Literary Parlor – The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel by the English author Anne Bronte. The novel is framed as a series of letters from Gilbert Markham to his friend about the events connected with his meeting a mysterious young widow, calling herself Helen Graham, who arrives at Wildfell Hall. Contrary to the early 19th century norms, she pursues an artist’s career and makes an income by selling her pictures. Her strict seclusion gives rise to gossip and she becomes a social outcast. She gives a diary to Markham that chronicles her husband’s physical and moral decline through alcohol and debauchery in the dissipated aristocratic society. Critics consider The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be one of the first feminist novels. Join 19th-century bibliophile, Kate Howe, for an exciting discussion.