Gilbert Markham is fascinated by Helen Graham, the beautiful and
enigmatic woman who has recently moved into Wildfell Hall. He is swift
to befriend her and steadfastly refutes the local gossip calling her
character and behaviour into question, yet he soon has cause to regret
his infatuation, and grave doubts and misgivings begin to arise in his
mind. It is only when Helen presents Gilbert with her diary and
instructs him to read it that the shocking truth about her past life
becomes clear.
The first edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was so successful
that it sold out in weeks, yet the novel was mired in controversy for
its fierce defence of women's rights and what many contemporary critics
viewed as its shocking and immoral subject matter.