Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

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The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

8 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

🎉 I won this audiobook from a giveaway hosted by listenwithaudrey.

This is my first foray into Anne Brontë’s novels. I found the experience quite pleasurable. Perhaps it was the audiobook which made getting on with the story quite easy.

The story is told via letters and diary entries from Gilbert Markham to his friend. A young widow, Helen Graham, moves into a dilapidated manor, and Gilbert and his peers are naturally very curious about the mysterious tenant. As the story progresses, Gilbert finds himself fascinated by Helen and eventually learns more about her.

There’s a lot of historical nuance about the characters that a modern reader has a hard time understanding. The male characters come off as unpleasant and selfish, while the women, especially Helen, come off as passive and demure. A lot is said between the lines, so Audrey’s guide helps to catch those hints better than reading the book without such aid would.

The narrative shifts when Gilbert finally learns Helen’s secrets via her diary. The audiobook had previously been narrated by a man, and these sections are narrated by a woman. And that’s not all: the relationship between Gilbert and Helen is put on hold, and now we journey into Helen’s past. I’m not sure whether I liked the way this section was told; it sort of kicked me out of the main story and into a new one.

All in all, this book had subtlety that is hard to achieve and perhaps also hard for modern readers to understand. If I compare this classic to some others I’ve read, this experience has been quite pleasurable, even though I think you need to be in a certain kind of mood to thoroughly enjoy this novel.

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snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mekowaletti's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i'm not usually a fan of classics due to pacing but this was captivating all the way through

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katewhite77's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I Think Helen Huntingdon is one of the best heroines I have ever read.

This book was way way ahead of it's time and very controversial as it is a cering critique on Victorian parenting and the strife it causes in later in life. With a lazer sharp focus on gender. Therefore it is also immensely feminist and lays bare the dark side of Victorian attitude towards marriage and domestic violence. Religion is also an important theme in this novel. Universal salvation was a new concept at the time and also controversial concept. This is the idea that a sinner is not necessarily condemned to hell as long as time is served in purgatory is served.

This is also such a well written novel that you always feel at the centre of the action. The plot is so intricate and intriguing that I didn't know which way to look. Thankfully the Audrey app has handy character list so it is easy to keep track.

I can't recommend tĥis book and if you do take careful note of chapter 3.

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