Synopses & Reviews
Published in June 1848, less than a year before her death, Anne Brontë's second (and last) novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, is the somber account of the breakdown of a marriage in the face of alcoholism and infidelity. The novel enjoyed a modest success that led its publisher, the unscrupulous T.C. Newby, to issue a "Second Edition" less than two months later. The present edition, which completes the Clarendon Edition of the Novels of the Brontës, offers a text based on the collation of the first edition with the second. The introduction details the work's composition and early printing history, including its first publication in America; and the text is fully annotated. Appendices record the substantive variants in the first English and American editions, and discuss the author's belief in the doctrine of universal salvation.
Review
"The chronology, notes, and explanatory notes makes this a readable text for any college student. The accessibility of the text sets this edition apart from the usual, mediocre preprintings of Victorian texts."--Professor Lawrence Czer, Martin Luther College
"An excellent text with an intelligent and helpful introduction. . . . an attractive book at a very agreeable price, and meticulously scholarly as well. I have not taught this text simply because, until now, there has been no text I liked sufficiently. Now I can. OUP has done academic teaching a major service."--Dr. A.G. Hunter, Curry College
"Anne Bronte sometimes gets lost in the shadows cast by her sisters, so it is a welcome treat to find such a useful, helpful, accessible edition of her fine novel. I look forward to the chance to introduce students to A.B.'s work in this attractive version."--Laura Dabundo, Kennesaw State College
"Clear type, useful notes, excellent binding."--H.A. Simpson, Hampden-Sydney College
"I have never included this novel in my course, but I'm seriously tempted with this version of it."--Sr. Pauline Fox, Mt. Mercy College
"An attractive, affordable copy."--Dr. Robert O'Connor, North Dakota State University
"Great to have new access to an under-represented author and text. Very helpful notes and insightful Introduction."--Rita S. Kranidis, Radford University
"How marvelous to have this out in paperback!"--Robin Feuer Miller, Brandeis University
"An admirably edited text, authoritative."--Richard Boyd, University of California, Riverside
"A very valuable addition to the World's Classics series--a rare novel, difficult to find in inexpensive editions."--John H. Wilson, Dakota Wesleyan University
Review
"It is particularly gratifying to have a definitive library edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."--Review of English Studies
Review
"The chronology, notes, and explanatory notes makes this a readable text for any college student. The accessibility of the text sets this edition apart from the usual, mediocre preprintings of Victorian texts."--Professor Lawrence Czer, Martin Luther College
"An excellent text with an intelligent and helpful introduction. . . . an attractive book at a very agreeable price, and meticulously scholarly as well. I have not taught this text simply because, until now, there has been no text I liked sufficiently. Now I can. OUP has done academic teaching a
major service."--Dr. A.G. Hunter, Curry College
"Anne Bronte sometimes gets lost in the shadows cast by her sisters, so it is a welcome treat to find such a useful, helpful, accessible edition of her fine novel. I look forward to the chance to introduce students to A.B.'s work in this attractive version."--Laura Dabundo, Kennesaw State College
"Clear type, useful notes, excellent binding."--H.A. Simpson, Hampden-Sydney College
"I have never included this novel in my course, but I'm seriously tempted with this version of it."--Sr. Pauline Fox, Mt. Mercy College
"An attractive, affordable copy."--Dr. Robert O'Connor, North Dakota State University
"Great to have new access to an under-represented author and text. Very helpful notes and insightful Introduction."--Rita S. Kranidis, Radford University
"How marvelous to have this out in paperback!"--Robin Feuer Miller, Brandeis University
"An admirably edited text, authoritative."--Richard Boyd, University of California, Riverside
"A very valuable addition to the World's Classics series--a rare novel, difficult to find in inexpensive editions."--John H. Wilson, Dakota Wesleyan University
Synopsis
Anne Bronte's second novel is a passionate and courageous challenge to the conventions supposedly upheld by Victorian society and reflected in circulating-library fiction. The heroine, Helen Huntingdon, after a short period of initial happiness, leaves her dissolute husband, and must earn her own living to rescue her son from his influence. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is compelling in its imaginative power, the realism and range of its dialogue, and its psychological insight into the characters involved in a marital battle.