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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
This book was excellent. I couldn't put it down (or rather, I couldn't turn off the audiobook). Such a subtle build-up of emotional and verbal abuse, such a realistic portrayal of how wearying and suffocating it is to live with that.
It's often said to be a tract against alcoholism, but that's hardly true. It was actually her husband's infidelities and corruption of her child that sent poor "Mrs. Graham" to seek refuge in Wildfell Hall. And while some of that behavior might have been influenced by the bottle, there was so much more to it than that. Mr. Huntington is a chillingly dark charismatic personality, like a moth to the flame, hard to look away from.
This book isn't often on "100 novels to read before you die" lists as with Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre (by Anne's sisters). It really should be.
It's often said to be a tract against alcoholism, but that's hardly true. It was actually her husband's infidelities and corruption of her child that sent poor "Mrs. Graham" to seek refuge in Wildfell Hall. And while some of that behavior might have been influenced by the bottle, there was so much more to it than that. Mr. Huntington is a chillingly dark charismatic personality, like a moth to the flame, hard to look away from.
This book isn't often on "100 novels to read before you die" lists as with Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre (by Anne's sisters). It really should be.
slow-paced
It started good but then really dragged on for my taste and for nothing. I am disappointed to not have liked it but I was bored could not root for the love story could not even really root for Helen since she is soo judgmental bref. I liked some quotes I like the early feminism but the rest was bland. It also made me a bit like Hudington wishing for the next ( in my case book )
dark
mysterious
sad
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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A delicious read, as ever.
dark
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
I loved this book. It has mystery (who is this lady) intrigue (who does she love?) romance (all the characters falling in and out of love) morals from the 1900’s (beware the dissolute man or woman!!) and thoughtful descriptions of life and countryside. If you enjoy Jane Austen, you’ll like Anne Bronte!
In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, I’ve found a new favorite classic.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"In my judgment, what the world stigmatises as romantic is often more nearly allied to the truth than is commonly supposed."
It is interesting to think of Helen's courtship story -- which takes place in 1821, i.e., during the reign of George IV -- as the flip side of one of those blithe Regency-Era romance novels where marrying a roguish, rakish hero leads to a happy ending.
I kind of like that Huntingdon's intentional usage of Annabella Wilmot to make another woman jealous while courting her is treated by Anne Bronte like the evidence of weak character that it is, whereas in Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte more or less gives Mr. Rochester a pass for using Blanche Ingram in the same way. Regardless, Anne is generally not as good a writer as Charlotte: when one is reading this book, especially the dialogue bits, it is sometimes hard to lose sight of the fact that this is a world constructed by an author and not actual life. In particular, The Tenant pales in comparison with Villette, whose lusciously textured dialogue crackles with verisimilitude and feels startlingly organic.
The Tenant is still a good read on its own merits, though, intense and compelling, and there is more wit in it than in Agnes Grey -- for example, I appreciated the comic relief afforded by Gilbert's kid brother Fergus, although he does act a bit young for his stated age. Also, due to all the dramatic irony baked into its narrative structure (the narrator of Part I is totally clueless, the narrator of Part II is in denial for a long time, etc.), The Tenant succeeds in making its moral arguments through the power of its narrative rather than by means of a haranguing narrator, which also struck me as a nice improvement over Agnes Grey.
It's a shame the author doesn't do more to convince us the novel's main pair are a compatible match, but then, romance is not her department: she is the sort of writer who prefers to dash off generalities like "her opinions and sentiments tallied with [his]" rather than model a detailed and electric likeness of a couple's chemistry, with all the specificities that such would require; it is the moral aspects of storytelling, instead, that energize her and on which she prefers to dwell.
(My other ruminations on Bronte and Austen novels can be found here:
Agnes Grey
The Professor
Villette
Wuthering Heights
Lady Susan
Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility)
It is interesting to think of Helen's courtship story -- which takes place in 1821, i.e., during the reign of George IV -- as the flip side of one of those blithe Regency-Era romance novels where marrying a roguish, rakish hero leads to a happy ending.
I kind of like that Huntingdon's intentional usage of Annabella Wilmot to make another woman jealous while courting her is treated by Anne Bronte like the evidence of weak character that it is, whereas in Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte more or less gives Mr. Rochester a pass for using Blanche Ingram in the same way. Regardless, Anne is generally not as good a writer as Charlotte: when one is reading this book, especially the dialogue bits, it is sometimes hard to lose sight of the fact that this is a world constructed by an author and not actual life. In particular, The Tenant pales in comparison with Villette, whose lusciously textured dialogue crackles with verisimilitude and feels startlingly organic.
The Tenant is still a good read on its own merits, though, intense and compelling, and there is more wit in it than in Agnes Grey -- for example, I appreciated the comic relief afforded by Gilbert's kid brother Fergus, although he does act a bit young for his stated age. Also, due to all the dramatic irony baked into its narrative structure (the narrator of Part I is totally clueless, the narrator of Part II is in denial for a long time, etc.), The Tenant succeeds in making its moral arguments through the power of its narrative rather than by means of a haranguing narrator, which also struck me as a nice improvement over Agnes Grey.
It's a shame the author doesn't do more to convince us the novel's main pair are a compatible match, but then, romance is not her department: she is the sort of writer who prefers to dash off generalities like "her opinions and sentiments tallied with [his]" rather than model a detailed and electric likeness of a couple's chemistry, with all the specificities that such would require; it is the moral aspects of storytelling, instead, that energize her and on which she prefers to dwell.
(My other ruminations on Bronte and Austen novels can be found here:
Agnes Grey
The Professor
Villette
Wuthering Heights
Lady Susan
Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility)
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Anne era la hermana que me faltaba por leer y… ¡Menuda narradora es! En esta novela nos habla de Helen, una mujer que debe huir con su hijo de un marido abocado a los vicios y que les trata mal. Desde luego un tema adelantado a su época. Me ha fascinado por completo, aunque algunas partes se me han hecho algo pesadas. Estoy deseando leer más de Anne, es una pena que solo nos dejara dos novelas…
✍🏼 IRATXE
✍🏼 IRATXE
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes