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'he looked up wistfully in my face, and gravely asked - "Mamma, why are you so wicked?"' The mysterious new tenant of Wildfell Hall has a dark secret. But as the captivated Gilbert Markham will discover, it is not the story circulating among local gossips. Living under an assumed name, 'Helen Graham' is the estranged wife of a dissolute rake, desperate to protect her son from his destructive influence. Her diary entries reveal the shocking world of debauchery and cruelty from which she has fled. Combining a sensational story of a man's physical and moral decline through alcohol, a study of marital breakdown, a disquisition on the care and upbringing of children, and a hard-hitting critique of the position of women in Victorian society, this passionate tale of betrayal is set within a stern moral framework tempered by Anne Brontë's optimistic belief in universal redemption. Drawing on her first-hand experiences with her brother Branwell, Brontë's novel scandalized contemporary readers. It still retains its power to shock.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Readers who do not wish to ”earn details of the plot will prefer to treat the Introduction as an Afterword. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I avoided reading any books by the Brontė sisters for many years, after failing to finish Villette, and then being put off further by Charlotte Brontė's well-known remarks about Jane Austen. After coming across an old copy of Jane Eyre I decided it was time to give the sisters another chance. I quite enjoyed Jane Eyre; Wuthering Heights, which I read next, I liked less. Then I turned to Anne, not expecting much more than a paler version of her sisters' works.
Instead I find myself reading one of the most powerful English 19th century novels there can be, reminiscent of Dickens in its exposure of the hypocrisies and wrongs of society, but with shock and anger against these expressed not by the author, but aroused in the reader by Anne's unsparing descriptions of events.
"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" is the story of a mysterious woman, Helen Graham, apparently a young widow with a child, and the development, after initial suspicion on her part, of friendship and finally love for a local farmer named Gilbert Markham. But, much more darkly, it is the story of a woman who learns the real nature of her adulterous husband, as he gradually descends into neglect and then abuse (of both her and their child), and is ravaged by alcoholism.
Few men of the time would have dared to write so frankly on such topics, and for a woman to have done so, especially one of Anne's background, is verging on the heroic, and must be counted a remarkable achievement.
At times the heroine, Helen, may strike some readers as pious or priggish - she reminded me of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park - and the author's firmly expressed Christian beliefs may also put some off. But nobody can fail to admire Helen's courage, endurance, and determination to protect her son.
Another review also suggests that Gilbert is not well drawn. However, I enjoyed the portrayal of his relations with his family and neighbours, though it is true that he is perhaps unaccountably violent and over-emotional at some points.
Instead I find myself reading one of the most powerful English 19th century novels there can be, reminiscent of Dickens in its exposure of the hypocrisies and wrongs of society, but with shock and anger against these expressed not by the author, but aroused in the reader by Anne's unsparing descriptions of events.
"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" is the story of a mysterious woman, Helen Graham, apparently a young widow with a child, and the development, after initial suspicion on her part, of friendship and finally love for a local farmer named Gilbert Markham. But, much more darkly, it is the story of a woman who learns the real nature of her adulterous husband, as he gradually descends into neglect and then abuse (of both her and their child), and is ravaged by alcoholism.
Few men of the time would have dared to write so frankly on such topics, and for a woman to have done so, especially one of Anne's background, is verging on the heroic, and must be counted a remarkable achievement.
At times the heroine, Helen, may strike some readers as pious or priggish - she reminded me of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park - and the author's firmly expressed Christian beliefs may also put some off. But nobody can fail to admire Helen's courage, endurance, and determination to protect her son.
Another review also suggests that Gilbert is not well drawn. However, I enjoyed the portrayal of his relations with his family and neighbours, though it is true that he is perhaps unaccountably violent and over-emotional at some points.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is Anne Bronte's second novel, and is often overshadowed by her sisters' more famous novels, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights in particular, but it is equally worth reading in my opinion. It tells the story of Helen Huntingdon, a mysterious woman who comes to live at the long deserted Wildfell Hall with her child and servant, and Gilbert Markham, the young man who falls in love with her and eventually learns her secret, which I won't give away here as I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it. The first and last sections are from Gilbert's perspective in the form of letters to a friend we never actually meet. The central and most powerful section is written from Helen's perspective in the form of her diary which she has given Gilvert to read.
