The Tenant of Wildfell Hall appeared in 1848. It was Anne Brontë’s second and final novel, published under her pen name, Acton Bell, by Thomas Cautley Newby.
The first edition was released in three volumes on 24 June 1848. The novel is structured through letters and a long diary, gradually revealing why Helen Graham has withdrawn to the isolated Wildfell Hall with her young son. Her decision to leave an abusive husband made the book unusually bold for Victorian fiction.
Anne’s treatment of alcoholism, marital cruelty, women’s work, and legal dependence challenged contemporary expectations. Helen supports herself by painting, an especially striking detail because married women had few independent legal or financial rights. The novel was initially successful, though some reviewers attacked its subject matter as coarse or improper.
Readers sometimes confuse the novel’s publication year with the dates inside its story, which moves between 1821 and 1847. Another common error is assigning it to Charlotte or Emily; Anne wrote it as Acton Bell.