so-soI appreciate how radical and groundbreaking this book was when it was published, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but it dragged on and on. Things got predictable pretty soon with no end in sight. I skimmed through the last five chapters. Having said that, Helen Hutingdon is one of my new favorite literary heroines.
Been on my TBR for soooooo long. Looking forward to starting this tonight!
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!
(Arrrgh, I forgot yesterday!)
#monochromatic #colormepretty @Sweetkokoro
so-soI had a hard time with this. More than once I had to stop and read a lighter book before continuing. I recognize the importance of the book, but it was like watching a train wreck. All the men are horrible, including the narrator, who probably was meant to be a good guy. The depressing thing is that we all know it's a fictional example of a very real situation for millions of women through the ages.
so-soBetween a pick and so-so. It is full of melodrama, which I enjoy in a period piece, but I have to say some scenes and situations were drawn out to a final d....y....i.....n......g....gasp. In recent years I have developed great respect for the office of editor. 😏
pickWhen Helen Graham and her young son move into rural Wildfell Hall, moody farmer Gilbert Markham finds himself drawn to the beautiful, inscrutable new tenant. He proffers friendship and she, as pages turn, accepts it. Predictably, village gossip re: Helen‘s beauty and inscrutability prompts Gilbert to have... Second Thoughts! Difficulties ensue, impediments to felicity arise. This oldie-but-goody unfolds in letter and diary form— a diverting read!
UK Littens! Audible has a 2 for 1 sale today - just got these 2!
“She did not talk much, but I stood and watched the progress of her pencil: it was a pleasure to behold it so dexterously guided by those fair and graceful fingers. But ere long their dexterity became impaired, they began to hesitate, to tremble slightly, and make false strokes, and then suddenly came to a pause, while their owner laughingly raised her face to mine, and told me that her #sketch did not profit by my superintendence.” #QuotsyJune19
pickThis was so stressful!! I don‘t know which is worse. To be the character Anne Bronte does or does not admire. She puts them all through the wringer.
Rearranged my bookshelves...this is the side that holds my Worth Press Classics. Does anyone else collect these? #catsoflitsy
#LittlestThings (like little classics that fit on your littlest shelf ❤️).
Fun fact: This is the little copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall that I read on my honeymoon (MANY years ago) in Venice. Perhaps not the best marriage-themed novel to go with, you think? 😆
#MayMovieMagic
I finished only 3 books but they were all good! As for current reads, I‘m FINALLY near the end of David Balfour! Anne‘s House of Dreams is still on hold until I get around to reading Anne of Windy Poplars & the others are library loans I haven‘t got to yet. I have no idea what I‘ll read next, but with a book order arriving tomorrow, a couple book sales coming up & my tbr mountain, I‘ll have no shortage of choices! #AprilWrapUp #SpringIntoReading
I am hoping to read this one soon. I just watched "To walk invisible" on Amazon (originally on PBS) and it was fantastic. It is about the 3 Brontë sisters and tells the story of how and why they became authors. Based on their own original letters.
pickI DID IT!!! 8 or so hours in essentially 2 days! Haha
I cannot believe how relevant this book still is- so many say Bronte was ahead of her time with this one but are we just behind our time? Should we not have made further progress??!! That's what I'm left questioning.
Damn, this book has gotten so real! After the marriage, the psychological/emotional abuse starts full force and is, honestly, still so relevant and hitting a wee close to home that it makes me in turns angry, sick to my stomach, and disappointed.
Confused. I dl this #audiobook to get through the rest of the book by friday's #bookclub meet up and yet it was set to "resume" at very close to the right point I stopped at in the physical book. I swear I never listened to this book before- none of it was familiar as I read it. How strange?
The bruja in me is strong today! ?? @llwheeler
From the introduction to the Wordsworth classics edition (1996). So interesting to learn! See my previous post for why I am skeptical of their claims to correction. I've also noticed several smaller instances of things I would consider "obvious errors" ("be" instead of "he"), and can't blame it all on the apparently terrible T.C. Newby since I also found an error in the footnotes. I am loving the book so far but maybe not the edition.
Post 2/2
Well I haven't seen this before! A whole paragraph repeated, but with some periods and italics different. So I wondered if it was an error with my edition (Wordsworth classics, 1996), or an error with the original that the editor of this edition chose to keep for some reason. Turns out the original publishers were terrible typesetters (see my next post), so I still don't know. Maybe both?
Post 1/2
pickIt may be the first feminist novel, written in the 1820s. Groundbreaking controversial story of a Woman painter who makes a bad marriage to an abusive alcoholic and flees—an illegal act in that era. Like her sisters she published under a male name—Acton Bell. Novel begins in the voice of a clueless self-serving man pursuing the mysterious single woman of Wildfell Hall.
Who woke up with tonsilitis this morning!? Who just feels like they got full-throttle smacked with full effects of it just now?!
