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''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' (1848) was the second and last novel by the ''other'' Brontë sister, [[Anne Bronte (Creator)|Anne Bronte]]. Set in the 1820s, the novel tells the story of Helen Graham (really Helen Huntingdon), who takes up residence at the mostly-decayed Wildfell Hall under distinctly mysterious circumstances. Helen immediately captures the unwanted attention of the local villagers, many of them nasty gossips. More to the point, she attracts our male protagonist and narrator, Gilbert Markham, who (despite some misgivings) falls passionately in love with her. As Helen's diary reveals, however, there's an insuperable obstacle to any relationship with Gilbert: far from being a widow, she's still married.
 
The novel sold extremely well at first, a close second to ''[[Jane Eyre (Literature)|Jane Eyre]]'', but its bracing assault on both drunkenness and the sexual [[Double Standard]] earned it a scandalous reputation. Its plot and characters have often been taken as a sly [[Take That]] to both [[Emily Bronte (Creator)|Emily Bronte]]'s ''[[Wuthering Heights (Literaturenovel)|Wuthering Heights]]'' and [[Charlotte Bronte (Creator)|Charlotte Bronte]]'s ''Jane Eyre'' (the latter of which was written at the same time as ''Tenant''). Despite its early popularity, the novel slipped into relative obscurity following Charlotte refusing to allow the novel to be reprinted in 1850 alongside ''Wuthering Heights'' and Anne's own much less popular ''[[Agnes Grey (Literature)|Agnes Grey]]'', deeming the work to be "an entire mistake." Critics began to dismiss the book as well, believing it to be a mere manifestation of Anne's bitterness over her brother Branwell. Its frank treatment of sexuality and marital decay have earned it more attention in recent years.
 
The BBC has adapted it twice, most recently in 1996 with Tara Fitzgerald, Rupert Graves, and Toby Stephens in the leading roles.
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* [[Crazy Jealous Guy]]: Arthur Huntingdon.
* [[Death Equals Redemption]]: Helen cares for {{spoiler|Mr Huntingdon}} when he is ill, and urges him to mend his ways. He basically doesn't, until he's really about to die, and makes at least some strides towards redeeming himself in her eyes, at least partly spurred on by his fear of Hell. Assuming he's sincere, though he's probably not, it's almost a [[Heel Face Door Slam]].
* [[Deconstructor Fleet]]: Of [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]] and related tropes that feature prominently in works such as ''[[Wuthering Heights (Literaturenovel)|Wuthering Heights]]'' and ''[[Jane Eyre (Literature)|Jane Eyre]]''.
* [[Does Not Like Men]]: Helen's opinion of the male sex in general is dramatically lowered by her exposure to the worst of their kind during her marriage.
* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: Both Gilbert himself and Mr. Hargrave have aspects of this.
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* [[My Sister Is Off-Limits]]: In retrospect, Gilbert realizes that while Helen's brother actively did nothing to sabotage their relationship, he did nothing to help them as if he hoped they would drift apart on their own.
* [[Narrative Profanity Filter]]: Helen's diary contains a lot of "G-d d--m" or "he said things which I will not repeat here."
* [[Not So Different]]: Gilbert tried some of the same pick-up lines on Helen as her [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]] Mr. Hargrave. Fortunately, unlike the latter (and like many a [[Jane Austen]] hero), Gilbert knows how to take "No" for an answer.
* [[One Steve Limit]]: Averted. There are two Arthurs and two Helens.
* [[Oop North]]: The main action takes places in "_____shire" probably Yorkshire.
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* [[Scrapbook Story]]/[[Framing Device]]: The novel consists of Gilbert's letters to a friend and Helen's diary.
* [[Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace]]: Invoked but subverted (in the [[Not a Subversion|correct use of the term]]) when Gilbert instantly heads for Grassdale Manor, intending to resort to this trope if he must, when he hears {{spoiler|the now-truly-widowed Helen is getting married.}} Fortunately, {{spoiler|he was misinformed.}}
* [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]]: Mr. Hargrave
* [[Stockholm Syndrome]]: Helen observes how Millicent Hattersley displays genuine affection and devotion to her husband in the same scenes where he verbally or physically abuses her.
* [[Take That]]: More to ''Jane Eyre'' than ''Wuthering Heights'', which also portrays the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine as very destructive and foolish. While the case could be made against ''Jane Eyre'', Mr. Rochester is really at heart a good guy all along, though he is moody and temperamental.
* [[The Three Faces of Eve]]: Millicent (child), Helen (wife), Annabella (seductress).
* [[Throw the Dog Aa Bone]]: Mary Millward, the quiet, plain, unattractive girl whom only children and animals love, is happily married by the end of the story.
* [[Toxic Friend Influence]]: Arthur Huntingdon and his "friends" keep thwarting Lord Lowborough's attempts to go clean. He never manages to get entirely sober until he gets away from them.
* [[Trope Codifier]]: Widely considered "the First Feminist Novel."
* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: Gilbert Markham, quite possibly as a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Wuthering Heights (Literaturenovel)|Mr. Lockwood]].
* [[Upperclass Twit]]: Arthur Huntingdon and his cadre. Helen muses at one point that her husband might be a better man if he didn't have so much free time.
* [[The Vamp]]: Annabella Wilmot, as Lord Lowborough discovers too late. Gilbert warns Frederick Lawrence that Jane Wilson is not to be trusted before he can choose a similar fate.
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