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A review by kathykekmrs
The Anne Bronte 2 In 1 Special: The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall / Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
5.0
I really enjoyed these two novels, and though I had read "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" in a University English class it was great to have the opportunity to read alongside Anne Bronte's other novel "Agnes Grey". It was nice to read books from the nineteenth-century that did not gloss over marital problems. The issues of drunkenness, spousal abuse, and the cheating that goes with this sins against the family were prevalent back then. It was just that no one talked of them, nor wrote of them, except for Anne Bronte. This may be because she was in a unique position. Her brother Branwell was an alcoholic who died at the age of thirty-one due to complications with drinking. Anne took these experiences and wrote two very different novels, both within the genre of romance.
The first novel included is "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". This novel is told through letters and diary entries. This apparently was a convention of that time, but while in school we were taught that it was one of the first to use these techniques in fiction. The story takes place in Yorkshire where most of the Bronte sister novels are set. The story is actually a long letter to Gilbert Markham's brother-in-law to describe Markham's and his wife's meeting and courtship. There are many rumor's and much gossip surrounding Helen Lawrence Huntingdon Markham, though that is never a name used anywhere in the novel. We are learn her maiden name because Gilbert punches her brother Frederick Lawrence who belongs to the same neighborhood as Markham. Helen came as a presumed widow to escape the abuse of her husband Arthur Huntingdon. Gilbert fell in love with her at that time, but because Helen's ideas toward alcoholic beverages. Yes, Gilbert seems to be looking for money, but upon finally marrying Helen he relinquishes his home to his younger brother. Love meant more to him than did money, though Helen is herself not a pauper.
Anne Bronte writes much about love in her two novels. She seems to be commenting on the practice of young girls being chosen as mates to much older men for money. She does not approve. The happiest relationships appear to be forged by men and women of equal temperament. Yes, there is a small age difference in most couples, but not the twenty years that men require to sow their wild oats. When women marry solely for prestige they are often taken advantage of and treated unfairly. Marriage needs to be entered into with a thought for the future whether here on earth or up above. Anne Bronte writes with my feeling towards the words of God in the Bible. I know she was a clergyman's daughter, but I have never read her sister's works with the same feeling of female piety that Anne expresses in her novels.
Religion is more than a goal for Anne. It is the way in which people conduct themselves. No one should make fun of the cottager in rough clothes or show more reverence for the titled nobility than they do for Heavenly Father. She teaches her charges in the guise of a governess that that is their sacred duty. Her charges do not always listen and hence make bad choices on whom to marry and must find happiness within themselves rather than in the marriage bed. Anne Bronte is one of the few Victorian writers that mention children. Yes, these women do have kids within a year of marriage. The ability to have an heir is paramount on everyone's mind if not explicitly stated.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who greatly enjoys nineteenth century literature and the Victorian family setting. Also to anyone who wants to study the inner workings of family relationships as Anne Bronte honestly is greatly refreshing.
The first novel included is "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". This novel is told through letters and diary entries. This apparently was a convention of that time, but while in school we were taught that it was one of the first to use these techniques in fiction. The story takes place in Yorkshire where most of the Bronte sister novels are set. The story is actually a long letter to Gilbert Markham's brother-in-law to describe Markham's and his wife's meeting and courtship. There are many rumor's and much gossip surrounding Helen Lawrence Huntingdon Markham, though that is never a name used anywhere in the novel. We are learn her maiden name because Gilbert punches her brother Frederick Lawrence who belongs to the same neighborhood as Markham. Helen came as a presumed widow to escape the abuse of her husband Arthur Huntingdon. Gilbert fell in love with her at that time, but because Helen's ideas toward alcoholic beverages. Yes, Gilbert seems to be looking for money, but upon finally marrying Helen he relinquishes his home to his younger brother. Love meant more to him than did money, though Helen is herself not a pauper.
Anne Bronte writes much about love in her two novels. She seems to be commenting on the practice of young girls being chosen as mates to much older men for money. She does not approve. The happiest relationships appear to be forged by men and women of equal temperament. Yes, there is a small age difference in most couples, but not the twenty years that men require to sow their wild oats. When women marry solely for prestige they are often taken advantage of and treated unfairly. Marriage needs to be entered into with a thought for the future whether here on earth or up above. Anne Bronte writes with my feeling towards the words of God in the Bible. I know she was a clergyman's daughter, but I have never read her sister's works with the same feeling of female piety that Anne expresses in her novels.
Religion is more than a goal for Anne. It is the way in which people conduct themselves. No one should make fun of the cottager in rough clothes or show more reverence for the titled nobility than they do for Heavenly Father. She teaches her charges in the guise of a governess that that is their sacred duty. Her charges do not always listen and hence make bad choices on whom to marry and must find happiness within themselves rather than in the marriage bed. Anne Bronte is one of the few Victorian writers that mention children. Yes, these women do have kids within a year of marriage. The ability to have an heir is paramount on everyone's mind if not explicitly stated.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who greatly enjoys nineteenth century literature and the Victorian family setting. Also to anyone who wants to study the inner workings of family relationships as Anne Bronte honestly is greatly refreshing.