The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel written by the English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it was an instant success, but after Anne's death, her sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication in England until 1854.

The novel is framed as letters from Gilbert Markham to a friend. In them he describes meeting a mysterious young widow, Helen Graham, who arrives with her young son and a servant to Wildfell Hall, an Elizabethanmansion which has been empty for many years. Contrary to early 19th-century norms, she pursues an artist's career and makes an income by selling her pictures. Her strict seclusion soon gives rise to gossip in the neighbouring village and she becomes a social outcast. Gilbert comes to understand that she has fled with her son from an abusive relationship, to save him from his father's influence. The novel is notable for its depiction of marital strife and women's professional work. It also expresses Anne Brontë's belief in universal salvation.

Most critics now consider The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be one of the first feminist novels. In leaving her husband and taking their child, Helen violates not only social conventions but also early 19th-century English law.