The Obscure Reading Group discussion

Here's a place to welcome Anne Brontë, most obscure of the three writing wonders in that family. We will be discussing her book, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall beginning February 1st of 2021.

I have added books that did not win the Feb. 2021 poll to the thread called "Nominated Books That Did Not Win Past Discussion Polls."

If you haven't already, feel free to add titles you like to your "To-Read" shelves. There's no rule against renominating for future discussions, either.

And although Feb. is reserved for classics written before 1899, there's also no rule against nominating a classic for June and October's discussions, where you are free to nominate any book you wish, be it a classic or a new release.

I’m so excited! I am such a fan of Emily Brontë’s work. I can’t believe I have never read Anne’s book.

Excellent!
Thought my vote went to another, I had marked all the others as "want to read." I'm looking forward to all of these titles, and I'm returning to a few of the previous nominations as well.

Good cheer, Everyone.
With a smile,
Jan

This one may be a little easier to get hold of than some of the others. It is on Hoopla, and I imagine most libraries have a hard copy of the book.

I didn't vote for this one either, but am happy to read it again :) Please don't shoot me down in flames ... but I think this is the greatest "Bronte novel". (Not that the four sibings should really be lumped together, of course.) I guess I'm on "team Anne", Ken. That made me laugh :D

I'm really looking forward to this, and am so pleased that it's a classic available on kindle, as three quarters of our libraries in England are shut again, due to tighter covid restrictions.

The "Team" thing is a joke from popular culture (which I'm really not so well-versed in).

Speaking of not being well-versed, who is the FOURTH Brontë I'm missing? A writing Brontë more obscure than Anne?

That would be Branwell, Ken, the brother. I think that's his name?

I'm so excited. I too have never read this. I wasn't thrilled with Agnes Grey, but everyone has told me this is the one that puts people on team Anne. I doubt I'll budge from team Emily, but I loved Jane Eyre so much and I want to love them all! Well, maybe not Branwell.

We have both the hard copy and the hoopla copy at our library. I put the hard copy on hold as that is my preference so hopefully it will be available by February 1. Considering I have not read any of the Bronte sisters this will be a good start.

Ken wrote: "The "Team" thing is a joke from popular culture (which I'm really not so well-versed in).

Speaking of not being well-versed, who is the FOURTH Brontë I'm missing? A writing Brontë more obscure tha..."

Yes, Kathleen is right, it's Branwell Bronte, their brother. He wrote quite a lot of poetry, and was thought by the family to be more talented than his sisters. A very troubled youth: he was an artist, but died young. Definitely more obscure! I read an excellent biography of him The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë by Daphne du Maurier.

Thanks for filling me in on Branwell. Seeing the name told me that yes, somewhere in the foggy past, I HAVE seen the name.

How did I know? I remembered thinking his name would make a good cereal, that's how.

It would indeed! I can't find the derivation - the closest is for "Bramwell" (meaning broom) - but that shouldn't be too much of a surprise really, since the surname "Brontë" is an invention by their father, to appear more "posh"! It should really have been "Brunty"!

That reminds me of the British sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances, where the main character, Hyacinth Bucket, insisted that her last name was pronounced "bouquet".

Oh yes! Pretentious? Moi?

Branwell(should I say Bar Well) was not as talented as his sisters. He unfortunately had a love affair with the bottle. I also think he had mental issues as well. Seems like the men in the ladies life were not shining stars.

Here is an interesting article from the poetry foundation , that others might find informative if they don’t know much about the ladies.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...

Poor chap :(

I didn't want to prejudice anyone! Daphne du Maurier goes into his life thoroughly in her biography of him, which I've reviewed in detail LINK HERE

(Please tell me if this is not allowed in this group, and I'll happily remove the link.)

She wrote it precisely because there are so many myths about Branwell Bronte, and he had a bad press. He was the oldest, and all his family considered him to be a genius: with more talent than any of them. However he never achieved anything like his true potential, for the sort of reasons you give, Carol.

Thanks for the great link :)

This is the only one of all of them that I’ve read 🤣 but I read it just a month or so ago and absolutely can participate in discussion.

In my humble opinion, this is the best novel of all the Bronte sisters works. I loved it so much I bought an old Acton Bell copy!

There’s a fantastic audio version available free in the audible plus catalog!

The edition I downloaded has a great forward about all the women ant the brother. Things that had not known. And the link you gave BJ , I will check it out. There is such mystery about all of them and I love a mystery of the human nature.

I read Jane Eyre long ago in a galaxy (called my 20s) far, far away.

I tried and failed to get into Wuthering Heights at about the same time. Maybe someday, in my so-called "mature" state (please, no Maine jokes), I'll try again.

