I adore this book, I read it regularly and it feels like an old friend . Depending on what age I am when I read it I view things slightly differently - Helen can be too pious for her own good and Arthur Snr a sadder figure to me these days rather than simply a monster - and yes it’s a bit too long probably and too obvious in its didactic purpose - but to me it’s an astonishing psychological novel , feminist and insightful, all the more striking given Anne‘s own circumstances - and it deserves in my view much more Bronte love than it gets!