I found that Mr Rochester was compassionate towards Bertha as he could have easily sent her to an Asylum to die from being tortured, abused, starved and kept freezing cold in hopes that pneumonia and other diseases would kill the inmates off. But he kept her in the house (attic) with home comforts. It was incredibly unusual at the time that Mr Rochester didn't put her in an asylum for her Huntingtons disease, which ultimately, made her set the house on fire and he got injured trying to save her. I read it from a very different perspective after doing a lot of research into Asylums as my great-great-great-grandmother died in one.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is fresh on my mind as I finished reading it yesterday. Such an engaging read which made me feel a lot of things, especially anger at Helen's situation and in general situation of women at that time.
Loved the tenant of wildfell hall but hated wuthering heights 🤷♀️ thanks for sharing your ranking! I have several books by the Brontë sister left to read 😊
Which nonfiction will you recommend about Brontë sisters life? I know the controversies but I liked Jane Eyre but you are right about the circumstances of these characters. I will like to read The Professor and Shirley.
There is a biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, that is supposed to be very good, but I havent read that one. I can also recommend: Juliet Barker, The Brontës. And yeah for wanting to read Shirley & The Professor!
Fascinating ranking. I wonder if I'd change my ranking if I read them now. And if I did, I wonder if that would be because I'm now in my mid-fifties rather than my early twenties, or if I'd be judging them through 2020s eyes rather than 1980s/90s.
To me, "Wuthering Heights" just brings back memories of a dismal year in high school and the laziest teacher I had in high school. But I'm glad you like the book so much.
In my youth I read three Brontë novels. _Jane Eyre_ (as for you) pleased me in the beginning, but I didn’t receive the adult love story with any enthusiasm. _Wuthering Heights_ was my least favorite, but I’m sad to say I remember nothing about it. But I loved _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_ well above the others, so much so that, some years later I gave it a rereading, a rarity for me, and it held up in my estimation. (I also attempted _Agnes Grey_ but didn’t get far for the reasons you cited.) If I were to read another Brontë at this late stage it’s more likely that I would pick up _Tenant_ again, rather than the others, though you’ve made _The Professor_ sound appealing.
Very happy that you enjoyed Tenant of Wildfell Hall so much, also on the re-read. And I can't blame you re Agnes Grey... The Professor is a quick read, so it might be worth giving it a try.
I really enjoyed hearing your reviews of these books. I have not read Shirley and will do so before the end of this year, hopefully. I was not a fan of Jane Eyre and have not read Agnes Gray so I prob will leave that for some time now, if I ever do get to it.
Charlotte Brontë is my 7th favorite author and my favorite female author. The only woman to write a book in my top ten books of all time. 7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë 68) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë 139) "The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë 163) "Shirley" by Charlotte Brontë 20) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë 97) "Agnes Grey" by Anne Brontë 173) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë The 1943 "Jane Eyre" is the best movie version of this story. FAVORITE AUTHORS must have two books in the top 100 books of all time. 1) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection) 2) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons) 3) James A. Michener (Chesapeake) 4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) 5) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot) 6) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew) 7) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette) 8) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit) 9) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) 10) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) 11) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) 12 Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) 13) George Eliot (Silas Marner) 14) Anthony Trollope (He Knew He Was Right) 15) Dr. Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (Verbal Behavior) 16) Charles Dickens (Hard Times) 17) Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure)
@@brittabohlerthesecondshelf, any suggestions. I have read nearly a hundred female authors. Would you suggest Danielle Steele who sold over a half a billion books and writes about cheating on your husband or how about Colleen Hoover? The point is your knowledge is meaningless without being specific and your jab is in the dark. Tell me what you think is good and stand up to the scrutiny with the conviction that if I ask a question you'd know why you suggest it and how to sell this female author as worth reading. I've made a list of my top 200 books. Any thoughts on your favorites whether they be male or female or do I have to tell you to expand your horizons? Any of my favorite authors you think worthless and could you say why? Like Fyodor Dostoevsky, James A. Michener, and Thomas Hardy have some utterly stupid books, but if they have some good ones they can fall out as a favorite author.