So, am curious to know what you make of the note at the top of the GoodReads description of our book, about how to tell which versions are incomplete. I just checked out my public library’s kindled Modern Library edition and it has that beginning: “You must go back with me...”

Do we care?

I did a lot of research on the versions when I bought it.

The version that starts “Dear Halford,” is the complete version put out by Anne.

The other and more widely produced version is the heavily edited version Charlotte put out after Anne’s death that does not start out with the letter.

Recently my cousin sent me some ancestry information about my maternal grandfather. I discovered that my great-great grandfather was from Whaw, England, in Yorkshire. Apparently this is generally the area where the Brontës lived. “Wuthering Heights”has long been a favorite book. I have always identified with the English moors. So of course I an interested in all the links you are sharing! I can almost believe in ancestral memory.

Sandra wrote: "Recently my cousin sent me some ancestry information about my maternal grandfather. I discovered that my great-great grandfather was from Whaw, England, in Yorkshire. Apparently this is generally t..."

Oh I buy into ancestry memory rather than reincarnation. That makes more sense, that our genes carry the memories.

I can sign on to the ancestral memory theory. I have always had a sort of passion for Cornwall, and I recently discovered a firm family line originating there.

This will be a re-read for me, but no problem, well worth a revisit. All the Bronte girls were very talented authors and I refuse to pick just one. My mother told me you could have lots and lots of children and never pick a favorite, and I believe her.

So which one should I buy, please.

So which edition should I buy, please.

Sandra wrote: "I discovered that my great-great grandfather was from Whaw, England, in Yorkshire. ..."

How fascinating Sandra! I'm a Yorkshire lass (born and bred there, but not living there now). I've never been to Whaw, which is at the extreme North end of the county, but can recommend a visit to Haworth, which is an old, remote village with cobbled streets. The parsonage where the Brontës lived is now a museum crammed, with artefacts and little stories they wrote as children. They call it a museum, rather than the Brontës' home, probably for this reason.

HERE is a link to their website.

The two oldest sisters died of illnesses while at school. After this, Charlotte and Emily were brought home, where they and their remaining siblings, Anne and Branwell, amused themselves by making up elaborate stories about fantastical worlds. The little books are full of almost indeciperable writing, crossed over the other way. Branwell was their "king". Branwell had been devoted to one of the elder sisters, after his mother had died, and that's where all his problems began.

Their home is now an enormously popular tourist attraction, the Brontë Parsonage Museum:



link here

It's choc-a-bloc with these mementos, but always very busy.

Juliet Barker has been the curator and librarian of the Brontë Parsonage Museum at Haworth, and interestingly rates Anne far higher than many expect. I seem to remember that out of the 3 main novels we associate with the sisters, she too rates The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as the best YAY! So we're in good company, Kelly :D

I'm glad this is a title I have not read. I'm looking forward to reading Bronte's book, and it should arrive within the next week. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Jean -- Very cool info on the family Brontë. I'd like to add an umlaut to my name, too, just for the literary flair of it all:

Ken Cräft (like the "a" was crowned or something!).

*****

Cindy -- Glad you'll be part of the reading party! Happy New Year to you as well!

****

Barbara -- I found this link. The end of it provides names and publishers of Anne's "original" versions (called "Clarendon," I think):

"The Mutilated Texts of 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'"

So, am under some time pressure and don't really have time to study this but would like to get my copy. Apparently the Modern Library edition that I checked out of my public library is not the one to get. Which one is? Help? Please, how about a GoodReads title page link to the recommended edition(s)? Thanks in advance! Which one did you get, Ken?

Yvonne wrote: "So, am under some time pressure and don't really have time to study this but would like to get my copy. Apparently the Modern Library edition that I checked out of my public library is not the one ..."

The original version Anne published is indeed called the Clarendon Edition, but it's nearly impossible to find in print. The copies widely available will be the edited version, it is these that are found on amazon or barnes and noble.

Here's an audiobook link to the Clarendon Edition if anyone does audiobooks:

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Tenant...

Yvonne, it's my hope that we don't all have to read the same edition?

My library doesn't have a copy, but I'm hoping to get one from my university library, and the only one available there is a 1973 reprint of the 1900 edition, and they're calling it the "Haworth" edition, which I don't see on the page linked above.

So I'm going with that one, for better or worse. :-)

Oh! I was able to find the kindle and paperback Clarendon version on amazon..

https://www.amazon.com/Tenant-Wildfel...

I was thinking that too Kathleen! Plus It probably would be interesting to hear thoughts from both versions too

Yvonne wrote: "So, am under some time pressure and don't really have time to study this but would like to get my copy. Apparently the Modern Library edition that I checked out of my public library is not the one ..."

