Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Original 1848 Edition)
Written by Anne Brontë
Narrated by Multiple - LibriVox Community
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When Helen Graham moves into old Wildfell Hall with her little son Arthur, the rustic neighborhood comes alive with gossip and speculation, particularly when saturnine Mr. Lawrence (who bears an uncanny resemblance to the child) begins to visit her clandestinely. Local gentleman farmer Gilbert Markham falls in love with her almost against his will, despite rumors that she supports herself by the work of her hands and can give no account of her origins. Only when her diary comes into Markham’s hands do we find out why she has so exiled herself. As the chapters of the diary unfold, explicit scenes of adultery, seduction, and debauchery show why the novel was so shocking when it was first published, easily outselling the more famous debut novels of the three Brontë sisters. Often called the first “feminist” novel, “Wildfell Hall” may have been most shocking for its depiction of a strong-willed, independent single mother, for its criticism of the marriage institution, and for its many passages crying out against the unfair advantages accorded to men over women.
Importantly, this recording is based on the original 1848 Newby edition, not on the later, badly-mutilated version that mystifyingly continues to be the basis for modern editions advertised as “unabridged.” The novel had already been suppressed after Anne’s death by her sister Charlotte but received an even more serious injustice in 1854 when publisher Thomas Hodgson excised over sixteen thousand words, dozens of “unladylike” profanities, and numerous descriptions of dissolute male behavior, turning the Hodgson edition into a pale shadow of Anne Brontë’s original, visceral work as here presented. - Summary by Expatriate
Anne Brontë
English novelist and poet Anne Brontë was the youngest, and least recognized, member of the Brontë literary family. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, before publishing two novels under the name Acton Bell. Brontë achieved modest success with her first novel, Agnes Grey, which was based on her time working as a governess, but her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a triumph, selling out in just six weeks. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is also considered one of the first feminist novels, with depictions of alcoholism and immorality that were profoundly disturbing in the 19th century. Brontë died of tuberculosis in 1849 at the age of 29. Collectively, the Brontë sisters’ novels are considered literary standards that continue to influence modern writers.
More audiobooks from Anne Brontë
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAgnes Grey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Original 1848 Edition)
Related audiobooks
Far from the Madding Crowd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mansfield Park (version 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camilla Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAgnes Grey Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Italian Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Northanger Abbey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Northanger Abbey (version 3 Dramatic Reading) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daniel Deronda Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tess of the d'Urbervilles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Harrison's Confessions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (dramatic reading) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady Audley's Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life Of Charlotte Brontë Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAurora Floyd Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPersuasion (version 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Golden Calf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVillette Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Age of Innocence (Librovox) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5House of the Seven Gables (Version 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman in White Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Moll Flanders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rappaccini's Daughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bleak House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cranford Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mask of the Red Death (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hester Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poison Diaries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mansfield Park (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shirley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sicilian Romance Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
General Fiction For You
A Court of Wings and Ruin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/511/22/63: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Duke and I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Mist and Fury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Thorns and Roses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Frost and Starlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Return of the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust: The Gift Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fight Club Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Original 1848 Edition)
2 ratings0 reviews