Both Helen and Gilbert are strong, appealing characters but having said that, I think the book would have benefitted if more had been written from Helen's perspective than Gilbert's. Her direct involvement in the novel's most interest and shocking events give her story more vibrancy and appeal than Gilbert's less involved standpoint. However, this does not take away too much from the novel's appeal. It is very much a novel of rebellion, both by Helen in her refusal to live by societies conventions or act how others would wish her too, and also by Anne Bronte herself. Anne was a woman ahead of her time who had the courage to write a novel about a female "heroine" overcoming the cruel double-standards of the Victorian period. She also takes all those vices of the period (drunknesses, gambling, sexual immorality, domestic violence) and writes about them openly, exposing them to society. That, along with the vivid characters, is what makes this novel so powerful. It was so brave for a female author to write about such things at the time she did (1848).
I suspect many people dislike classics today because they do not see them as being relevant. If you are one of these, please do not dismiss this book for that reason. Whilst the setting is Victorian and the character's exist in the societal model of the time, the book deals with issues which are still highly relevant and problematic in society today e.g. alcohol consupmtion, domestic violence, marital issues, adultery etc. This would be a fabulous introduction to the classics for any new reader and equally a brilliant tale for those of us who already love novels from this period, and I would recommend it most highly.
Both Helen and Gilbert are strong, appealing characters but having said that, I think the book would have benefitted if more had been written from Helen's perspective than Gilbert's. Her direct involvement in the novel's most interest and shocking events give her story more vibrancy and appeal than Gilbert's less involved standpoint. However, this does not take away too much from the novel's appeal. It is very much a novel of rebellion, both by Helen in her refusal to live by societies conventions or act how others would wish her too, and also by Anne Bronte herself. Anne was a woman ahead of her time who had the courage to write a novel about a female "heroine" overcoming the cruel double-standards of the Victorian period. She also takes all those vices of the period (drunknesses, gambling, sexual immorality, domestic violence) and writes about them openly, exposing them to society. That, along with the vivid characters, is what makes this novel so powerful. It was so brave for a female author to write about such things at the time she did (1848).
I suspect many people dislike classics today because they do not see them as being relevant. If you are one of these, please do not dismiss this book for that reason. Whilst the setting is Victorian and the character's exist in the societal model of the time, the book deals with issues which are still highly relevant and problematic in society today e.g. alcohol consupmtion, domestic violence, marital issues, adultery etc. This would be a fabulous introduction to the classics for any new reader and equally a brilliant tale for those of us who already love novels from this period, and I would recommend it most highly.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anne always seems to be the leftover Bronte: not a genius like the reclusive Emily, or as prolific as Charlotte. But this novel shows her to be as rebellious as her sisters, albeit in a more realistic and socially-aware way.
This story of a romantic marriage over-turned and the survival of the wife is subversive and almost anarchic for the time in which it was written, and still manages to shock today.
Detailed, convincing and sometimes very painful, it is the dark underside to the sparkling romances of Austen and others which end with the marriage of the happy couple.
This story of a romantic marriage over-turned and the survival of the wife is subversive and almost anarchic for the time in which it was written, and still manages to shock today.
Detailed, convincing and sometimes very painful, it is the dark underside to the sparkling romances of Austen and others which end with the marriage of the happy couple.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Anne Bronte Created Real Life Characters
For me Anne is the most realistic of the three Bronte sisters. Emily is too over the top melodramatic for my taste and I find Charlotte a little too smug. Read more
Published 7 days ago by H. A. Weedon
Anne Brontė is vastly underrated
Anne is unfortunately the least well known Brontė sister and as a fan of the works of all three I think it's a shame that most people only know Jane Eyre and Wuthering... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Florence
Solid edition
Anne Bronte's story of a young mum who flees an emotionally abusive relationship and assumes a new identity has aged very well. Read more
Published 15 months ago by PMG2010
Uneven book - Warning for SPOILERS !
1848 was quite a year in History : everywhere in Europe, but perhaps most specifically in France, revolutions were carried by those who felt were left out of the system. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2008 by Sibylle
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