The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Rating:
Summary: Intense, evocative, mesmerizing and beautiful
Review: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an intricately balanced tale of good and evil, light and dark, true virtue and passion, strength and weakness.

Anne Bronte takes the reader on a journey of exploration into emotions, predispostions, and the power to change our own destinies given sufficent inducement. She neither exaggerates or plays down evil or virtue but weaves a complicated dance between the two which paints a much more true to life picture. We are not all good or all bad, after all. Even the villainous husband is a sad character, one engendering both the reader's pity and disdain.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a must read for anyone with a fondness for the classics. Beautiful!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully written novel!
Review: This an absolutely marvellous book! It's about a woman who marries a no-good rotter(i.e he's a no-god rotter according to me) She thinks he'll change when she marries him. He DOES change, but for the worse. At last, she decides to leave him (at the same time defying the laws of the land)taking her child with her & becomes the tenant of wildfell hall. Though the other members of the village avoid her & spread rumours about her, a young man falls in love with her & though he doesn't recieve any encouragement from her(at 1st), slowly & steadily he progresses until he gains her trust & learns the story of her tragic past. The novel ends happily("...and they lived happily ever after)with the young man marrying 'the tenant of Wildfell hall.'

Rating:
Summary: As Good as the Rest of Them
Review: This is a much more interesting book than I expected it to be. I came to it as almost every reader will come to it: after having read almost everything of her more famous sisters'. I don't know what I was expecting - perhaps something paler or more insipid.

Pale and insipid it is not. Anne Bronte's prose is fully as energetic as the others', and she has a world-view that equally as rich, nuanced and fully realized (how /could/ they have thought so much, and about so much?).

The plot here, as any casual observer knows, revolves around the woman yoked to a loutish husband. Some have perceived this as more original or daring than her sisters' plots, and certainly in her own time, it received a special kind of disapprobation (even Charlotte appears to have thought it cut a bit close to the bone - apparently perceiving that the lout was patterned on their own dear brother). Maybe so, but in another sense, you could say that it is just the mirror image of the Jane Eyre plot. Mr. Rochester has a guilty or scandalous secret about his wife; Mrs. Huntington has the same about her husband - not the same secret, but equally eligible for secrecy. Each has an innocent lover; in each case the point is to disentangle from the guilty and join with the innocent.

The device of the loutish husband is not necessarily all that promising. In the hands of an amateur it is no more than a setup for a tedious account of outraged virtue. Indeed if this were all, we would do well to leave it for the Jerry Springer show. The reason this book works is that it is not just a tale of outraged virtue: Mrs. Huntington makes it clear just how much she was attracted by Mr. Huntington: how she walked into this bog on her own, and against all the entreaties of her nearest and dearest. As if to cap it all, we are treated to the spectacle of an older, more chastened Mrs. Huntington trying to warn a younger companion off from making the same kind of mistake. We readers can make up our own mind as to what the young companion is likely to do.

Unfortunately, after a bit of this, the modality of outraged virtue takes over. Huntington wallows in vice; Mrs. Huntington remains a saint. Even here, the author does not lose us: she is a remarkable dialectician, and I am not sure the case of the woman wronged has ever been put better. What is missing is an important human truth: vice (to use the Victorian term) is catching, and suffering does not purify. Indeed, that is one of the things so dreadful about suffering. You cannot put up with someone like Huntington indefinitely before some of it wears off on you. It beggars all expectation to suppose that Mrs. Huntington could have come through all this without meanness, without spite, without the slightest hint of schadenfreude. Indeed on this point (dare one say it), Jerry Springer just might be a better guide. But life is too short for that. Instead, thank heavens for the Brontes, and what a pleasure to learn that Anne is just as absorbing as the rest.

Rating:
Summary: As Good as the Rest of Them
Review: This is a much more interesting book than I expected it to be. I came to it as almost every reader will come to it: after having read almost everything of her more famous sisters'. I don't know what I was expecting - perhaps something paler or more insipid.

Pale and insipid it is not. Anne Bronte's prose is fully as energetic as the others', and she has a world-view that equally as rich, nuanced and fully realized (how /could/ they have thought so much, and about so much?).

The plot here, as any casual observer knows, revolves around the woman yoked to a loutish husband. Some have perceived this as more original or daring than her sisters' plots, and certainly in her own time, it received a special kind of disapprobation (even Charlotte appears to have thought it cut a bit close to the bone - apparently perceiving that the lout was patterned on their own dear brother). Maybe so, but in another sense, you could say that it is just the mirror image of the Jane Eyre plot. Mr. Rochester has a guilty or scandalous secret about his wife; Mrs. Huntington has the same about her husband - not the same secret, but equally eligible for secrecy. Each has an innocent lover; in each case the point is to disentangle from the guilty and join with the innocent.

The device of the loutish husband is not necessarily all that promising. In the hands of an amateur it is no more than a setup for a tedious account of outraged virtue. Indeed if this were all, we would do well to leave it for the Jerry Springer show. The reason this book works is that it is not just a tale of outraged virtue: Mrs. Huntington makes it clear just how much she was attracted by Mr. Huntington: how she walked into this bog on her own, and against all the entreaties of her nearest and dearest. As if to cap it all, we are treated to the spectacle of an older, more chastened Mrs. Huntington trying to warn a younger companion off from making the same kind of mistake. We readers can make up our own mind as to what the young companion is likely to do.

