Mark Stewart

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall often gets overlooked because (frankly) it is not as well written as it could be. There’s a lot of verbiage, especially in the first third, and striking turns of phrase are few and far between; one just can scan whole passages. Scenes that are have dramatic potential are under-played. But ... the book is fascinating for the plot and the depictions of the main characters. In its treatment of the situation of upper/middle-class women its realism anticipates Edith Wharton (though Edith is a far better writer). Any book-club will find hours of discussion in it! The way Anne Bronte describes a woman’s state in a domestic household, awful in her powerlessness, psychological destruction and vulnerability, is surely radical for its time. The book is sometimes described as the first feminist novel, partly for this reason. The main male character will also create a lot of debate. Though he is doggedly loyal in his love, and able to see through the prejudices of this time, he has elements of violence in him and even creepiness about him (is he stalking her… or desperately in love with her? - a talking point). He’s not an Ideal. The powerful role of religious morality comes into the book a lot too. It’s not a conventional religiosity, so you suspect that, even though Anne was the daughter of a clergyman, she has struck out to create her own take on religion and, reading between the lines, this is her ‘manifesto’. Although any mid-19th century novel like this is inevitably bound for a happy ending (which is somehow disappointing in this otherwise quasi-realism) there’s enough to it to make this book very different from the usual Victorian fare – and create great discussion.