Product Description

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and sometimes violent novel of expectation, love, oppression, sin, religion and betrayal. It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Huntingdon, the mysterious tenant of the title, and her dissolute, alcoholic husband. Defying convention, Helen leaves her husband to protect their young son from his father's influence, and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hiding at Wildfell Hall, she encounters Gilbert Markham, who falls in love with her. On its first publication in 1848, Anne Brontë's second novel was criticised for being 'coarse' and 'brutal'. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nineteenth century in a strong defence of women's rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands. Anne Brontë's style is bold, naturalistic and passionate, and this novel, which her sister Charlotte considered 'an entire mistake', has earned her a position in English Literature in her own right.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9689 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

About the Author
With an Introduction and Notes by Peter Merchant, Christchurch University College.

Customer Reviews

A very under-rated work
Anne Brontë seems to have been overshadowed by her two sisters. Hardly surprising, but this is a great work in itself and should not be ignored. Her sister Charlotte did not like it much, she said it was unworthy of publication - but of course, she said the same about Jane Austen's works (whose style is similar to Anne's).

It traces, with remarkable frankness, the collapse of a woman's marriage to an abusive husband (who is loosely based on Brontë's brother Branwell), and her escape from him. The characters have odd and endearing foibles, and one never loses interest as the book progresses.

An excellant book, well worth the read!
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells the story of a young woman named Helen who comes to live on the Yorkshire Moors in a semi-derilect house with her young son Arthur and her loyal servant. Once the mistress of a luxurious house, this drastic step is necessitated by a need to rid her son from the corrupting influence of his reckless and almost always intoxicated father, and to escape herself from the humiliation of living with a husband who no longer loves her, and who takes pleasure from flauting his mistresses openly to her.

Assuming a new name and establishing herself as an artist to support herself and her son, Helen finds herself the subject of gossip and mistrust amongst almost all of the local population. Although living in constant fear of discovery by her husband, Helen attempts to make a success of her new life, a life made more bearable by the friendship of local yeoman farmer Gilbert.

But will Helens secret identity be able to remain a secret forever or will her past eventually catch up with her and threaten to destroy her budding romance with Gilbert?

This is an extremely well written book and is rather neglected alongside the successful novels written by her sisters Emily and Charlotte Bronte.

The book contains the passion and drama set around the Moors which you would expect from a Bronte, but it also presents an interesting critique about the place and role of women in 19th century England.

This classic novel is well worth reading.

A Travesty
Don't let my title fool you. What I mean is, it is a travesty Anne Bronte does not have the same literary fame as her sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Indeed both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are classics but so is The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and should be up there among them.

The reason this novel is not placed on the same pedestal as the other two is because of the subject matter. In the early 19th century a woman's job as a wife was to pander to her husband's every need. If he was a drunk or an abuser so be it, all she should do is make the most of it. Anne had very different ideas, ideas which are more late 20th century than early 19th century. To leave your husband was in those times unthinkable. To write about alcohol abuse was even more of a taboo. In the preface to Wuthering Heights/Agnes Grey Charlotte wrote that the subject matter in this book was unsuitable and a mistake. Because Charlotte did not think much of it she did not push for its acceptance in the mainstream after Anne's very early death. That was a mistake. There are also rumours Charlotte destroyed a second manuscript of Emily's. Another mistake if it is true.

Personally I think it is better written and formulated than Jane Eyre. It's most certainly better written than Wuthering Heights. I think Anne Bronte should be elevated to the heights (no pun intended) of Charlotte, Emily, Jane Austen et al. Read this and you will not be disappointed.