I’ve only read two Brontes, so can’t really rank them yet. I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and very much enjoyed Jane Eyre. I get why some people don’t like Jane Eyre, but I still enjoyed it in spite of these shortcomings. Just picked up Wuthering Heights so perhaps I will be able to “pick a side” for that one soon!
Thanks Britta! My rankings best to worse: The Tenant of Wild fell Hall Wuthering Heights Jane Eyre Shirley The Professor Agnes Grey Villette (aka The Snoozefest)
I feel exactly the same towards Agnes Grey! I'm currently reading Villette and still haven't read The Professor, but for now I'd say that my rating goes as follows: 1) Wuthering Heights, 2) Jane Eyre, 3) Shirley 4) The Tenant 5) Agnes Grey
@@brittabohlerthesecondshelf I wouldn't say that it didn't work for me, I still gave it 4 stars, but it was just a bit too triggering for me to be any higher on the list :) The only one that I didn't enjoy was Agnes Grey. :) Yeah, Wuthering Heights forever 😁😁
I just saw Heidi saying how she hated Jane Eyre too when for the last few weeks I’ve heard nothing but praise! 😉 As I read it thirty years ago, as with Wuthering Heights, I don’t really have an opinion and will have to reread I think. I must admit I wasn’t a fan of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall because although I loved the prose and the commentary the pages of Christian rhetoric and Helen’s constant saintliness irked me. I think a reread/read of all the Brontës is in order!
Haha, yes, we are twinning re Jane Eyre, Heidi and I. I really thoroughly dislike that book! Oh, that's interesting, I didn't find Helen saintly at all (cause I can't stand the goodie-good-women either...), mmh, maybe I should re-read Tenant as well? 😊
'Wuthering Heights' was the first one I read more than twenty years ago and it will always be my favourite. I read 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' two years ago and I was absolutely amazed by the themes Anne Bronte explores and it's my close second as well. My least favourite is 'The Professor'. Though I agree with you that the story is tighter and more cheerful than 'Villette', I hated the main character, I forgot his name. He just had to comment on every girl's appearance and seemed pretty snobbish to me. 'Shirley' is the only one I haven't read. I didn't feel like it, since I heard many harsh reviews. However, I think I'm encouraged to pick it up after watching this video.
Yeah for Wuthering Heights and tenant of Wildfell Hall!! And yes, I can understand your issues with 'the professor', he is quite judgmental when it comes to women... I think Shirley is really underrated but I know that many readers just didn't get along with it.
Jane Eyre is my least favorite as well, of the ones I have read. Rochester is not a romantic hero, he is a jerk. To put it mildly. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my favorites, and I think it is often overlooked. I also agree with Wuthering Heights, my favorite of them all.
I loathe Heathcliff and Cathy. Granted all the problems, Jane Eyre is my favorite. I cannot remember very much about several, including Shirley, other than beyond she received the given name Shirley because it was a family last name.
I can totally understand your dislike for Heathcliff and Cathy, both very unlikable characters... And yes, indeed Shirley used to be a male first name and only after the publication of the book it became a popular female name.
It was good to hear you advocate for underappreciated Shirley and the wonderful Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
I really don't understand why those two don't get more love!
Hooray for _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_!!!
(I'm just going to ignore your number one)
Just ignore away! 😊
I found that Mr Rochester was compassionate towards Bertha as he could have easily sent her to an Asylum to die from being tortured, abused, starved and kept freezing cold in hopes that pneumonia and other diseases would kill the inmates off. But he kept her in the house (attic) with home comforts. It was incredibly unusual at the time that Mr Rochester didn't put her in an asylum for her Huntingtons disease, which ultimately, made her set the house on fire and he got injured trying to save her. I read it from a very different perspective after doing a lot of research into Asylums as my great-great-great-grandmother died in one.
Well, that is an interesting point of view, thank you for sharing.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is fresh on my mind as I finished reading it yesterday. Such an engaging read which made me feel a lot of things, especially anger at Helen's situation and in general situation of women at that time.
Yes, that is exactly how I felt about Tenant as well! ❤️
Loved the tenant of wildfell hall but hated wuthering heights 🤷♀️ thanks for sharing your ranking! I have several books by the Brontë sister left to read 😊
You're not the only one hating Wuthering Heights! I'm probably just weird. 😊
Which nonfiction will you recommend about Brontë sisters life? I know the controversies but I liked Jane Eyre but you are right about the circumstances of these characters. I will like to read The Professor and Shirley.
