Anne Brontë’s ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ is at heart the story of Helen Huntington and her turbulent marriage to Arthur. I have now read one work by each of the Brontë’s, and unfortunately ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ was by far my least favourite, though that is pitting it against ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’. For the most part Helen was a really defined and strong character, the narrator Gilbert less so, and that reflects in the arcs of the novel I much preferred. The diary of Helena is sandwiched in the middle and her perspective describing her abusive relationship with Arthur was the most engaging by far. Arthur is an absolutely foul husband and Brontë’s writing does him no favours, aside from the subsequent redemption arc he undergoes which I didn’t feel he deserved at all and was quote disappointed by. 

The crowd of men around Arthur are also a very engaging bunch, none of whom that great people but certainly an interesting collection to read about, and with focus on Helen the appearances of this cast was unfortunately more limited too. 

Of the Brontë’s I have read Anne has been the most Austen-esque hence I struggled in many places with the narrative, however it was still an improvement on my experiences with ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’. The upper class victorian marriage market novels really aren’t for me at the end of the day but I keep feeling obliged to read them.