Literary ClaireBeesly liter View

January has that weird boom or bust mentality that more often than not ends with bust. Or probably more likely, a holiday weight bloated fizzle into silence. There is nothing wrong with wanting to mix things up a bit. But my view is that January should be about forming new habits that serve us as well as our clients. And habits take time to become established.

Portrait of the Bronte Sisters, C.1834

by Patrick Branwell Bronte

Bronte Family Home

Anne was a forerunner to the feminist movement and suffrage Her views could be written today and not be out of tune This puts her, for me, in a special bracket of truly inspiring women, showing strength, courage, and tenacity Imagine what else she could’ve achieved had her life not been cut short by Tuberculosis

While Agnes Grey, her first novel, was a bit of a slow burn in terms of sales, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall sold out in six weeks and immediately went into a second edition But that didn’t presage an uninterrupted journey to success for the novel, or Anne Within a few months Anne had sadly died, upon which time her sister Charlotte stopped any further publishing until 1854 The novel was then edited severely by Charlotte’s publishers before being re-issued

However, these days The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and its incredibly astute assessment of the human condition in the 1800s, is back in popularity An original first edition sells for around $5,000 USD, and it has been adapted for screen and stage While The Tenant doesn’t enjoy the kind of awareness of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, nonetheless it is a classic and much loved by many bibliophiles across the globe

But it is her second, and less well-known novel, from where the ode to her powerful influence stems. She tackles subjects as diverse as infidelity, emotional abuse, inequality, and addiction. The other seminal work that comes close, in my view, to so openly discussing such taboo subjects was A Doll’s House, by Henrich Ibsen, which wasn’t written for another thirty years.

So, what is it that makes Anne such a powerful woman? When she died at 29. Couldn’t write under her own, female, name. And lived at a time when women essentially had no rights.

Anne as Advocate

It is a view shared by many that Anne’s book, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was a feminist text. In that she advocated for equality between genders.

Anne as Challenger

It cannot be underestimated how revolutionary Wildfell Hall really was. At that time, a woman was owned by her husband. All of her ‘property’ was his, including any income she made, and her children. The novel deals with the main character, Helen, leaving her husband to protect their son from his behavior. Not unlike a scenario you’d find today, where a mother wants to protect her children from an abusive or violent partner.

But in the 1840s when this book was written, women weren’t allowed to do such things. The law was changed in 1870 with the Married Women’s Property Act, but before that time, women had no rights. At all.

Anne as Activist

Finally, this book became a mouthpiece for Anne to share her views on sexism, inequality, and tyranny within a marriage. She masterfully puts down the ‘Byronic hero’ or ‘brooding male’ stereotypes as being somehow desirable or worthy of a woman’s attention or time. She states plainly that a woman should be able to leave her husband if his behavior puts her health or sanity at risk, alongside that of her children.

But what I think is also of such beauty, is that Anne was a gentle soul. She wasn’t pushy, brash, loud or demanding. Not that sometimes those traits aren’t extremely helpful in this world of toxic masculinity and misogyny. But that she was able to quietly and unprepossessingly assess the world around her and find it wanting. And then do something about it through her writing, gives her a special place in my heart.

Ladies, we are still fighting this battle for equality. Representation at the head of organizations. Fair pair for equal work. Sharing the mental load of running a home and raising children. Access to healthcare. Access to education. Equality, kindness, and respect in our relationships.

So let’s all be a little bit more Anne Bronte. And quietly (or not so quietly!), inexorably, tirelessly and passionately pursue our dreams, ambitions and goals. The world needs us.

I’d love to hear about your inspirational women, writing goals and ideas for 2023, so feel free to drop me an email, or you can come follow me on Facebook and Instagram, or book in for services on my website

And I have also launched a new endeavor, a nonprofit organization called We Stand We are aiming to educate five million young adults over the next five years about coercive control, manipulation and emotional abuse in relationships Through an interactive performance and film, staged at schools, universities and colleges here in the UK You can find out more here: https://westand community

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