. In fact, Helen's refusal to compromise her spiritual and moral principles are very similar to Jane Eyre's own refusal to do so. And I can see why it was controversial at the time, when women were expected to put up and shut up, regardless of the misery this might bring them. A very good read.

[kaionvin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Better than Jane Eyre.I appreciate Anne Bronte's realistic takedown of the romantic concept of the Byronic hero. Newsflash: sexy alcoholic jerkass who plays mind games with you? He'll still be a alcoholic jackass when y'all be married and the mind games won't be so sexy when it's no longer a flirtation tactic but one of marital warfare.Unfortunately Anne Bronte doesn't really make the book more nuanced than this message, and it's one that hasn't aged particularly well. Women have rights to their own property, women have rights to their own children, women should have the right to divorce their husbands aren't sentiments that have been particularly shocking for, oh, 50 years. The characters aren't particularly well-developed beyond their representative value. Helen, the titular tenant, in particular is obnoxiously moral and adds to the overall didactic tone of the novel. Combine that with two unnecessary framing devices, tired attempts at making the story suspenseful, and too much pointless nattering about countryside living and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall feels exactly that: Unnecessary. A footnote in the history of literary feminism rather than essential, living document.

[glade1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So much of this story paralleled my experience of marriage that it is hard to believe the author never was married or that it was written in a different age. Of course, the social customs are different in this story, but the human experience doesn't seem to change throughout the generations.Helen Graham and her small son, along with one servant, arrive as tenants in Wildfell Hall and the county's residents are fascinated by her. She is purported to be a widow, but can we be sure? Tongues begin wagging as she is seen in the company of a single man, her landlord. Gilbert Markham, who has fallen in love with Helen, is loath to believe the rumors until he witnesses what he believes is a romantic encounter between Helen and the other man. Helen shares her journal with Gilbert and he learns her true story.The bulk of the book is Helen's journal, which tells of a journey from the innocent, optimistic newlywed to a mature woman who chooses to take her child and flee from an intolerable marriage. Despite her aunt's warnings to keep her eyes open and make sure to marry a man who is upright and stable (and haven't many of us heard that same warning?), Helen believes she has found the ideal mate in Arthur Huntingdon. Although Arthur runs with a wild crowd, Helen is certain he will settle down once they are married and that she will be a positive influence on Arthur. As the years pass, and particularly after their child is born, Helen realizes that Arthur has not changed and may have become even worse. He drinks to excess, has affairs, and is verbally abusive toward his wife. His health begins to deteriorate. In the company of his friends, Helen becomes the butt of jokes, as the men consider her to bee too pious and too much of a nag. Helen's main concern, however, is the influence of the men on her son.Apparently early critics of this story found the depiction of the dysfunctional home too unsettling, and many feared the strong feminine character. In her introduction to the second edition, Bronte defends her novel as being true and says that society, women in particular, need to be made aware of the pitfalls of naivete. The character of Arthur Huntingdon does not resort to physical violence against his wife or child, which might have pushed the story over the edge to melodrama; the verbal abuse and mind games he plays are truer to life and so accurately wrought that they may actually be more effective in making the point.Even though this book was written more than a century ago, it spoke to me on a personal level, and I imagine it would have a similar effect on a lot of modern readers. Although women certainly have more freedom and independence today, many of Helen's experiences still ring true. I myself wore rose-colored glasses into my marriage and experienced the disillusionment of finding my husband to be callous and unwilling to compromise. I too struggled with how to raise children to respect their father without becoming like him. I felt the same worries about how to support myself and my children if I should leave. It is likely that many modern readers have had similar experiences, because human nature doesn't change substantially, even if culture does. I found myself marking a lot of passages that had particular resonance for me:Principle is the first thing, after all; and next to that, good sense, respectability, and moderate wealth. If you should marry the handsomest, and most accomplished and superficially agreeable man in the world, you little know the misery that would overwhelm you if, after all, you should find him to be a worthless reprobate, or even an impracticable fool.+++Arthur is not what is commonly called a bad man: he has many good qualities; but he is a man without self-restraint or lofty aspirations--a lover of pleasure, given up to animal enjoyments: he is not a bad husband, but his notion of matrimonial duties and comforts are not my notions.+++I had my darling, sinless, inoffensive little one to console me, but even this consolation was embittered by the constantly recurring thought, "How shall I teach him, hereafter, to respect his father, and yet to avoid his example?"+++Things that formerly shocked and disgusted me, now seem only natural. I know them to be wrong, because reason and God's word delcare them to be so; but I am gradually losing that instinctive horror and repulsion which was given my by nature, or instilled into me by the precepts and example of my aunt. Perhaps, then, I was too severe in my judgments, for I abhorred the sinner as well as the sin; now, I flatter myself I am more charitable and considerate, but am I not becoming more indifferent and insensate too? Fool that I was to dream I had strength and purity enough to save myself and him!+++...[H]ow shall I get through the months or years of my future life, in company with that man--my greatest enemy--for none could injure me as he has done? Oh! When I think how fondly, how foolishly I have loved him, how madly I have trusted him, and struggled for his advantage; and how cruelly he has trampled on my love, betrayed my trust, scorned my prayers and tears, and efforts for his preservation--crushed my hopes, destroyed my youth's best feelings, and doomed me to a life of hopeless misery--as far as man can do it--it is not enough to say that I no longer love my husband--I HATE him!+++...I have had nine weeks' experience of this new phase of conjugal life--two persons living together, as master and mistress of the house, and father and mother of a winsome, merry little child, with the mutual understanding that there is no love, friendship, or sympathy between them.+++I do not advise you to marry for love alone--there are many, many other things to be considered. Keep both heart and hand in your own possession, till you see good reason to part with them; and if such an occasion should never present itself, comfort your mind with this reflection: that, though in single life your joys may not be very many, your sorrows at least will not be more than you can bear.The introduction to this volume emphasizes Bronte's theme of raising a child correctly, but my focus on reading was the experience of marriage. I believe this is an excellent portrait of a relationship gone wrong. If the novel has any weaknesses, I think they are in the framing story: the love affair between Gilbert and Helen does not seem as genuine, although Gilbert's relationship with little Arthur is illustrated beautifully, and Helen's return to nurse her sick husband seemed sudden and a little TOO pious. But these facets do allow for the story to have a happy ending, which I found satisfying.Overall, I loved this book and am glad I finally read one of the youngest Bronte sister's novels.

[ridgewaygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte was first published in 1848, it created a scandal and was a runaway bestseller, out-selling her sister Emily's Wuthering Heights. Her sister Charlotte condemned it as overly realistic (which makes me wonder about Charlotte, who was also critical of Jane Austen's gentler offerings).To the modern reader, the scene that sparked the scandal might fly past without notice; when the husband of our heroine, Helen, gets drunk and verbally abusive, she goes to her room and locks the door against him. Outrageous, eh? Much more shocking to me was an early scene where Helen and her five-year-old son visit her new neighbors and they offer both of them a nice alcoholic beverage. When Helen refuses on the part of her son she is given a lecture by the mistress of the house on how boys need to learn to drink from an early age.The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells the story of Helen, her disastrous marriage to the dissolute Huntingdon and her subsequent flight to the run-down Wildfell Hall, where she lives in a few rooms alone with her son and a single servant, and of how her presence in a quiet, rural area excites the attention and then the gossip of her neighbors. Bronte is a master of characterization, especially in the form of Helen's husband, who enters the story as the witty, Byronic hero (also, he is hot), and then develops into someone very different. Helen's a bit of a damp squib, what with her firm belief in her duty to let everyone around her know when they are falling short, morally speaking, and in her determination to revel in her misery, but one can't but admire her fortitude and strength of will. And Gilbert, well, I'll let you draw your own conclusions about Gilbert.

