APRIL 2025 READING LIST
Robert Henri. Edith Reynolds, 1908. National Gallery of Art
THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL BY ANNE BRONTË
Gilbert Markham becomes enthralled by Helen Graham, a beautiful yet enigmatic young woman who has recently settled at Wildfell Hall with her son. He quickly extends his friendship to her, but her reserved demeanor stirs gossip and suspicion among the villagers, causing Gilbert to wonder if he's trusted the wrong person. The full truth emerges only after she allows Gilbert to read her diary, unveiling startling details about her troubled marriage. Themes of alcoholism, moral responsibility, independence, and women’s rights are explored.
I went through a Brontë kick when I was younger, exploring the lesser-known books by the famous sisters, and I was deeply moved by the story of Helen in Wildfell Hall. When I was in high school, someone spoke to many of us young women and shared a disturbing statistic. We were to look to the left, then look to the right, and then look back at the speaker. “One out of three of you will get divorced,” the speaker not so delicately put the odds. This truth saddened me, so when I read Anne Brontë’s tale of love and marriage, I was both grieved and awoken to the difficulties women have had since the beginning of time.
I listened to this book and had the wonderful pleasure of hearing Alex Jennings, who also narrates a book from the Chronicles of Narnia, alongside Jenny Agutter, who is a regular on Call the Midwife. Having this duo voice their respective characters brought the story to life and enhanced the theme of gender roles. The theme of universal salvation also resonated with me as a writer, as I am trying to create a character who is fundamentally good but does not always come across as compelling. Helen epitomizes patience and goodness, never abandoning her convictions for the sake of convenience or succumbing to the pressure of blind tolerance. She detests her husband's wicked behavior, saves her son from ruin, and sets out to express her dissent against the widely accepted view that men's vices are merely natural.
Revisiting the book and watching the adaptation featuring Tara Fitzgerald, Rupert Graves, and Toby Stephens, I was captivated by the complexities of relationships and how what seems perfect can unravel. Helen simply wants to marry someone interesting, close in age, and engaging. She soon realizes that even though her husband is entertaining, he enjoys amusing himself with another woman. Helen is yet another brave heroine in British literature who challenges the system by fleeing with her son rather than suffering in silence. She rebuilds her life, but when Gilbert Markham appears, she is too weary of love to show her distance without revealing her past.
The book serves as a painful reminder of how far society has come regarding marriage and social class, while unfortunately still reflecting many issues of the past. Problems such as infidelity, marital incapability, challenges around gender roles, and the question of whether everyone is worth saving continue to persist. These universal themes of human inadequacy persist despite so-called development and enlightenment.
5/5 Stars
Henri Jean Augustin de Braekeleer. The Dressmaker, ca. 1863. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
THE SECRET KEEPER OF MAIN STREET BY TRISHA R. THOMAS
In 1954, Bailey Dowery, a Black seamstress, discovers she has "second sight." When she touches a customer, she sees visions of their desires, fears, and future. She works for the wives of local oil barons, creating elegant gowns and wedding dresses for the city's elite. Despite her aunt's warnings to avoid white people's affairs, Bailey occasionally uses her gift to assist brides. When Elsa Grimes, daughter of a wealthy Oklahoma oil baron, seeks her help, Bailey uncovers a disturbing secret. Soon after, a man is murdered, and Elsa is accused. Bailey finds herself caught in a web of lies and secrets, realizing her gift can be as perilous as it is powerful.
I found that I enjoyed The Secret Keeper of Main Street even more, and a lot of my opinion had to do with the personal nature of the story for Thomas. I attended the Writers Festival in Coronado and heard Thomas speak on a panel about historical fiction. Every book written by the authors I found intriguing, but Thomas's book told a fictional tale of her life as a dressmaker with the added touch of having the gift of “second sight.” Cleverly written with a delightful twist at the end, I found the story a comforting read, where everyone got what they deserved or desired.
Written in a manner that resembles a mystery, the book left me with numerous cliffhangers, urging me to read on to uncover the connections among the main characters. The plot was intriguing, and the characters compelling. The only part that did not work for me was the character of WAG, short for Walter Anderson Graves, and his love interest in Bailey, the main character. The development of his personality and the way he entered the story did not feel believable to me, as it seemed unlikely that Bailey would fall for him so quickly. I am reminded of Bertice Berry’s "Redemption Song" and the fast-paced nature of the attachment between Ross and Fina. Still, somehow, the latter meeting each other in a bookstore and sharing a history seemed more plausible than WAG and Bailey. Even so, I enjoyed the conclusion of The Secret Keeper, and I was satisfied with the way Thomas brought the story to a close.
3.75/5 Stars