Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A scary account of domestic violence which draws many parallels to modern day. Most fearless of the Brontë books I've read so far, touching on how to parent boys, unorthodox religious views and it seemed to me more feminist than other Brontë books e.g Vilette as I didn't feel the jealous undertones towards other women.
Would highly recommend having a background read on the sisters lives alongside the book
Would highly recommend having a background read on the sisters lives alongside the book
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5-4 stars...I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I liked that the book was broken down into parts (part letters and part diary entries). Reading Helen's diary entries gave me great insight into her marriage, but after some time, it felt like torture having to continue reading on about her awful husband. I guess that's the point though. Having to read through hundreds of pages recounting the terrible marriage Helen endured, made me really feel for her. I found myself shouting at my book and just feeling an overwhelming sense of disgust for Arthur (Helen's husband). As the reader, I felt as desperate to get away from Arthur as Helen was. It also made the ending feel very much earned...although it did drag a bit at the end for me.
I think Anne Bronte was very brave to write/publish a book touching on subject matter such as this (ie. emotional/verbal abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, etc.), when she did. And I want to say that she did it very well. There were times where I sometimes forgot that I was reading a book written in the 1800s because of how modern the subject matter felt. I also found Anne Bronte's writing to be very easy to read and get into. Just like the other Bronte's, it's a shame that Anne died so young. It makes me wonder what other incredible stories they could've created had they been given the chance to do so.
I think Anne Bronte was very brave to write/publish a book touching on subject matter such as this (ie. emotional/verbal abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, etc.), when she did. And I want to say that she did it very well. There were times where I sometimes forgot that I was reading a book written in the 1800s because of how modern the subject matter felt. I also found Anne Bronte's writing to be very easy to read and get into. Just like the other Bronte's, it's a shame that Anne died so young. It makes me wonder what other incredible stories they could've created had they been given the chance to do so.
Still one of the most realistic stories I have red from the Brontë sisters. I really like that you get the two perspectives of the main characters.
I would use Kate Beaton's "Dude Watchin' with the Brontes" comic strip as my review if I could, but since I cannot...
Virginia Woolf faulted Charlotte Bronte's writing for the anger at women's situation that bled through the page, and in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte's feelings of injustice to her sex come through as well. Even in little details, like Markham's sister complaining that his mother is servile to him, setting aside the best bits of dinner for him, or setting aside tea for him when he is late, or asking her (his sister) to serve him.
What she does best, however, is get at the difficulty women have managing marriage, as it was supposed to be in the 19th century. If a woman's role is to honor and obey her husband, what should she do if her husband mistreats her? If he violates his marriage vows? Should she obey him when his orders to her fly in the face of her own morals?
Bronte's heroine can be a little preachy (OK a LOT preachy, but she's been through a lot, poor thing), but she is remarkable in being a woman who negotiates her role as a wife with her character as an intelligent person. After making a disastrous choice in husbands, she finds a way out with a lack of self-pity and admirable resourcefulness.
Anne didn't quite get the talent for wordsmithing that her sisters did. There are some infelicitous, as I think the Victorians would term it, turns of phrase and her heroine's writing (much of the book is in the form of her diary) is filled with cliches that I didn't even know existed in the 19th century, such as "my heart bled for him." (Maybe they weren't cliches then?)
The story was of the kind where you know what will happen before it happens, but it still kept me fairly engrossed. It's interesting to compare the work of these three sisters. From what I understand, Anne's depiction of alcoholism was influenced by her brother's unfortunate affliction with the disease. With their flawed male characters, each sister can be interpreted to be working through their feelings about their brother's decline in their own way.
Virginia Woolf faulted Charlotte Bronte's writing for the anger at women's situation that bled through the page, and in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte's feelings of injustice to her sex come through as well. Even in little details, like Markham's sister complaining that his mother is servile to him, setting aside the best bits of dinner for him, or setting aside tea for him when he is late, or asking her (his sister) to serve him.
What she does best, however, is get at the difficulty women have managing marriage, as it was supposed to be in the 19th century. If a woman's role is to honor and obey her husband, what should she do if her husband mistreats her? If he violates his marriage vows? Should she obey him when his orders to her fly in the face of her own morals?
Bronte's heroine can be a little preachy (OK a LOT preachy, but she's been through a lot, poor thing), but she is remarkable in being a woman who negotiates her role as a wife with her character as an intelligent person. After making a disastrous choice in husbands, she finds a way out with a lack of self-pity and admirable resourcefulness.
Anne didn't quite get the talent for wordsmithing that her sisters did. There are some infelicitous, as I think the Victorians would term it, turns of phrase and her heroine's writing (much of the book is in the form of her diary) is filled with cliches that I didn't even know existed in the 19th century, such as "my heart bled for him." (Maybe they weren't cliches then?)
The story was of the kind where you know what will happen before it happens, but it still kept me fairly engrossed. It's interesting to compare the work of these three sisters. From what I understand, Anne's depiction of alcoholism was influenced by her brother's unfortunate affliction with the disease. With their flawed male characters, each sister can be interpreted to be working through their feelings about their brother's decline in their own way.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
hopeful
mysterious
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
challenging
emotional
relaxing
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
emotional
reflective
slow-paced