[citygirl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

SPOILERS!!!!Why: Heard it had interesting subject matter, especially for the times.There is a lot to say about this book: First, it is kind of macro-epistolary novel, if that makes any sense. Meaning that the entire book is one long letter. Yes, we've seen that before, but other really long letter books don't include dozens of other letters and a diary spanning several years. So, that was interesting and maybe strains credulity. On the other hand, they didn't have tvs.Second, the subject matter was controversial in the day. People were a bit affronted that someone would write in detail about an emotionally abusive marriage which included blatant sexual infidelity and depraved alcoholism, in a book which includes a scene in which a group of drunk men cheer on their comrade while he hits his wife. A book focused on a wife with the gumption to flout the law and run away with her kid. Weirdly enough, this story is wrapped in the context of a romance between the narrator and the protagonist.Third, if some readers (not me) think Jane Eyre is a moralizing prig, they ought to try out Helen Huntingdon for contrast. There had to be an average of 0.75 biblical quotes and/or allusions per page. But not just the Bible. I had one of those annotated copies, and in the beginning especially, I wanted to yell at Miss Bronte, Use your words! Surely you have some of your own! But that's harsh, because the book and the story is mostly hers and Overall, I found the book and enjoyable and enlightening read, and I would recommend it, even if it is...odd.

[izzy1189_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my favourite of all the novels by any of the Bronte sisters. I love the realism and the fact that you can actually connect with the characters. Everyone who is a fan of the classics should read this.

[cosmickate · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anne Bonte is very much overshadowed by her sisters. I can say that she is an intellectual equal of her sisters and that she is very underrated. This book is fascinating. It's a work of quiet rebellion; the rebellion of Helen and of Anne herself, who is working to subvert some of the Romantic conventions. I love how this book portrays how strong a woman could be.

[charlotten_23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don't try to compare it to the other Bronte sisters' books as it is a very different type of book to 'Jane Eyre' or 'Wuthering Heights'. I really liked this book, but more in the same way that I would like a Jane Austen. Or perhaps a cross between Austen and George Eliot. Anne Bronte highlights situations similar to those of Miss Austen - the similarities brought into even more focus because of the time-setting -only Bronte has written less of a social satire than a didactic commentary. The preachiness could have put me off if it had been handled differently, or if Helen had been less sympathetic, but somehow it worked. But of course it is unfair to only critique Anne Bronte inasmuch as she compares to other 19th Century women authors. She deserves to come out of the woodwork and be appreciated in her own right.

[swampygirl-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A bit preachy but not really much more than Jane Eyre was. I have found the social situations of these two heroins to be somewhat more interesting than the Austen heroins I have read about thus far.

[nickelini · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

WHAT I DISLIKED: This book was ridiculously over-long. My edition was 487 oversized pages, which doesn't sound that bad really. However, too many of these pages were completely unnecessary. The actual story, which took up the middle of the book was framed with a 96 page (sixteen chapters!) introduction and a 76 page conclusion. Everything that happened in these 172 pages could have been considerably condensed. The events of the first section could easily be told in one paragraph. Okay, to add a little suspense, Bronte should have made it one short chapter. The concluding frame was a little more important to the story, but again could be told in one chapter. As for the middle section, it also could have been trimmed. Bronte really likes to use a lot of words. She uses a lot of words to describe every.single.detail of what is going on in a character's mind, and what they think is going on in the other characters' minds. There is also a lot of moralizing and 19th century social commentary. For pages and pages and pages and pages. Near the end, Gilbert apologizes for his "melancholy musings." Sorry, too late. I already hate you. WHAT I LIKED: There is probably about a hundred pages of this novel that I just love and think are brilliant. The protagonist, Helen, is a courageous proto-feminist who stands up to her abusive alcoholic husband in an era when that just wasn't done. And the 150-odd pages of actual story were very interesting. I also think that Anne's main characters were much more realistic than her sisters'. In particular, her ability to write male characters far surpasses Emily and Charlotte's. These men actually have conversations, and can speak to a woman without going into diatribes and sermons, like every male character in Jane Eyre. Sure, Huntington is a tyrannical reprobate, but he's not an evil psychopath like Heathcliff. And when the going gets tough, Helen forms a plan just like an real adult. She doesn't have a hissy fit and will herself to die (Cathy, Wuthering Heights) or run away, immediately lose all her money and then wander the moors (the heroine in Jane Eyre). In the end I like both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre better than The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but the one thing I can say in Anne's defense is that her main character is a grown up. Just for fun, I'd like to see this story retold from Huntington's point of view. Yes, he was vile--I mean, what sort of father gets his four-year old son drunk and teaches him to swear? But still, I think from his wing-back in front of the hearth, Helen would look like a humorless stick-in-the-mud. He was no angel, but considering he was met with her dour, judgmental face at breakfast every morning, its no wonder he escaped to London for months at a time.Recommended for: Fans of 19th century British literature. I also think that anyone who has enjoyed the other Brontes should give this one a try too.

[lynleys-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Got to admit: when I opened the box of bookclub books under Meryl's verandah I groaned. It definitely feels too soon since our last designated classic -- North and South -- which I never did finish. The last time I read a Bronte novel was twenty years ago at high school, in which case Wuthering Heights will be forevermore associated with essay templates, memorisation of quotations and the stress of exams. I hadn't read another one since, not even Jane Eyre.

But it would seem I'm finally mature, because this classic drew me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Why? Why this one, when every other classic I have read feels like definite work. It might be something to do with turning 35. It's not because the language in this one is anymore accessible -- Anne Bronte has an idiosyncratic way with commas and em-dashes which I feared I'd find annoying but soon got used to. The pacing isn't any different, with the requisite rambling of the classics, written at a time when life was much slower, and let's face it, editing was more laborious and therefore less got cut.

Perhaps I enjoyed the realism of this one. There's not the gothic ridiculousness of Wuthering Heights, which does a good job of evoking atmosphere, admittedly, but has the unintended consequence of making me laugh. There's no one in Wildfell dying for stupid reasons, unless you count the hopeless alcoholic husband, who probably died for legitimate alcoholic reasons, not for riding his horse across a field in the rain. Or did people really fall down dead all over the place back in those days? Maybe I'm being unfair. After all, Ann Bronte died herself at the age of 29. But I don't think it would've been romantic in a novelesque kind of way.

Of Pride and Prejudice, my favourite 'classic novel', I have always felt that the story ended on a high note but would've gone downhill from there. Darcy, after all, is a moody bastard and I can't imagine Eliza Bennett was happy with him. She probably spent her entire married life keeping the peace, with a middling kind of happiness resting on the fact that their mansion would've been large enough for her to keep the hell away if he was in one of his foul humours. This story, on the other hand, delves straight into the realities of many married lives in a time when women were chattels and their children were not their own.

But does it end on a high note? I don't think so at all. I'm certainly not the first to feel this way, because I read the introduction and notes by Stevie Davies, but I was disturbed by the way in which Gilbert Markham whacked Mr Lawrence over the head with a riding whip then left him for dead in the rain. I didn't buy Lawrence's ready forgiveness and, forgiven or not, Markham demonstrated more than once his quick temper and tendency to violence. In short, Mrs Graham's second marriage was to a violent man. This will be an interesting thing to discuss at book club.

This all makes me want to read Steven Pinker's book 'The Better Angels Of Our Nature', in which he apparently argues that our society is far less violent than it was even a short time ago. Perhaps Markham's violence, as protectorate of a woman's 'honour', was considered a positive attribute in a generally violent masculine culture a couple hundred years ago. In that case it makes some sense. And did Mr Lawrence tell his sister about that incident before she married the man? There are certainly a few questions I have about this story which don't make complete sense, and I thought a better job could have been made of making Huntingdon a more attractive and sympathetic character before revealing his other side, but I can forgive these things because I'm impressed at Anne Bronte's insight into the plight of women and machismo in her time.

