What do you think?
Rate this book
Wuthering Heights
Hardcover
159 people are currently reading
1644 people want to read
About the author
Emily Brontë
1,539 books13.9k followersEmily Brontë was an English novelist and poet whose singular contribution to literature, Wuthering Heights, is now celebrated as one of the most powerful and original novels in the English language. Born into the remarkable Brontë family on 30 July 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, she was the fifth of six children of Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë, an Irish clergyman. Her early life was marked by both intellectual curiosity and profound loss. After the death of her mother in 1821 and the subsequent deaths of her two eldest sisters in 1825, Emily and her surviving siblings— Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell—were raised in relative seclusion in the moorland village of Haworth, where their imaginations flourished in a household shaped by books, storytelling, and emotional intensity.
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 10, 2026
lol at the version of this book on Goodreads 😂😂😂
February 21, 2026
I had no idea what to expect listening to this book- it was not what I expected at all! I had troubles for the first while following what was happening with the old English style of speaking- but chat gpt got me through with some chapter summaries. I didn’t feel an attachment to really any of the characters, however it kept me interested enough to finish it to the end.
⭐️Side note: I am glad I read the book before seeing the movie-
⭐️Side note: I am glad I read the book before seeing the movie-
September 6, 2023
Definitely a classic, amazing writing and a great story
June 10, 2024
My absolute all time favorite book.. first of all it's Wuthering... that's just me being technical... This book is so beautifully dark. I've read it so many times and I am soon to get a tattoo of a quote from this book. I will never get over this book and I wish every day that I could read it for the first time again.
August 4, 2024
At first, I was confused about who‘s the narrator and alle the different names and time skipes, but in the end it was a nice and well-written book about the people and the events happening in Withering Heights.
September 5, 2024
she’s dramatic like me but girl stand up also the most quoted lines just didn’t feel that impactful
February 23, 2026
If I were to summarize this book badly, I'd say that the world's worst landlord's life is retold by witnesses as a tale of sadistic torture on his tenants, as revenge for being related to the woman who was too well bred to live under his roof.
The more I reflect on this book, the more I get out of it, and that is a testament to Emily Bronte's brilliance. While at first I thought it was a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of marrying for money, I came to believe that it was more a biting indictment of the institution of marriage itself.
Certainly, there is a piece of me as a reader that wonders "What if Catherine had chosen Heathcliff?" Their union is an impossibility with the rules of Victorian England. What's more, Bronte seems to hint that their longing is part of what makes their story legendary and their attraction long-lasting. If they were legally married, would either of them take any pleasure in the union?
No, the main characters seem destined to enjoy their tortured existences, in sadistic journeys through life, where some seem to delight in the torment of others. Not incidentally, there seems to be a commentary on lustfulness itself. Perhaps Catherine and Heathcliff are drawn to one another precisely because they want what they cannot have. And here is where Bronte catches the reader in a trap: it is human nature to covet the forbidden. It is a tale as old as Adam and Eve. But what are we to make of the destruction that ensues in the text?
The title suggests that marriage is at best, a prison, and at worst, slavery. Wuthering Heights is the name of the Earnshaw family home, suggesting that marriage is about the transfer of property, and to a lesser extent wealth and status. Bronte seems to ask whether it is possible to mingle the joys of love with the bonds of marriage.
Indeed, when I try to pick apart the marriage vows, she seems most at odds with the promise "to have and to hold." Even in death, Catherine's ghost haunts Heathcliff (at his request) rather than let him go. In the most twisted perversion of marriage, Heathcliff accuses Isabella of enjoying his torture, saying "I've sometimes relented, from pure lack of invention, in my experiments of what she could endure, and still creep shamefully cringing back!" Talk about victim blaming.
In this novel, there is no torture worse than being alone in a relationship. In a well-meaning attempt to save his daughter from this fate, Edgar Linton says, "should Linton be unworthy--only a feeble tool to his father--I cannot abandon her to him! And, hard though it may be to crush her buoyant spirit, I must persevere in making her sad while I live, and leaving her solitary when I die. Darling! I'd rather resign her to God, and lay her in the earth before me." Thus Linton tries to save Cathy from his own fate, feeling unchosen and alone within the bonds of marriage.
If there is any solace in the text, I find it in metaphor. Should Wuthering Heights be a stand-in for the family legacy that we build over multiple generations, Bronte has a few words to say. One: that we will make mistakes, even grand ones, but the power of love is enough to keep the house standing through disrepair. Two: that treating one another like possessions is a damnable offense, which only puts the abuser in hell. And three: despite the turmoil of books one and two, there is hope to find love even in unlikely places. The relationship between Cathy and Hareton blossoms not because they are equals in social or intellectual terms, but because they are able to build mutual trust despite the fear of being demeaned: "both their minds tending to the same point--one loving and desiring to esteem; and the other loving and desiring to be esteemed--they contrived in the end to reach it." There is something powerful in capturing this universal desire, and perhaps that is why this terrifying book is worth reading.
The more I reflect on this book, the more I get out of it, and that is a testament to Emily Bronte's brilliance. While at first I thought it was a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of marrying for money, I came to believe that it was more a biting indictment of the institution of marriage itself.
Certainly, there is a piece of me as a reader that wonders "What if Catherine had chosen Heathcliff?" Their union is an impossibility with the rules of Victorian England. What's more, Bronte seems to hint that their longing is part of what makes their story legendary and their attraction long-lasting. If they were legally married, would either of them take any pleasure in the union?
