The introduction to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) by Anne Brontë is excerpted from Life and Works of the Sisters Brontë by Mary A. Ward, a 19th-century British novelist and literary critic. It’s not so much an analysis, but rather, places the novel in the context of Anne’s life.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, first published under Anne’s pseudonym Acton Bell, was an immediate success. It was considered shocking for its time, and in retrospect, it’s considered one of the earliest feminist novels. 

When the novel was first published, reviews on both sides of the Atlantic identified it as the work of Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë‘s pseudonym), author of Jane Eyre, or Ellis Bell (actually Emily Brontë), author of Wuthering Heights, or both. It was common for the three sisters to be mistaken for one writer, which was quite vexing to them. Read More→