The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a novel by Anne Bronte, published in 1848. by Anne Brontë [Hidden Pasts and Haunted Halls: Anne Brontë's Enigmatic Tale]

Scholarship on the Bronte sisters is an industry, practically its own branch of literary criticism. And thinking my recommendation would add anything to it would be pure hubris, to say the least.But having read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Wurthering Heights for the first time I’ll just note a perspective I found interesting.In Dante’s Paradiso there is a well known passage where Beatrice has to step aside and Dante is accompanied to the highest heavens by the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is a pervasive theme that man was made for God and that earthly love is merely a preparation for the eternal.The Brontes may have been a clergyman’s daughters, but they were not unthinking ones. Imbued with the romantic spirit of the nineteenth century, Anne Bronte explicitly wonders in the Tenant of Wildfell Hall how reuniting with one’s love in heaven can matter at all if the beatific vision is true. And Heathcliff in Wurthering Heights explicitly denies the desire for heaven: an eternity with Catherine is enough.In short there is a clash between the very real joy moderns tend to feel withtheir romantic beloved and the typical feeling of church as an obligation, often more of a drudgery. How could romantic love be so unimportant in heaven when it is so vital to life on earth?And so the Brontes recast the traditional understanding of the Christian afterlife, if indeed their understanding is still Christian at all.These are of course great works of art that go well beyond this theme, but this particularly struck me while reading them. Please feel free to disagree.

As much as I enjoyed reading this classic tale, it took forever to get through it. The beginning and ending move swiftly, but the middle drags on for an eternity. Still, the characters are intriguing, the storyline captivating, and the plot twists keep you turning pages.

Young Helen Lawrence had just come out into society, and unfortunately two of her beaus, older men who, although settled, of good character and wealthy, didn't meet her romantic standards. I can't say that I blame the talented, attractive young woman. I was not particularly turned-on by either of the men, myself. Middle-aged, stodgy and tiresome, they were not the answer to an eighteen year-old's dreams - even a practical eighteen year-old. A third suitor, Arthur Huntington, handsome, charismatic, and known by some to be "destitute of principle and prone to vice," was obviously smitten by Helen, and she was drawn to him also. Her aunt emphasized that the young woman should, above all, look for character in a potential mate. She advised her niece to seek a man of principle, good sense, respectability and moderate wealth. She warned Helen away from Huntington, calling him a reprobate. Helen agreed that she should marry such a one whose character her aunt would approve of, but also argued that love should play a part in her selection. Meanwhile, Huntington, on his best behavior, continued to woo Helen until she finally accepted his proposal, on the condition of her relatives' approval. Helen knew that Arthur was somewhat deficient in sense, scruples and conduct. However, she also truly believed that with her own strong religious convictions and love, she could and would change him for the good. In spite of numerous examples of her beloved's past lechery and excesses, Helen insisted on the match. And so they married.Within a few months Helen became much more familiar with her husband's character. He had no hobbies nor interests, as she did. She is a gifted painter, loves to read, enjoys the outdoors, and is not easily bored. Arthur demanded all Helen's time and attention, to entertain and pamper him. When he could no longer bear the country solitude, he left for London, to reacquaint himself with his old haunts and bachelor friends. He insisted his wife remain behind, at their estate, Grassdale Manor. Huntington's behavior worsened with time, even after Helen bore him a beautiful son. He brought his debauched friends into his home for months on end, hosting wild drinking orgies and participating in a variety of low behavior extremely insulting to his wife, indeed, even encouraging his friends to mock his spouse. Helen eventually discovered that one of the houseguests, the wife of a friend, was Arthur's longtime mistress. Thus a double adultery was being conducted at Grassdale Manor, while she and her son were in residence, along with excesses of every kind.It was at this point that Helen, contrary to the customs of her times, locked her bedroom door against her husband. This seems like logical behavior in the 21st century. And many might ask why she did not leave Huntington long before. In the Victorian Age, the law and society defined a married woman as a husband's property. Women were totally dependant upon their mates, and husbands could actually have their wives locked away in asylums at their whim and convenience. There is a scene in the novel where Arthur has all Helen's paints and canvasses destroyed, and takes possession of her jewelry and money, so she cannot leave him. When the profligate begins to manipulate his young son, encouraging the child to drink and curse his mother, Helen does run away with her child.As the novel opens, we find her living in a few rooms at the remote Wildfell Hall, under the assumed identity of Helen Graham, a widow. Here she earns her living by painting. The neighbors are curious and seek her out, one in particular, Gilbert Markham. However when Helen is not forthcoming about her past, she becomes the object of ugly gossip and jealousy. Much of this compelling story is narrated through a series of letters Markham writes to a friend, and through Helen's own diary entries.The novel is divided into three sections: Helen's life at Wildfell Hall and her friendship with Gilbert Markham; Helen's diary describing the Huntington marriage; and the events following Markham's reading the diary. Anne Bronte's novel is powerful, haunting and quite disturbing. Miss Bronte, and her brother Branwell, served as governess and tutor to the children of wealthy aristocrats. Some of the behavior described here is apparently taken from events which Anne witnessed, and which marked Branwell severely. Ms. Bronte openly stated that in "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" she, "wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it." This well written, extraordinary tale can most definitely hold its own against the works of Anne's more famous sisters, Emily and Charlotte Bronte, and those of other noted authors of the period.JANA

I have read Charlotte and Emily, but I find Anne Bronte the greatest of the three. She tells a story of chilling honesty and realism of alcoholism, abuse, and injustice. The heroine Helen is recognizable even today. Loved this story and give it 5 stars! This Kindle version however was very poorly done. I found I had to get an original version of the book due to unusual words from Kindle. Examples: Emily goes to her library to read an E-book! A character was called homosexual (word unknown to Anne Bronte) when the actual word she said was "gay" meaning happy! People retired to their condo! Dialogue in early chapters were "he/she said". I even found portions of the book entirely eliminated! Whoever did this mess should be fired! Thankfully I was able to get a hard copy. I give Kindle 0 stars. Hence only a three for this great book.

The media could not be loaded.  Anne Bronte é, provavelmente, a irmã Brontë menos conhecida. No entanto, está autora consegue estar aos mesmo nível das suas irmãs, Emily e Charlotte. Este romance enquadra-se muito bem no Romantismo Gótico, aliás como os romances das suas irmãs. Chegou em excelente estado.Para quem quer conhecer este romance de Anne Brontë, recomendo esta edição, pois tem uma introdução e prefácio, que ajudam-nos a melhor compreender esta obra.

Feminine

Thanks to La Griffe Noir Book store in Saint Maur des Fossés, 94100, France I chose to read this book. Beautiful story ! Very well written ! Could not stop reading till the very end !

EXCELLENT

Looks very old