Helen 'Graham' - exiled with her child to the desolate moorland mansion, adopting an assumed name and earning her living as a painter - has returned to Wildfell Hall in flight from a disastrous marriage. Narrated by her neighbour Gilbert Markham, and in the pages of her own diary, the novel portrays Helen's eloquent struggle for independence at a time when the law and society defined a married woman as her husband's property. Stevie Davies's introduction to this new edition discusses The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as a powerful feminist testament, written with bold wit and tragic irony. Passionate, truth-telling, rich in biblical echoes of dispossession and longing, Anne Bronte's masterpiece is recognizably the distinctive sister-novel of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
2 of 2 Reviews Showing:
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Myrtia (greece), August 15, 2008
this book is one of the most serious spiritual works i have ever read, C.S.Lewis' works included. although it is a novel, and with a great deal of mystery and suspence, too, it also deals drastically with serious matters, such as adultery, divorce, faithfulness to God when He seems to have forgotten, child-rearing and romance as it should be. no matter how old it is, this book's truths are very contemporary and very much needed in a modern world.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Kelly (New Lenox, IL), June 22, 2001
I love this book. It is an excellent work from the least known of the Bronte sisters. The reason that I give it only 4 stars is for a few controversial aspects.
For one thing, there is alcoholism displayed in it. It is by no means condoned, but there is scene where a man is aggressive with his wife and throws her to the floor. However, I found that people put too much stress on this factor.
The other thing I would mention is that the heroine believes in a sort of purgatory. She uses Scripture to back up her belief, and it may confuse those not firm in their beliefs.
Again, this is an excellent book. Anne Bronte's writing is filled with beautiful imagery and sprinkled with a taste of her own poetry. The "sparring" relationship exhibited by the two main characters makes for a very emotional yet pleasing read. Please read it alongside the better-known books of Anne's sisters.
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