Was Anne Bronte a particularly enlightened woman? Or were there many women just like her -- but without a pen -- who felt the injustice against women just as keenly? No wonder young women weren't encouraged to read novels. I wonder how many young women made different marriage decisions due to reading this very book.

It's a shame Anne Bronte died so young because it would have been interesting to see what else she came out with. I think she's just as talented as Emily, at least.

I have at least learnt to mistrust men whose last names start with H. You know what? I just realised I have gone and married a man whose last name starts with H. Just as well I hadn't read this book beforehand.

[libbromus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel knocked my socks off for it's surprisingly modern feminism and descriptions of survivors of narcissistic alcoholics. Takes the gloss right off of the Jane Austen treatment of people of similar means and moral attitudes. The moral and physical fortitude of Helen is incredible considering the epoch. Despite the fact that she is essentially considered property, she retains her dignity, her wits, her empathy (even for her detestable husband), and her ability to love. Truly, this is a worthy portrait of and guide for survivors of abuse/alcoholism notwithstanding it was written more than 150 years ago.

[stillatim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Why do people make out like the Brontes are all about love and marriage? This one's more or less about just how horrible 95% of the human species is. But also about how the other 5% make life worth living. Now if only there was a novel which would tell me into which class *I* fall...

[porius_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There's a nice edition on the internet. Stanford University Press. With an introduction by Mrs. Humphry Ward, granddaughter of Dr. Arnold of Rugby and niece of the poet & scholar, et cetera, Matthew Arnold.To the novel. Part One. Gilbert Markham narrates a great domestic mix-up, during which he knocks his rival off his horse and generally makes a shambles of his attempted romance with Helen Graham of Wildfell Hall. He gets jilted for his efforts.Part Two. Helen's diaries. She ends up marrying a blighter with less character than Felix Carbury, if that is possible. It's a disaster as husband Arthur and his cronies are every bit as riotous as King Lear and his men. Remember when Lear foolishly divided up his Kingdom and put his own security in jeopardy. He is a plague on Helen's house. She tries to flee but he prevents her. So far, so bad.Part Three. Arthur dies hard. Helen is now wealthy. Gilbert comes back, fearing Helen is somewhat out of his reach. He tiptoes around looking like a sheep with a secret sorrow. Not to worry. They get together in the end and make a good Dickensian home for little Arthur.

[jmaloney17 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I saw the BBC adaptation of this book about 6 months ago, so I think some of my excitement for the book may be diminished. I did like the book, I just think I would have liked it more if I had not known the ending. The only thing that irritated me a bit was Helen's piousness. It was a smidge over the top. I was hoping it wasn't something that the writer did just to prove she knows a lot of bible verses. I think the Bronte's father was a clergyman and a strict one at that, so it is all forgivable I suppose.The book is very well written. I think Anne may be my favorite writer of the three sisters. Oh wait, I have not read Wuthering Heights, so I like Anne better than Charlotte at least.

[craso_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There is a new tenant at Wildfell Hall; a lone woman with a small child. She keeps to herself and won't tell her neighbors about her past life, which causes them to become suspicious and to start rumors. The gentleman farmer living closest to the lady falls in love with her and tries to defend her. When he starts to believe the gossip, she gives him her journal and her sorted past life is revealed.This was a disappointing book. The writing was excellent, but it just wasn't the book for me. I understand that standards of morality were different in Victorian times and I am sure the book was scandalous when it was first printed, but it didn't seem too terrible to me. Helen's husband was a sadistic, self indulgent idiot and he made their life together unbearable, but she endured it for the sake of propriety until his actions threatened their small child. The story was very slow paced and had no excitement, it was just a soap opera about a bad marriage.

