Published 1848
(Reviewed as part of the Classics Club Challenge)
I’m wary of writing about a ‘proper’ classic. There are already so many other reviews out there, by people with a much greater depth of knowledge than me. But I can record my response to the novel. Here we go…
I have been slowly working my way through the Brontes’ catalogue over the past year or so. I enjoyed Jane Eyre; was glad to have finally read Wuthering Heights, and plodded dutifully through Agnes Grey. Wildfell loomed large, and when it was selected as the read for my old book club for the month after I moved, it seemed that fate had taken a hand. I am able to read and review from afar, (thank you, dear book club friends), so Wildfell would be read.
I was not particularly looking forward to it; in fact, I had something of a wobble and considered not bothering to start the book at all. I’d heard various mumblings about small print and many pages, and poor Sue seemed to be apologizing regularly for having chosen it. I made the mistake of reading a little about the book and my reservations grew: it sounded like a treatise for the evils of drink and it seemed I was in for an evangelistic, do-gooder experience. It certainly didn’t sound like a thrilling prospect, but I was wrong; I really enjoyed this book. It is far and away my favourite Bronte work thus far.
I read the book on my kindle. It’s been some time since I read a 19th century classic in anything but short, daily, online installments. (Courtesy of dailylit.com.) It took me a while to adjust to the format, and even longer to adjust to the language: not only the 19th century style, but the length of the sentences. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything containing so many long and complicated sentences. I love punctuation – and here we had it spades. Even so, I found myself reading aloud, just to get the measure of the sentence. It caused a few raised eyebrows in the household.
I found I most enjoyed the book if I read it in very small chunks – thoughtful of Anne to write it in so many short chapters! And I found it well-written, entertaining, and thought-provoking. I liked the structure: each chapter in Markham’s sections being a letter, and in Helen’s being diary entries. There is a story within the story, which meant Anne wrote in the first person from both the male and the female perspective and for me both were equally strong. The novel moved slowly and I had to read it slowly, thanks in part to the ponderous sentences but also the detail about the various characters’ inner thoughts and motives. Not to everyone’s taste, but very much to mine. Anne seemed to have a real insight into both the male and female minds of the time, which surprised me given what I knew of her relatively sheltered life.
As I read the early chapters I realised that this is a feminist novel; now that really surprised me! Reading more about the novel having finished it, I see that it was an instant hit but that it was shocking for its time. From the start it questions the inequalities in how boys and girls should be raised, and there are marked contrasts between the attitudes of the women such as Mrs Markham and Eliza when compared to the enigmatic, outspoken but strongly principled “Mrs Graham”.
The novel goes on to tackle still more serious and daring themes: adultery among both sexes; violence, abuse, alcoholism; the legal rights of women; women earning their own living … It is a romance, yes; but it’s also a book centered in realism – a far cry from Emily’s Wuthering Heights or Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. I found it a bold and courageous book in which Anne tackled themes to be found in both her sisters’ books but without the gothic mantle.
Helen as a character stood out for me and I liked her very much. Her dilemma is universal: women face these issues today – although with greater freedom to act than Helen had then. And I would have loved to have met Anne! What a daring and strong young woman she was in her own right despite her sheltered upbringing. For me, her first novel, Agnes Grey, was well-written but predictable and lacking any sense of pace. It gave away nothing to suggest that Anne was capable of a novel such as Wildfell. What else might she have achieved had she lived?
I’ve already said that Wildfell is without doubt my favourite Bronte novel to date – and Anne has become my favourite Bronte sister. Like her sisters, Anne, wove wonderful descriptions of nature into the book. The weather, the passing of the seasons, the flora and fauna were all beautifully described. But unlike her sisters, Anne chose to ground her book in the issues of the day and she did so unflinchingly. She’s now on my list of people I would love to have around a dinner table – if only I gave dinner parties!
A Corner of Cornwall 
It’s an amazing book for its time, isn’t it? One of my favourites of the Brontes, probably my 2nd favourite (I do love Wuthering Heights, but then I’m a more Gothic, crime fictiony type of reader…).
