The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

By: Anne Brontë

Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Jenny Agutter

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

The story of a woman's struggle for independence from an abusive husband. Helen 'Graham' has returned to Wildfell Hall in flight from a disastrous marriage and to protect her young son from the influence of his father.

Exiled to the desolate moorland mansion, she adopts an assumed name and earns her living as a painter. Gilbert Markham, a local man intrigued by the beautiful young 'widow' offers his friendship but becomes distrustful when her reclusive behaviour sparks rumours and speculation. When she offers her diary for him to read only then does he discover the dark truth of her shocking past.

The second and last novel written by Anne Brontë, the youngest of the six Brontë children, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall deals with alcoholism, physical and emotional abuse, unhappy marriages and adultery. Anne's novels are distinctly different from that of her sisters, filled with gritty realism. After her death, Anne's sister, Charlotte, prevented its republication perhaps due to her belief that it was overly graphic and an 'entire mistake'.

Despite first being published in 1848, The Independent described it as a 'frighteningly up-to-date tale of single motherhood and wife-battering.' It is considered one of the more shocking of the Brontë stories and due to Helen's breaking of social convention and law holds firm as one of the first feminist novels.

Narrator Biography

Three-time Olivier Award winner actor Alex Jennings is known for portraying Prince Charles in The Queen (2006) as well as appearing in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Babel (2006) and The Lady in the Van (2015). His television work has included Cranford (2007), Silk (2011-2014), and Victoria (2016). He has narrated many audiobooks including Charlie Connelly's Attention All Shipping, which in 2008 was chosen as one of the top 40 audiobooks of all time.

Jenny Agutter began her acting career as a child in 1964's East of Sudan and is well known for appearing in three adaptations of The Railway Children. She starred in the critically acclaimed 1971 film Walkabout as well as receiving a string of Hollywood roles. She won an Emmy for her role in The Snow Goose (1971), as well as a BAFTA for her role in Equus (1997). More recently she has appeared in several television dramas, including Spooks (2002-2003), and Call the Midwife since 2012. She has performed in numerous theatre productions, including roles with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also narrated audiobooks Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle and Jane Austen's Emma and featured in the Doctor Who audio dramas The Bride of Peladon and The Minister of Chance. In 2012 she was appointed OBE for her charity work.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc

Good reading for all women considering marriage.

I never read this book as a teen or twenty-something. Enjoyed it so much, I just read (listened to)it twice - back to back.

Was a little slow starting out the first time around, but then I was hooked.

Beautiful story-telling, surprises, romance, folly of youth, good vs evil, mystery, feminism, spousal abuse, double standards are all elements found in the remarkable book.

Some of the themes must have been shocking when it was published in 1848.

Loved this!

This was beautifully done. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I will definitely be listening again

Timeless novel with excellent narration

What about Alex Jennings and Jenny Agutter ’s performance did you like?

The performances of Alex Jennings and Jenny Agutter were excellent and did much to bring this novel to life!

Highly recommendable

Any additional comments?
I very much enjoyed this story. It may not be as well known as the stories of the two other Bronte sisters, but the quality of the story telling is quite superb. I highly recommend this book to all listeners who enjoy authors like Bronte and Austen. Both narrators does an excellent job and together they make this book a most enjoyable listen.

EXCELLENT!!!

This is another great story a Bronte sister. Such a great meditation on the end of life.

Perfect Rendition Wildfell Hall

Sterling performances by both readers, truly pitch-perfect. I will be looking for more audiobooks read by these two performers.

Abridged

This is abridged and I did not realize until halfway through. I feel disappointed that I have missed pieces and that I’ve I’ve wasted my time I am starting over with a printed, physical book. Why are there no indications in the Title details about this being abridged? This has happened to me a number of times on Audible.

Amazon ruined it with ads ZERO STARS

Couldn't tolerate constant interruption by ads. It was several ads per hour. Will never buy another "Only at Amazon" audiobook again, and if I get ads on other audiobooks that'll be the last time I'll use their service.

Secondly, Amazon rated my review as five stars despite me rating it one star. Now I've read from other reviewers that this doesn't even contain the complete work.

Not well written, formulaic characters.

Jennings is not a bad reader; Agutter is very good. Interesting if static discussion of gender, class and morals in rural Georgian England. Character of narrator is insufferable.

Abridged

This audiobook is not the full version of the book and has been abridged in certain places. Very disappointing.