The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Last week I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, and we discussed it at book group on Thursday night. We rate the books out of 10 pre- and post-discussion, and this might have been our highest scoring book to date.

It was certainly a fun discussion, and heated in places. Two members in particular felt it was better than Jane Eyre, and two of us (strongly) disagreed. It was interesting that the parts of the book that appealed to us were also different - a couple found the surrounding story more compelling than the diary section, and liked the character of Gilbert. I had found him rather inconsistent - but perhaps that is the point. I had read the scholarly introduction and all the footnotes, and the critical opinion seemed to be that the diary section was the strength of the book, so I'm not sure how much that influenced me.

One of the things the group seemed to enjoy about the book was how modern it felt. Certainly there are aspects of the characters' behaviour and motivations that are not unfamiliar to a contemporary reader. I wasn't sure though, how much that counts in the book's favour - it seems to me that on reading many of the classics we are surprised at the modern feel of the characters. I was trying to argue that that is our perception that the past is different; in fact, although social rules have changed, basic human motivation has not. A modern feel per se does not then make it a better book. But I'm not sure how clearly I made my point as several bottles of wine had been consumed by that point.

Anne Bronte would not have approved.

I think I will have to read Wuthering Heights. I started it and gave up when I was a teenager, although I enjoyed Jane Eyre at that age. But I've found reading about the Brontes interesting: I read Jane Eyre (again) for my other book group a year or so ago, and also read Anges Grey a couple of years ago (and re-read the introduction in preparation for last Thursday). So I think I need to read Emily Bronte to complete the trio.