There is a biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, that is supposed to be very good, but I havent read that one. I can also recommend: Juliet Barker, The Brontës. And yeah for wanting to read Shirley & The Professor!
Fascinating ranking. I wonder if I'd change my ranking if I read them now. And if I did, I wonder if that would be because I'm now in my mid-fifties rather than my early twenties, or if I'd be judging them through 2020s eyes rather than 1980s/90s.
That's a really interesting question! I think how we judge books is definitely influenced by our age / the books we have read and the time we live in.
To me, "Wuthering Heights" just brings back memories of a dismal year in high school and the laziest teacher I had in high school. But I'm glad you like the book so much.
Aww, so sorry that this horrible teacher gives Wuthering Heights such bad memories!! Teachers can really spoil things for us...
Yay for Shirley! I’ve only read 3 of the 7 so far, but I loved Shirley. It’s quiet but poignant.
Quiet, but poigant, that's spot on. Really underrated this one!!
In my youth I read three Brontë novels. _Jane Eyre_ (as for you) pleased me in the beginning, but I didn’t receive the adult love story with any enthusiasm. _Wuthering Heights_ was my least favorite, but I’m sad to say I remember nothing about it. But I loved _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_ well above the others, so much so that, some years later I gave it a rereading, a rarity for me, and it held up in my estimation. (I also attempted _Agnes Grey_ but didn’t get far for the reasons you cited.)
If I were to read another Brontë at this late stage it’s more likely that I would pick up _Tenant_ again, rather than the others, though you’ve made _The Professor_ sound appealing.
Very happy that you enjoyed Tenant of Wildfell Hall so much, also on the re-read. And I can't blame you re Agnes Grey... The Professor is a quick read, so it might be worth giving it a try.
I am ready to read some Bronte books 😄
Thats wonderful, enjoy!
I really enjoyed hearing your reviews of these books. I have not read Shirley and will do so before the end of this year, hopefully. I was not a fan of Jane Eyre and have not read Agnes Gray so I prob will leave that for some time now, if I ever do get to it.
Oh, I really hope you will enjoy Shirley! And in my opinion, you don't miss much by not reading Agnes Grey. Just saying. 😊
Charlotte Brontë is my 7th favorite author and my favorite female author. The only woman to write a book in my top ten books of all time.
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
68) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
139) "The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë
163) "Shirley" by Charlotte Brontë
20) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë
97) "Agnes Grey" by Anne Brontë
173) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
The 1943 "Jane Eyre" is the best movie version of this story.
FAVORITE AUTHORS must have two books in the top 100 books of all time.
1) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection)
2) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons)
3) James A. Michener (Chesapeake)
4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich)
5) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot)
6) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew)
7) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette)
8) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)
9) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire)
10) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
11) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
12 Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
13) George Eliot (Silas Marner)
14) Anthony Trollope (He Knew He Was Right)
15) Dr. Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (Verbal Behavior)
16) Charles Dickens (Hard Times)
17) Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure)
Thank you very much for sharing your favorites. I hope you will try out more female others to expand your reading experience.
@@brittabohlerthesecondshelf, any suggestions. I have read nearly a hundred female authors. Would you suggest Danielle Steele who sold over a half a billion books and writes about cheating on your husband or how about Colleen Hoover?
The point is your knowledge is meaningless without being specific and your jab is in the dark.
Tell me what you think is good and stand up to the scrutiny with the conviction that if I ask a question you'd know why you suggest it and how to sell this female author as worth reading.
I've made a list of my top 200 books. Any thoughts on your favorites whether they be male or female or do I have to tell you to expand your horizons?
Any of my favorite authors you think worthless and could you say why? Like Fyodor Dostoevsky, James A. Michener, and Thomas Hardy have some utterly stupid books, but if they have some good ones they can fall out as a favorite author.
Alright so I’ll give Wuthering Heights another chance since your least favorite was so spot on with my feelings. 😂
Haha, also not a fan of Jane Eyre? And yes, give WH another go, maybe it works for you this time.
I’ve only read two Brontes, so can’t really rank them yet. I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and very much enjoyed Jane Eyre. I get why some people don’t like Jane Eyre, but I still enjoyed it in spite of these shortcomings. Just picked up Wuthering Heights so perhaps I will be able to “pick a side” for that one soon!
Happy for you that you enjoy Jane Eyre! And yeah for Tenant (and hopefully also for Wuthering Heights, soon!) 😊
Thanks Britta! My rankings best to worse:
The Tenant of Wild fell Hall
Wuthering Heights
Jane Eyre
Shirley
The Professor
Agnes Grey
Villette (aka The Snoozefest)
Haha, the 'Snoozefest', that cracked me up! And happy that you also love Tenant & Wuthering Heights!
She least likes Jane Eyre. But Jane Eyre has been made into a movie or TV min-series perhaps more than any other novel.
And so?
I am sad to say there were a few of these like Shirley that I’ve never heard of. 😳
No need to be sad! More books to discover! 😊
I feel exactly the same towards Agnes Grey! I'm currently reading Villette and still haven't read The Professor, but for now I'd say that my rating goes as follows: 1) Wuthering Heights, 2) Jane Eyre, 3) Shirley 4) The Tenant 5) Agnes Grey
Aww, pity that Tenant didn't work as well for you, but yeah for Wuthering Heights! 😊 Curious to hear what you will think of Villette!
@@brittabohlerthesecondshelf I wouldn't say that it didn't work for me, I still gave it 4 stars, but it was just a bit too triggering for me to be any higher on the list :) The only one that I didn't enjoy was Agnes Grey. :) Yeah, Wuthering Heights forever 😁😁
@@ewelinahernon6556 Ah, ok, 4* is still very good, indeed. ❤
I just saw Heidi saying how she hated Jane Eyre too when for the last few weeks I’ve heard nothing but praise! 😉 As I read it thirty years ago, as with Wuthering Heights, I don’t really have an opinion and will have to reread I think. I must admit I wasn’t a fan of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall because although I loved the prose and the commentary the pages of Christian rhetoric and Helen’s constant saintliness irked me. I think a reread/read of all the Brontës is in order!
Haha, yes, we are twinning re Jane Eyre, Heidi and I. I really thoroughly dislike that book! Oh, that's interesting, I didn't find Helen saintly at all (cause I can't stand the goodie-good-women either...), mmh, maybe I should re-read Tenant as well? 😊
'Wuthering Heights' was the first one I read more than twenty years ago and it will always be my favourite.
I read 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' two years ago and I was absolutely amazed by the themes Anne Bronte explores and it's my close second as well.
My least favourite is 'The Professor'. Though I agree with you that the story is tighter and more cheerful than 'Villette', I hated the main character, I forgot his name. He just had to comment on every girl's appearance and seemed pretty snobbish to me.
'Shirley' is the only one I haven't read. I didn't feel like it, since I heard many harsh reviews. However, I think I'm encouraged to pick it up after watching this video.
Yeah for Wuthering Heights and tenant of Wildfell Hall!! And yes, I can understand your issues with 'the professor', he is quite judgmental when it comes to women... I think Shirley is really underrated but I know that many readers just didn't get along with it.
Jane Eyre is my least favorite as well, of the ones I have read. Rochester is not a romantic hero, he is a jerk. To put it mildly. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my favorites, and I think it is often overlooked. I also agree with Wuthering Heights, my favorite of them all.
Yep, Lori, Rochester = jerk. 😊 And big yeah for Wuthering Heights and Tenant of Wildfell Hall!
I loathe Heathcliff and Cathy. Granted all the problems, Jane Eyre is my favorite. I cannot remember very much about several, including Shirley, other than beyond she received the given name Shirley because it was a family last name.
I can totally understand your dislike for Heathcliff and Cathy, both very unlikable characters... And yes, indeed Shirley used to be a male first name and only after the publication of the book it became a popular female name.
I am so happy JE is in last place!
I know you would be! 😊
Wuthering Heights is my least favorite.
Ah, pity that WH didn't work for you! But there are other Brontë-books you might enjoy, right?
@@brittabohlerthesecondshelf Anne is my favorite but I have not read any of their poetry.