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Ah ha, and I’m not the greatest fan of all things Gothic nor of crime fiction! But yes, a wonderful book. I have reservations about a number of titles on my list: books I that I really want to have read but can’t truthfully say I’m looking forward to reading, if that makes sense. I hope a few more prove to be as surprising as Wildfell 🙂
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Which are the ones that are causing you the most concern?
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Marina, I think the main ones I shall need to work up to are the Russian classics: Crime & Punishment, Anna Karenina. Also The Sorrows of Young Werther – and strangely enough, On the Road. I feel sure that I won’t like that book – and I really want to read it and like it! I’ll need to cultivate a properly open mind I think!
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Crime and Punishment and AK are two of my favourite (unlike Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace). On the Road is very, very bleak, but there’s so much love there that it was ultimately kind of uplifting. And I don’t normally like dystopian fiction.
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That’s encouraging – on all three. Thank you!
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Long sentences and interfering neighbours aside, I was struck by what empty, purposeless lives so many of them led. Plus ca change I suppose.
A good story, however- mundane ending. I do have a thing about mundane endings!!
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Pat, one of the various books I’m currently reading is Emma – and that’s exactly what I’m thinking about the lives of all of the characters: their lives seem very small – and to use your word, mundane. That said, I liked the ending in Wildfell. I would have felt cheated without it I think. Predictable yes, but deserved. (You’ve put me in mind of the ending in Restless now – which I found very unsatisfactory but I remember you felt was perfect. That final paragraph I think …)
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…I thought was sublime….
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My favourite Bronte book!
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Mine too – so far! (I think it will stay in the top spot.)
Thanks for looking in, Emma 🙂
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I felt the same way about this book. I was surprised by Anne’s feminist themes and her modern interpretation of alcoholism. I enjoyed this novel a lot more than I expected to. I now think Anne is underrated among the Bronte sisters.
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I totally agree, Ms arachne – on every point!
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Hi Sandra, this is a terrific review. I felt as if I ‘got’ the point more after reading your review than I did from just reading the book. I suppose Helen was a feminist, but I thought of her actions more in present day terms and doing what was best for herself and her son personally. Wish I was part of your book club!
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Thanks, Rose! I loved my book club. The ladies in it were all friends; there was always mutual support as well as some serious (and not so serious) book debate. I’m not sure that my responses in this review are the ‘point’ – just how I reacted to it, plus a little reading up about the novel. I think we each respond differently and those responses are equally valid. Reading is a personal thing. But I do love to come across someone’s point of view which makes me alter my own by seeing the book in a new way. (I’m hoping that might happen with Jane Austen’s Emma – it was lost on me yet so many people love it!)
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I need to stop comparing my reviews to others and feeling as if I have come up short…
Emma is my least favourite of Jane Austen’s works too, although I wouldn’t do so far as to say it was lost on me, I appreciate the craft etc, just don’t like the heroine or the story. Jane Austen said she didn’t expect readers to like Emma (as a heroine), don’t know if I’ve been influenced by that.
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I love your reviews! They are personal (not all seem to be); they’re often quirky and/or funny and you cover a wide range of genres. It’s your blog – write those reviews in a way that works for you and that you enjoy! Sermonising over and nipping back to Emma, your observation reminded me of something that’s happened to me once or twice: I was so busy not liking Emma (and to be fair, feeling that the outcome was so blindingly obvious) that all Jane’s finesse and mastery of words was quite lost on me. I just plodded on grimly, determined to get through it. I will read it again before too long. Hopefully, it will be a whole new experience. I might even find some compassion for Emma!
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I love your reviews on the classics. This is on my list to but not sure when I’ll get to it. Wuthering Heights and Villette are both on my must read list this year. Just not sure which one I’ll get to first
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Thank you 🙂 I just never manage to write them quickly enough! I’ll be interested in what you make of those you mention when you finally get to them. I struggled with Wuthering Heights; loved Wildfell and still have Villette to read. Maybe I’ll slip that one in as a break from Dickens (and to put off starting Martin Chuzzlewit 😉 )
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She is such a brave writer isn’t she, I can’t imagine what it must have been like to read this in 1848, scandalous yes but some women must have found it so therapeutic. A book calling for equal education AND owning up that marriage wasn’t always roses. Great review Sandra, thanks!
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Glad you enjoyed it, Jane. Thanks for making the time to read this far back 😊
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