ANNE BRONTE THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Brontë
With an Afterword by Kathryn White
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of few nineteenth-century novels to address alcoholism, psychological abuse, violence and the inequality of women's property rights. In a powerful psychological narrative, Anne Brontë tells the strange tale of the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Graham, the mysterious tenant of Wildfell Hall. When it was first published in 1848, Anne Brontë's second novel was attacked by the Spectator for its 'morbid love of the coarse, if not the brutal'. In her defence, Anne stated that she 'wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it'. Anne's own sister Charlotte considered the novel 'an entire mistake', and after Anne's death in 1849 she suppressed any further editions, wishing to protect her reputation from accusations of immorality. Anne Brontë challenges the reader, proving that she is a novelist in her own right and not just of interest as the youngest sister of the better known authors Charlotte and Emily.
The Collector’s Library restores traditional visual and tactile pleasures to the joy of reading.
Each book is designed to appeal to the book-lover; in every case the type is re-set, illustrations, where appropriate, are selected from sources as close to the period of the book as possible, and the books are printed on high-quality paper, section-sewn and bound in real cloth. Each book has endpapers, a satin ribbon marker, head and tailbands and gilt edges. They represent the marriage of great literature to high aesthetic and craft standards, using the technology of the 21st century to produce something classic and at the same time unmistakeably modern.
Their handy size means that they can be slipped into the pocket, handbag or briefcase, and their robust manufacture makes them ideal travelling companions as well as comfortable bedside reads at very affordable prices.
‘I cannot imagine a more heavenly present; they are so beautifully produced and illustrated.’
Jilly Cooper, novelist
‘It is delicious to see gilt edges again. ... They are far more pocket-sized than any paperback.’
Joanna Trollope, novelist
