The tenant of Wildfell Hall is a classic and sometimes violent tale of love and betrayal, separation and reconciliation. It is narrated by a youthful gentleman farmer, Gilbert Markham, who falls in love with his new neighbour, Helen Graham, said to be a widow who, together with her young son, Arthur, has rented Wildfell Hall from a Mr Frederick Lawrence. Her youth, beauty and lack of a satisfactory explanation of her past, soon cause gossip which verges on scandal after visits from her landlord are discovered. In a fit of jealous rage Gilbert then violently assaults Lawrence. This incident causes Helen to reveal the secrets of her past in a diary.