The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

by Anne Bronte • 1847

Anne Brontë's second and last novel was widely and contentiously reviewed upon its 1848 publication, in part because its subject matter - domestic violence, alcoholism, women's rights, and universal salvation - was so controversial. The tale unfolds through a series of letters between two friends as one man learns more about Helen Huntingdon and the past that brought this young painter and single mother to Wildfell Hall. Powerfully plotted and unconventionally structured, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is now considered to be a classic of Victorian literature.