Ugh
Curled up with books, Grace & Frankie, Jane Bear, and 2nd part of my smoothie because throat hurts but stomach also hurts from the antibiotics 🤦♀️
Happy Birthday, Anne Bronte! (1/17/1820) You often get overlooked when people talk about your sisters, Charlotte and Emily, but you will always be my favorite Bronte. 💕 Your novel about a woman leaving her abusive husband was groundbreaking when it was published in 1848, and it helped give me the courage to walk away from a similar situation. So thank you for that. You freaking rock, girl! 🤗💕📚
No wonder it's considered a feminist text, Brontë is holding nothing back in regard to what was considered a woman's place and then proceeding to have her character's debate the merits of such assumptions.
Curled up in bed with Anne Brontë, watching a very pretty, wintery scene out my window as my banana bread bakes and I sip my coffee.
Oh the joys of not working in the morning!
Best way to end a letter.
Maybe I'll steal these lines when I write my next letter ;)
A pint and an English classic at a beach pub. Perfect. Can‘t believe I never read Anne Bronte before. Perhaps the most subversive of the Bronte Sisters?
It's my birthday today and so far my presents are all books or stationery, including a biography of Anne Bronte complete with handstitched Hebridean tweed book cover. Feeling very spoilt!
so-soI found this quite waffly and too pious for my liking. I nearly gave up. It did improve towards the middle. I think it could be edited to block out the waffle and be half the size! Not a bad story but just confirms that in the case of classics I usually prefer a TV adaptation.
When Helen moved into Wildfell Hall, there was a rumour that she was Mr Lawrence‘s mistress. Gilbert Markham dismissed all the rumours until he saw the two of them together one night, and misunderstood. He beat up Mr Lawrence unprovoked, because he was jealous.
I‘ve just watched the bbc series last night. Though it differs from the novel in some parts, it was a good adaptation. Cast: Toby Stephens (💙), Rupert Graves.
#NoFemmber #jealousguy
I have a few great reads this year, all thanks to Litsy and lovely Littens. The tagged book is my latest favourite, an underrated classic.❣️
Congratulations on your Litsy milestone @TheLibrarian 👏 and thank you for having this #70kgiveaway 💖
I usually read a classic in the morning and contemporary fiction at night, but changing things up with this one.
pickNow I know why this is widely agreed as Anne Brontë‘s masterpiece. It‘s timeless, forward-thinking. An examination of issues that are still relevant and raging today. All the love ❤️ for Anne Brontë, all the stars ? for this book.
#litsyclassics
I don‘t know why this has been sitting on my shelves for so long. I am loving this book so much but have to put it down a while as what Helen is enduring really infuriates me..and the menfolk in her backstory are contemptible!
#currentread
#readathon #deweyoct Hour 1: I present my stack and my hot chocolate. 🎃🕸👻💀😚
📖#currentlyreading
I am really enjoying reading this book, seeing a domestic abuse relationship in the 1800s compared to the other stories written at that time. So brave and still so relevant.
Bindi meanwhile is happy to snuggle.
#dogsoflitsy
Just got this beauty😍😍😍😍 can‘t wait to read it!
pickWoo.....what a roller coaster that was. I really enjoyed this book despite being so frustrated and angry a good majority of the book. Anne Brontë kept it real and I appreciated it. Anne is now one of my new favourite people. Also, I'm glad this book was overly happy at the end, I really needed it after all the anger I endured. 4.5 out of 5.
I'm just past the halfway point of this book. This is my first Brontë novel and I'm glad I chose this one rather than a Charlotte or Emily Brontë novel. This book was ahead of its time and is so raw. Sometimes I get frustrated with the main character and sometimes I just want to help them. I'm on a rollercoaster of emotions.
I haven't taken part in a photo challenge for a while but here goes #inthewild for
#readathon #deweyjuly
@DeweysReadathon
pickSuch an interesting read for the time period! Although Anne is often the overlooked Brontë sister, this book shows her powers of writing and her feisty personality. Lots of twists and turns, and in the end a very good moral. Very enjoyable.
#MayLovesClassics #BookishScenesWithinAClassic
Ive missed a few days but thanks @Sarah83 for an enjoyable challenge. Im already planning next years classic challenge as im in 2 minds abt some choices and already have some planned as this made me read 1 of my 5* bks this yr. It was so good & Gilbert + Markham's relationship develops through a love of books - this scene was a little tense as Gilbert underestimates helen - wonderful read.
pickAn amazing feminist novel that doesn‘t disparage men in general. Anne Brontë‘s sarcastic approach to talking about societal roles is refreshing. 10/10 would recommend.
When a mysterious young woman moves into Wildfell Hall, the little community will never be the same. #building #maylovesclassics
Eucalyptus Mint bath bomb and a classic. Perfect way to unwind.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | 
