tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post6672211285187939658..comments2024-02-25T19:19:39.854+11:00Comments on I prefer reading: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Brontelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-47852611710990708932010-12-02T02:26:11.303+11:002010-12-02T02:26:11.303+11:00I've only read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre...I've only read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre--loved them both in different ways. I really need to read more of the Brontes and more about them. I've collected a little pile of books, but you know how it goes. My reading this year has been all over the place, but I hope to get more serious next year--your post and these comments very much pique my curiosity about Anne!Daniellehttp://www.danitorres.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-47171741661736370842010-12-01T19:59:35.829+11:002010-12-01T19:59:35.829+11:00I was stunned by this book when I read it for the ...I was stunned by this book when I read it for the first time a few years ago, not only for its portrayal of domestic violence but I wondered whether it gives the clue to more of Branwell's misdemeanours chez Robinson...when Arthur is given alcohol it seemed like something Anne could have plucked from real life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-80798978602066797392010-12-01T19:39:18.923+11:002010-12-01T19:39:18.923+11:00Thank you for all these interesting comments. I do...Thank you for all these interesting comments. I do think that Anne is finally starting to emerge from Charlotte & Emily's shadow from a critical viewpoint. I did enjoy the TV series (I'm halfway through watching it again) but don't be fooled by lovely Toby Stephens! Gilbert is much more petulent in the book. I think it's a sign of movie realities or maybe just a reflection of the ages of Victorian heroes that Tara Fitzgerald & Rupert Graves are the romantic leads in TTOWH & just 15 years later, Rupert is still playing heroes as Rochester in the latest TV Jane Eyre & Tara is playing Mrs Reed! Still, Mrs Reed was probably only in her 40s in the book & Rochester is certainly mid to late 30s. I just found it amusing!lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-59013727398207206062010-12-01T08:38:11.733+11:002010-12-01T08:38:11.733+11:00Wonderful review! Although it has been sitting on ...Wonderful review! Although it has been sitting on my shelf for a decade at least, I have not read Tenant yet. (A few weeks ago I watched the Toby Stephens version and was blown away. The book is definitely coming with me during my travels this holiday season.) What I love about Jane Eyre is her driving desire to do the right thing, even when it seems to work against her immediate happiness. Seems like that theme gets explored a bit here, too.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543197858284977937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-84280731985345470652010-11-30T12:42:47.534+11:002010-11-30T12:42:47.534+11:00I read Romancing Miss. Bronte and it gave an overa...I read Romancing Miss. Bronte and it gave an overall view of the Bronte's again with emphasis on Charlotte mainly because she was the survivor. The book was intriguing and fascinating and I could recommend it very much. Thanks for this review as well - let me see whether I could get it.Mysticahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10941269615559681014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-69908533417288216232010-11-30T07:20:17.666+11:002010-11-30T07:20:17.666+11:00What an interesting post! I haven't read any ...What an interesting post! I haven't read any Anne Bronte, though I've read Jane Eyre (of course!), Villette (which still haunts me, after several decades, with its loneliness) and Wuthering Heights. I must give this one a try, though it sounds rather depressing. Maybe as an antidote after I've read something really light and trivial! :)Pennyhttp://svh2.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-74642819761378956642010-11-30T01:35:56.772+11:002010-11-30T01:35:56.772+11:00I wrote my university dissertation on Anne Bronte ...I wrote my university dissertation on Anne Bronte and believe her to be horrendously underrated and unfairly compared to her sisters. I love TTOWH despite its faults (I also adore Jane Eyre but that too is a very flawed novel) and think it should be read far more widely than it is. Agnes Grey is also very good. Personally I think Anne was a far better writer than Emily and her daring in tackling such unsavoury social issues deserves to be applauded. <br /><br />Glad you are an Anne fan!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-931340380640593302010-11-29T19:25:09.629+11:002010-11-29T19:25:09.629+11:00Carolyn, I think the Brontes knew only too well ab...Carolyn, I think the Brontes knew only too well about spoilt children. John Reed comes to a bad end, as you say. Karen, I read Agnes grey a long time ago & probably should reread one day. Villette is wonderful. Not a book to love as I love jane Eyre but a great achievement. Vintage Reading, Daphne Du maurier's Infernal World of Branwell Bronte is an excellent biography of Branwell although it was written in 1960. Virago reprinted it recently so it may be in print. Juliet Barker's The Brontes is the best modern biography on the whole family but it's huge! Screenwriting Software, I love the Brontes so I hope you enjoy TTOWH when you get to it.lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-4798335125871443412010-11-29T13:41:14.483+11:002010-11-29T13:41:14.483+11:00I have been hearing lots of good things about this...I have been hearing lots of good things about this book. I have not read any of Anne Bronte's works. Thanks for the great review! I will have to read this one.Screenwriting Softwarehttp://www.spiritualpub.com/10-books-that-may-guide-you-in-your-screen-writing-journey.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-45841721239079865392010-11-29T07:48:13.575+11:002010-11-29T07:48:13.575+11:00Very much enjoyed reading your review. Although I...Very much enjoyed reading your review. Although I prefer Agnes Grey, I think TTOWH is an excellent novel. I'd love to know more about the life of Branwell. I believe he was a genius like his sisters but something went drastically wrong.Vintage Readinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05971819409379613967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-79498053349348921302010-11-29T00:47:55.016+11:002010-11-29T00:47:55.016+11:00I quite liked this book. It wasn't anything l...I quite liked this book. It wasn't anything like I expected -- somehow I expected a cross between Wuthering Heights (which I hated) and Jane Eyre (which I loved). I still haven't started Agnes Grey which has been sitting unread on my shelf for years now, along with Villette, which I've heard good things about. Must read more Brontes!Karenlibrarianhttp://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020849054403226268.post-68635950384843609792010-11-28T16:29:42.476+11:002010-11-28T16:29:42.476+11:00I read this years ago after a friend told me it wa...I read this years ago after a friend told me it was something of a romance, so I didn't have a problem with Gilbert and Toby Stephens playing him in the miniseries doesn't hurt either! ;) I'd like to reread it at some point, since knowing more about Anne's life and how she was less melodramatic than her sisters makes me admire her more, how she addressed real social ills that women faced in her books. Tenant of Wildfell Hall is about what happens when a marriage goes wrong and Agnes Grey is about what a woman has to do if she's not married and out working as a governess for spoiled rich kids. There again, as you say so well, it explores "the consequences of the indulgence of boys & the sheltering of girls from reality." You can see the theme in Jane Eyre too, with John Reed's bullying and eventual disintegration.Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11538459607519844826noreply@blogger.com