Unfortunately, after a bit of this, the modality of outraged virtue takes over. Huntington wallows in vice; Mrs. Huntington remains a saint. Even here, the author does not lose us: she is a remarkable dialectician, and I am not sure the case of the woman wronged has ever been put better. What is missing is an important human truth: vice (to use the Victorian term) is catching, and suffering does not purify. Indeed, that is one of the things so dreadful about suffering. You cannot put up with someone like Huntington indefinitely before some of it wears off on you. It beggars all expectation to suppose that Mrs. Huntington could have come through all this without meanness, without spite, without the slightest hint of schadenfreude. Indeed on this point (dare one say it), Jerry Springer just might be a better guide. But life is too short for that. Instead, thank heavens for the Brontes, and what a pleasure to learn that Anne is just as absorbing as the rest.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding novel
Review: This is definitely my favorite book by Anne Bronte (not that I don't like Agnes Grey, just that I like this one even more). The language of this second and last book of Anne Bronte's is just very easy to read (as compared to her sisters' novels), and that the pace of the whole novel is very appropriate (not too fast nor slow). Besides, Anne just knows exactly how and where to draw her readers' attention, she just knows exactly where to add some suspense or twists in this book that it will surely keep the reader turning the pages. Plus, just like Agnes Grey, this book definitely has a sweet ending and some of its dialogues are just so romantic and sweet to read! In addition, I really like the character Helen Huntingdon. Despite the fact that she may look a bit fragile, she however is a very strong and religious woman who is always very determined in making deicsions and taking on responsibilities. Another thing about this novel that I want to praise is its form. I like the fact that most of the novel was presented in diary form. And this can really draw a reader's attention, for reading the novel was just like peeping through one's secret diary and once you get started on the reading of it, you just get hooked and can't stop!!

Rating:
Summary: What a surprise! A wonderful and engrossing story.
Review: This is the story of Helen Graham, a mysterious and fiercely independent woman living in a secluded castle during the 19th Century in Victorian England.

Helen, along with her son Arthur, is a recluse, and soon becomes the topic of town gossip. She is befriended by Gilbert Markham, who at first is received very coldly by Helen, but he is persistent and wins her trust. It becomes clear that Gilbert has developed intimate feelings for Helen, and although we can guess that she feels the same for him, she is determined to convince him that this is not a proper match. So she gives Gilbert her diary, which vividly details her abusive marriage to Arthur Huntington, an alcoholic and debaucher. Although this may sound like a depressing topic (which it is), Bronte's talent is what makes the book so absorbing and satisfying. She incorporates all the necessary ingredients to sufficiently whet your appetite, (romance, suspense, and a plethora of plot twists and turns) and provides a very satisfying, albeit, surprise ending.

This is a book I will read again and again. It is a real treasure.

By the way, I was told that the Oxfords Classics edition is the best one to buy. It contains a preface by Ann Bronte and the letter to J. Halford Esq. in the beginning, instead of just starting with Chapter One ("You must go back with me"). These were in Anne's original text, and in my opinion, add quite a bit to the entire work.

Highly recommended, especially for book clubs.

Cris

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Classic!
Review: This must be the most romantic literary classic I've read so far. Neither Charlotte Bronte nor Jane Austen could match Anne Bronte's skills in depicting so well the beauty and heartache that goes with loving another person.

The hero of the story is Gilbert Markham. Gilbert's a gem, a true darling of a guy. He's a farmer - young, handsome, kind, compassionate, passionate and honest. The heroine, Helen marries a brute (the alchoholic and adulterous Arthur Huntingdon) but later manages to escape and free herself from Arthur by fleeing with her young son to her refuge at Wildfell Hall. It is while there that she meets Gilbert and there is an almost instant attraction between these 2 very good individuals. However, as long as Huntingdon is still alive, Gilbert cannot be seen to be courting Helen although he loves her desperately. I'm happy when Anne Bronte decided to get rid of the despicable Huntingdon's character for good... This enables Gilbert and Helen to later reconcile and lead a happy matrimony life together.

This is a very pleasurable read. It is very beautifully written and the people and emotions are very well fleshed out. We don't find many literary classics such as this that explores a man's (eg. Gilbert's) inner feelings and sentiments towards love and relationship, including sharing his anxiety and love-lorn feelings.

I understand that the PBS video is good. But I hope one of the movie studios in Hollywood will consider making a movie adaptation of this classic. I'm sure it'll be a hit like "Emma" was (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow). IMHO, a fresh-faced actress like Liv Tyler would fit the role of Helen perfectly.

Why this book is not as highly acclaimed as Jane Austen's or Charlotte Bronte's classics is truly beyond me.

I highly RECOMMEND it!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book
Review: What were these three sisters doing to produce such great books in such short lives? This book is ahead of its time, and a page turner. Yes, a Victorian page turner. Everytime I thought the problem was about as bad as it could get and Anne Bronte would start wrapping it up, it got worse. For those who have read it, I've got to say Frederick Lawrence is far too forgiving...
As for the writing, I had to admire how Anne Bronte let the reader in on things that went right over the heads of her narrators. This book is still fresh and well worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best writers of the 19th Century-Anne Bronte
Review: Whenever I read any book from the Bronte Sisters, be it Charlotte, Emily or Anne, it's never a waste of my time for I know I will be reading a book written by one of best writers of the 19th Century. This book is written with great style and heart as well as understanding of what was to be a women with little or no choices. I know you'll enjoy it, I always do.