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susani_'s review against another edition
4.0
Anne Bronte is the young sister of Emily and Charlotte, but I guess often gets overlooked by the works of her sisters. This isn’t a Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre but I found myself really enjoying it.
4 stars
4 stars
madeleine336books's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
getlostmatilda's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars - LOVED IT
This is the first Brontë book I've read and I really enjoyed it! I liked the way it was written, with a mixture of traditional story telling and the story depicted through letters to different characters. The pacing was really good and characters all interesting to learn about. I'm looking forward to reading more of the Brontë books soon.
This is the first Brontë book I've read and I really enjoyed it! I liked the way it was written, with a mixture of traditional story telling and the story depicted through letters to different characters. The pacing was really good and characters all interesting to learn about. I'm looking forward to reading more of the Brontë books soon.
el_bez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
flaudfrawed's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.75
amandadelbrocco's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What is it with the Bronte family and names that start with H? I was recently rereading my review on Wuthering Heights and I had the same complaint. Everyone's last name starts with H and it makes it really difficult at times to keep the characters straight. Despite that, I really enjoyed this fiercely feminist book for the Victorian era. I liked the framework for the story (epistolary at first from Gilbert, then diary entries from Helen) though I had some questions about the realism of it since in real life it would be very odd if Helen not only wrote about her escape plans in her diary that her husband could find at any time, but also very unlikely that she would just hand her diary over to Gilbert.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexism
paulusm's review against another edition
4.0
Like Hollyoaks for the 19th century, with a healthy dose of religious piety
reachant's review against another edition
4.0
I think Anne Bronte is as good as the other two Bronte sisters in terms of her writing capability, and the story in the context of the time it was written was good. But given I read this in 2018, it is inconceivable to me that a woman would be so dependent on her husband and not have any freedom to leave.
karenluvstoread's review against another edition
3.75
After not being overly impressed with Anne Bronte’s novel Agnes Grey, I wasn’t for sure if I would enjoy The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I have been really looking forward to reading this one for quite some time. But after reading Agnes Grey, I was a bit nervous that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall might not be as engaging as I was hoping. Thankfully, that was not the case! I enjoyed it so much more than Agnes Grey!
In essence, I really think this is a story of the resilience, tenacity, and enterprising spirit of a woman.
This book felt kind of like a mix of Jane Austen and Wuthering Heights, both in story and writing style. There is a good deal of drama in this one; it’s quite like Wuthering Heights in that respect. It is also fairly fast-paced. So I definitely think I would consider this one a plot-driven novel; yet it is also character-driven to some extent as well.
What I think makes this a great novel for it’s time is that in it, Anne Brontë presents us with a heroine who defies the confines of the time for wives by not only leaving her abusive husband, but taking her son with her. But also, after she leaves her husband, she ekes out an independent life.
I think that, like Jane Eyre, Helen (the heroine of the book) is a budding feminist for her time. I read that Anne actually wrote this book with the intent to protest the social conventions of the time.
I still think Wuthering Heights is my favorite Brontë novel so far, with Jane Eyre being such a very close second. And even though there may be things that bugged me about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which there definitely was), I enjoyed it and think it is definitely the better of the two novels Anne Brontë wrote.
In essence, I really think this is a story of the resilience, tenacity, and enterprising spirit of a woman.
This book felt kind of like a mix of Jane Austen and Wuthering Heights, both in story and writing style. There is a good deal of drama in this one; it’s quite like Wuthering Heights in that respect. It is also fairly fast-paced. So I definitely think I would consider this one a plot-driven novel; yet it is also character-driven to some extent as well.
What I think makes this a great novel for it’s time is that in it, Anne Brontë presents us with a heroine who defies the confines of the time for wives by not only leaving her abusive husband, but taking her son with her. But also, after she leaves her husband, she ekes out an independent life.
I think that, like Jane Eyre, Helen (the heroine of the book) is a budding feminist for her time. I read that Anne actually wrote this book with the intent to protest the social conventions of the time.
I still think Wuthering Heights is my favorite Brontë novel so far, with Jane Eyre being such a very close second. And even though there may be things that bugged me about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which there definitely was), I enjoyed it and think it is definitely the better of the two novels Anne Brontë wrote.
melisdelicate32's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Anne Brontë is considerably considered the forgotten sister living in the shadow of masterpieces such as “Wuthering Heights” and none other than “Jane Eyre”, however, I would call this book her ultimate literary signature (in spite of the many disagreeable references Charlotte made once her sister died). Wildfell Hall is a modern discovery for sure, it explores a wide variety of “scandalous” themes for its time approaching the movement of realism, theme as in alcoholism, marriage and separation, domestic abuse…
Right away the book catches the eye through the “feminist” messages our protagonist, Helen, shares in a highly strict and gossipy society; there is definitely an initial theme of isolation from the male community (which we later understand) that creates such a diverse atmosphere for the period it was written in, even though, the story pretty rapidly encapsulates the importance of the male point of view (since Gilbert is the actual narrator).
The male pov does actually offer something a classic lover looks for, it’s new and fascinating until the scene hits where Gilbert has to read all about Helen’s past through her very long and laborious letters; I believed the letters would be a secondary event which would sometimes appear to add context to the present plot line, but, they ended up taking the main spot by making the book re enter the typical Victorian structure following Charlotte and Emily style (in her very own way of course). The mid part definitely slowed the book down since it loses its purpose to achieve a final conclusion about Helen and Gilbert relationship, the book could’ve and should’ve been way shorter and just made points more efficiently.
The last part of the book (which is basically around 100 pages) loses the satisfactory effect it should have given to the reader’s intrigue, the reader ends up wanting to fast forward through it because of the subplot that just derails everything Anne set us up for, that why my rating doesn’t reach a full four stars.
It lost me in the middle despite the great potential it held in the first hundreds of pages, however, it remains a good book of great innovation for its literary moment, Anne did a great job; the writing is among the easiest and smoothest ones in classics which makes the book appropriate to any beginner wanting to explore literature.
Right away the book catches the eye through the “feminist” messages our protagonist, Helen, shares in a highly strict and gossipy society; there is definitely an initial theme of isolation from the male community (which we later understand) that creates such a diverse atmosphere for the period it was written in, even though, the story pretty rapidly encapsulates the importance of the male point of view (since Gilbert is the actual narrator).
The male pov does actually offer something a classic lover looks for, it’s new and fascinating until the scene hits where Gilbert has to read all about Helen’s past through her very long and laborious letters; I believed the letters would be a secondary event which would sometimes appear to add context to the present plot line, but, they ended up taking the main spot by making the book re enter the typical Victorian structure following Charlotte and Emily style (in her very own way of course). The mid part definitely slowed the book down since it loses its purpose to achieve a final conclusion about Helen and Gilbert relationship, the book could’ve and should’ve been way shorter and just made points more efficiently.
The last part of the book (which is basically around 100 pages) loses the satisfactory effect it should have given to the reader’s intrigue, the reader ends up wanting to fast forward through it because of the subplot that just derails everything Anne set us up for, that why my rating doesn’t reach a full four stars.
It lost me in the middle despite the great potential it held in the first hundreds of pages, however, it remains a good book of great innovation for its literary moment, Anne did a great job; the writing is among the easiest and smoothest ones in classics which makes the book appropriate to any beginner wanting to explore literature.