A review by singalana
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

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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