Yvonne -- This is the copy I reserved through the Interlibrary Loan Program: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

It is currently "in transit," though I probably won't start it till the last week of Jan.

Okay, using the guidance on the "mutilated versions" page that Ken provided, I found and bought ($5.50) this kindled edition:
https://smile.amazon.com/Tenant-Wildf...

In GoodReads it's this one, but the cover doesn't match. Still, it's edited by Rosengarten and has the intro by Margaret Smith. Comes from Oxford Univ. Press.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

There are some critical reviews in Amazon saying not to buy this one because it's word salad; publisher screwed it up -- but that's not true of the one I got. It's fine and I'm now ready to roll. Will return the earlier edition I got from the library.

By the way, was surprised to see that in my very large SF Bay Area county-based library system with many branches, there is only ONE copy of this title in circulation as a printed edition. Checked the separate City of Berkeley public library system, too, and similarly -- just one.

Onward! Looking forward.

Thanks, Yvonne. I made that the cover for our group BOOKSHELF. I think my link is to the same book only the cover is different because it's a tie-in with a TV version.

Still, it has the names of Smith and Rosengarten as editors / introduction writers, so I think I'm safe.

Maine's library system has multiple copies. I just got lucky with my choice.

I put a hold on the book at our local library and noted that the copy is the Oxford World's Classics Edition which, per the link, is also one of the recommended, "close to the original" editions.

I don't want to be difficult, but I have no intention of stressing out over which edition to read. My library has the Modern Library edition, so that's the one I will read. I'm not an academic, so I'm not going to nitpick. If it turns out that my book is completely different in meaning, I'll apologize later.

I was thinking the same thing, Dianne. I’m just going to read whichever one I find. They can’t be all that different, can they?

Diane wrote: "I don't want to be difficult, but I have no intention of stressing out over which edition to read. My library has the Modern Library edition, so that's the one I will read. I'm not an academic, so ..."

Me either. I got the .99. Version for my oasis from Amazon.

I just get one in large print, (or kindle) and have one published by Isis, but they are never anotated. If there's a Penguin Classics (those with the black spines) they are usually excellent - good introductions and notes for those who want them - but tiny print.

Ken - very stylish ;) I must admit that it puzzles me that a parson, of all people, wanted his name to sound more exotic!

Jean, thanks for sharing information about the Brontë family. I’m very interested in hearing about your youth in Yorkshire!!

Yes, don't stress about copies. ROR (Regular Ole Readers) like us probably wouldn't even notice the differences.

-- Mr. Cräft,
Narrator of Tamerose Hall

Sara wrote: "I can sign on to the ancestral memory theory. I have always had a sort of passion for Cornwall, and I recently discovered a firm family line originating there ..."

Wow Sara - I'd noticed your very strong interest - and knowledge about - Cornwall over the years, and it seemed remarkable for someone who didn't seem to have a connection. I'm getting a tingle down my spine now!

Sandra wrote: "Jean, thanks for sharing information about the Brontë family. I’m very interested in hearing about your youth in Yorkshire!!"

Any time :) I'm actually from South Yorkshire, the part on the edge of Derbyshire, so have the advantage of both. Our nearest stately home for instance, which we visited often, was Chatworth, which was the country house and estate which "Pemberley" (in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) was based on.

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire (don't ask! Yes, Devon is at the other end of England) whose "family seat" it was, were generous and let the public use the grounds freely. (The Duchess still does). The grounds are huge and beautiful, with an Italian formal garden and massive fountain, broadening out into ancient trees and lawns ... You can walk for miles - there is even a herd of deer roaming free. All designed by the famous landscape architect Lancelot Brown - known more often as "Capability Brown". I've always been struck that in Pride and Prejudice (view spoiler)[Lizzie's passion for Mr. Darcy dates exactly from when she first sets eyes on Pemberley! (hide spoiler)].

We used to get on a bus (no car) and go on family picnics there. When I had my first holiday away from home, as a mid-teenager, I was startled that everyone thought what beautiful countryside I could get to so easily - I thought everywhere was like that!

Wildly off-topic here, sorry, but I can go on about the North Yorks Moors if you like ;)

Wanted to return just for a moment to the question of brother Branwell’s naming. That was their mother’s maiden name.

Bionic Jean, fascinating to learn of your background!

Oh yes, Jean. Fascinating! Thank you, and I hope you will comment on the setting of Anne Brontë’s book as we read. I love exploring settings in novels.

Carol wrote: "Diane wrote: "I don't want to be difficult, but I have no intention of stressing out over which edition to read. My library has the Modern Library edition, so that's the one I will read. I'm not an..."

I got the most inexpensive edition I could find. So it may be interesting to see the differences between editions.