The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
A young widow named Helen Graham moves into the half-ruined Wildfell Hall with her small son and keeps herself apart, earning money by selling her paintings. The village gossips, and the farmer Gilbert Markham, half in love with her, cannot square the rumours with the woman he knows. When she finally hands him her diary, the reason for her secrecy comes out: a marriage to a charming, dissolute man whose drinking and cruelty forced her to run. Anne Brontë’s second novel, published in 1848, was startling for its unsparing look at addiction and a wife’s right to leave. Many readers now consider it one of the earliest feminist novels in English. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.
About the Author
Anne Brontë (1820-1849) was the youngest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of two novels. She worked as a governess, an experience that shaped her fiction’s realism and moral seriousness. Long overshadowed by Charlotte and Emily, she is now valued for her frank…
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