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Product Description
Review
`It is particularly gratifying to have a definitive library edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.' reveiw of English Studies
`It is obvious to the careful reader that a massive amount of textual evidence has been compressed into this Clarendon volume. The Introduction to the Clarendon edition ... is a model of its type ... Rosengarten unequivocally introduces the text, providing the reader with a context for the composition and publication of the novel. Nowhere in Bronte scholarship is it possible to find such a complete and valuable compilation of the publication history ... One can only admire the grasp Rosengarten has of the myriad typographical and substantive errors that mar the variant versions of the early editions and the lucid way in which he presents and explains such complex data ... a book well worth having: it is scholarly, handsomely produced and easy to read ... provides a fitting conclusion to the Clarendon series and, as such, represents a milestone in Bronte scholarship.' Peter L. Shillingsburg, Mississippi State University, TEXT, Volume 9, 1997 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
You must go back with me to the autumn of 1827. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and Realistic,
By
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This review is from: Penguin Classics Tenant Of Wildfell Hall (Paperback)
I really enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Like Agnes Grey, this book I found to be surprisingly realistic considering the time in which it was written. Anne Bronte seemed to be more willing to examine the ugly elements of Victorian society than were her sisters. Adultery, alcoholism, gambling, drug use, and other evils were written about by Anne without blinking. I am sure this was shocking to many readers of that day.Some reviewers have commented that Helen is an unrealistic character because she is too pure and too good. I would disagree with this. Anne Bronte herself was extremely religious and strict with her ideas of proper behaviour, and I don't think Helen is much different than Anne herself in this respect. In every generation and in every culture there are those people who take their religion very seriously and who always force themselves to do what they feel is right--although these people may be the exception rather than the rule, they do exist. Helen's story was very compelling for me to read. It was painful for me to see her young, naive self giving her love so freely to a man so unworthy of it. I acutely felt her suffering as she slowly came to a realization of her husband's true character. I read the Penguin Classics edition of this book, and I would highly recommend this edition. The notes at the end of the book are extensive and excellent for getting a greater understanding of this work in particular and of the Bronte sisters in general.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far better than I expected,
By
This review is from: Penguin Classics Tenant Of Wildfell Hall (Paperback)
Now this was a surprising gem of a novel! Back in high school we read a couple staples by Anne Bronte's more famous sisters Charlotte and Emily. But you never hear much about Anne so you may expect "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" to be decidedly inferior to her sisters' work. You would be, umm, wrong. :-)This novel never approached the popularity of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, but believe me that wasn't on account of quality. Rather, Tenant explores themes that went quite against the grain of accepted English cultural norms of the time (early 1800s). Helen Graham (her assumed name in the beginning of the story) not only dares to think herself wiser than her fool of a husband Arthur, she acts upon it and takes drastic steps to protect her child from his influence. The heroine's actions were considered radical at the time and that's probably why the novel didn't do as well as those of her sisters, whose novels were relatively a sight more conventional. The story is told through two devices: (1) a flashback from the viewpoint of the hero Gilbert Markham and (2) a large section of Helen's very detailed diary embedded within Markham's story. The arrangement works well and allows Markham to withhold certain crucial details until later, making the novel quite a page turner. Despite Bronte's many grammatical errors (the editor of the Penguin edition readily points them out in excellent endnotes), her writing is superb. Characterization is phenomenal; you have met some of these people before and you may even find that Bronte describes many elements of your own personality in her creations! During Markham's flashback you'll be just as horrified as he was at discovering "evidence" of Helen's duplicity. During the diary portion you'll empathize with Helen for her poor choice of a spouse. You'll see Helen's opinion of Arthur spiral downhill as she gets to know him better during married life, showing how falling in love made her blind to the glaring faults in his character early in their relationship. The novel will likely make you examine yourself. If you're single it'll help you understand the criticality of choosing a spouse that won't doom you to a dull (or even worse, unhappy) life. If you're married it'll (hopefully!) make you grateful that you're not stuck with an Arthur or Annabella type. If most men and women were as selfish and shallow as nearly all of the characters in Tenant, the world wouldn't be a pretty place to live in. These people DO exist (I have relatives and their friends who proudly strut the behavior that Arthur and his cronies do), but thankfully not in near the proportions that Bronte paints. Highly recommended for all adult readers!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Bronte novel,
By jumpy1 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
Helen Graham is no ordinary Bronte heroine. She does not have a pathetic childhood and does not live her life like a victim. Her source of attractiveness lies in her personal beauty, intelligence and moral character, and not in madness, meanness, or carrying the sceptre of victimhood. The charm of the story is in how it unfolds so I will not give anything away. As for why it hasn't been more successful, all I can say is, I do not believe the novel was less popular in its time because of any technical flaw on the part of the writing. More likely, it was because this character would not settle for the acceptable place of a woman in Britain during that time. While reading her story, one cannot help but believe she deserves everything she thinks she does. The circumstances in the novel may have created sympathy for her righteous indignation and kept it from open criticism but the readers at that time might have been uncomfortable with the clear implication that it was time for women to claim their equal rights alongside their husbands -- a point made with palpable spiritual authority.
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