The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Helen's diary; and in turn, Helen's diary includes Arthur's autobiographical reminiscences. Anne Brontë starts her novel in a social comedy manner, reminiscent of Jane Austen. Like "Pride and Prejudice", "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" starts with the arrival of a new person in a neighbourhood — a source of curiosity for a small rural community. Unlike Austen, Brontë makes a woman the center of interest. Reticent Mrs. Graham with her views on alcohol consumption and girls’ education, controversial for the 19th century, soon becomes an outcast. Tess O'Toole calls "The Tenant" "the most unusual example of 19th century domestic fiction",
Helen Graham (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) America as she planned before, Helen, with help from her brother, Frederick, finds a secret refuge at Wildfell Hall. She lives there under an assumed name: Helen Graham (Graham is her mother's maiden name). There she meets Gilbert Markham, a young farmer who falls in love with her. When he begins to believe the filthy gossip that is spread about her, she gives him her diary. From it Gilbert learns than Helen is a runaway wife. Soon after this, Helen goes back to Grassdale Manor where she discovers that Huntingdon has fallen from his horse (in a state of inebriation)