[anna_battista_6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book again recently after a gap of about 10 years and could not believe how good it is. I remembered it as dull and unoriginal, I was astonished and delighted to discover it was passionate, modern, brave, beautifully written and dominated by the powerfully touching character of Helen Huntingdon, now one of my favourite fictional heroines. The plot captivated me from the beginning and I couldn't put the book down. I'm a huge fan of the Bronte sisters but always used to favour Charlotte and Emily; now I give Anne her rightful place at her sisters' side.

[sally86_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this during a trip to Yorkshire when I accidentally ended up in Haworth for a weekend. First I re-read Wuthering Heights, just in case I was wrong about it (I wasn't). I wasn't going to bother giving Jane Eyre another chance, I've tried four times and hated it more each one. But despite my hatred for Emily and Charlotte, Anne Bronte, she is fabulous. Admittedly, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is quite derivative of Sir Walter Scott, with it's strong female heroine, and somewhat standard gothic plot, but I don't think it suffers for it- it has a cracking narrative, characters you'd want to invite to one of those "if you could invite any five people to dinner who would it be" dinners, and so much emotion! I just can't help wondering why it is that Anne is the forgotten Bronte sister, while those other two hacks regularly top best books polls.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rather didactic in parts, but interesting for those Austen fans who might have wondered what Elizabeth Bennet's life would have been like if she had married George Wickham. The heroine here marries an equally plausible (though richer) scoundrel, and bitterly rues it. There are a few unbelievable aspects --she hides from her evil husband in her own old family home. where a) he is unable to find her despite a frantic search b) she is so totally unknown that her brother is slanderously alleged to be her lover. Both appear unlikely if she had grown up in the neighborhood.

[melondon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book. Found it more absorbing than the other Bronte sisters.

[jannief_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Probably my second favorite book written by the Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre by Charlotte was just a tad better, IMO). This dealt with a then controversial subject regarding should a wife stay with an abusive husband. It begins from the male perspective - that of the young man that falls in love with the mysterious "widow" that recently moved into Wildfell Hall. When rumors begin to circulate that perhaps the widow is a fallen woman, he quickly rises to her defense. In so doing, she reveals to him her true tale. This is done through the reading of her journal (she gives it to him to read) and therefore the story changes to her perspective for most of the remainder of the book. Although a long book, I did not find it to drag at all. Once I was able to devote time to reading, I really got wrapped up in the story and was riveted to it. Although dealing with a serious subject, I did not find it dark, dreary and depressing, like "Wuthering Heights", nor was it boring, like "Villette". I did not find that it dragged at all (and even Jane Eyre did that in places). I highly recommend this book to those that like the classics. I'm looking forward now to watching the movie!

[amerynth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Earlier this year, I read Juliet Barker's excellent biography "The Brontes," in which she says something to the effect that Anne's death was particularly tragic because she was perhaps the most promising writer of the three sisters. I was surprised to read this and realized that she was the only Bronte sister whose work was completely unfamiliar to me.I rectified that by reading "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" and I have to say I agree with Barkers' assessment... this is definitely my favorite of all the Bronte works I've read so far. (And for me, that's saying something.... as "Jane Eyre" is easily my most read book... I just adore it.) "Wildfell Hall" is an epistolary novel, with the narrator telling the story of a mysterious widow, Helen Graham, who shows up in the countryside. Her arrival, standoffishness and close attachment to her son Arthur leads to some rumors going around the countryside, which the narrator can scarcely believe since he is pretty clearly falling in love with Mrs. Graham.The book is incredibly well-written and the characters much more well-rounded than is typical for a Bronte book. I honestly had trouble putting it down. It's particularly interesting to read about the characters that battle with alcoholism and adultery, given Anne's brother Branwell's predilections.

[greenalida · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a little known book by the little known Bronte sister, Anne. It is also one of my personal favorites. Written in the epistolary style, it is the tale of Gilbert Markham, the girl he falls in love with, and her story.