No, the main characters seem destined to enjoy their tortured existences, in sadistic journeys through life, where some seem to delight in the torment of others. Not incidentally, there seems to be a commentary on lustfulness itself. Perhaps Catherine and Heathcliff are drawn to one another precisely because they want what they cannot have. And here is where Bronte catches the reader in a trap: it is human nature to covet the forbidden. It is a tale as old as Adam and Eve. But what are we to make of the destruction that ensues in the text?
The title suggests that marriage is at best, a prison, and at worst, slavery. Wuthering Heights is the name of the Earnshaw family home, suggesting that marriage is about the transfer of property, and to a lesser extent wealth and status. Bronte seems to ask whether it is possible to mingle the joys of love with the bonds of marriage.
Indeed, when I try to pick apart the marriage vows, she seems most at odds with the promise "to have and to hold." Even in death, Catherine's ghost haunts Heathcliff (at his request) rather than let him go. In the most twisted perversion of marriage, Heathcliff accuses Isabella of enjoying his torture, saying "I've sometimes relented, from pure lack of invention, in my experiments of what she could endure, and still creep shamefully cringing back!" Talk about victim blaming.
In this novel, there is no torture worse than being alone in a relationship. In a well-meaning attempt to save his daughter from this fate, Edgar Linton says, "should Linton be unworthy--only a feeble tool to his father--I cannot abandon her to him! And, hard though it may be to crush her buoyant spirit, I must persevere in making her sad while I live, and leaving her solitary when I die. Darling! I'd rather resign her to God, and lay her in the earth before me." Thus Linton tries to save Cathy from his own fate, feeling unchosen and alone within the bonds of marriage.
If there is any solace in the text, I find it in metaphor. Should Wuthering Heights be a stand-in for the family legacy that we build over multiple generations, Bronte has a few words to say. One: that we will make mistakes, even grand ones, but the power of love is enough to keep the house standing through disrepair. Two: that treating one another like possessions is a damnable offense, which only puts the abuser in hell. And three: despite the turmoil of books one and two, there is hope to find love even in unlikely places. The relationship between Cathy and Hareton blossoms not because they are equals in social or intellectual terms, but because they are able to build mutual trust despite the fear of being demeaned: "both their minds tending to the same point--one loving and desiring to esteem; and the other loving and desiring to be esteemed--they contrived in the end to reach it." There is something powerful in capturing this universal desire, and perhaps that is why this terrifying book is worth reading.
February 8, 2026
Re-read this exceptional novel to prove that the new film adaptation is a perversion and the antithesis to Brontë's intended themes and message (of course this is solely based on the film's trailer and press relations as the film has not released in theatres yet).
- It's still an exquisitely-crafted piece of writing that has ever graced the formidable power of literature.
- Brontë heavily critiques social issues of race, gender, class, using two families living in a desolate place in Northern England.
- This novel is the epitome of Gothicism. Heathcliff is the monster as per Gothic Conventions.
- Nelly Dean is the most unreliable narrator to ever been written and I love that Brontë may have done this on purpose.
- It is horrifying and deeply disturbing at the amount of child abuse that take place and is mostly perpetrated by Heathcliff (who received abuse by others, hence, the abused becoming the abuser).
- Catherine Earnshaw is just as awful as Heathcliff and their love for each other ruined so many lives.
- The symbolism of hair colour, each family's house, the moors, all proves that Emily Brontë was truly an extraordinary writer.
This novel is still (and will always be) my favourite!
- It's still an exquisitely-crafted piece of writing that has ever graced the formidable power of literature.
- Brontë heavily critiques social issues of race, gender, class, using two families living in a desolate place in Northern England.
- This novel is the epitome of Gothicism. Heathcliff is the monster as per Gothic Conventions.
- Nelly Dean is the most unreliable narrator to ever been written and I love that Brontë may have done this on purpose.
- It is horrifying and deeply disturbing at the amount of child abuse that take place and is mostly perpetrated by Heathcliff (who received abuse by others, hence, the abused becoming the abuser).
- Catherine Earnshaw is just as awful as Heathcliff and their love for each other ruined so many lives.
- The symbolism of hair colour, each family's house, the moors, all proves that Emily Brontë was truly an extraordinary writer.
This novel is still (and will always be) my favourite!
September 24, 2025
Kate Bush brought me here with her song, Wuthering Heights. She really encapsulated Kathy, the vibe, and all around feel of this novel.
This was one of my hardest reads in regards to my intellect, but I’m grateful for every second of it. I truly cried when I read this novel. Not just romantically, this story is an all around tragedy. But anyone can find the beauty scattered throughout this entire novel. Emily Brontë is just amazing at portraying raw, unfiltered emotions and making you long for scenery you never thought was deserving of even a second glance.
Emily Brontë made me feel like I’m not alone in my occasional emotional outbursts. It made me really connect with the characters, but especially the author because I feel that she truly understands the most inhumane parts of what we all feel deeply ashamed of about ourselves. She accepts them, understands them, writes them, and you get to read some of the worst parts of what humans are capable of, especially when it comes to love, but it doesn’t deter you from feeling sympathy for the characters in one way or another. Except for Hindley. F*ck Hindley.
This was one of my hardest reads in regards to my intellect, but I’m grateful for every second of it. I truly cried when I read this novel. Not just romantically, this story is an all around tragedy. But anyone can find the beauty scattered throughout this entire novel. Emily Brontë is just amazing at portraying raw, unfiltered emotions and making you long for scenery you never thought was deserving of even a second glance.
Emily Brontë made me feel like I’m not alone in my occasional emotional outbursts. It made me really connect with the characters, but especially the author because I feel that she truly understands the most inhumane parts of what we all feel deeply ashamed of about ourselves. She accepts them, understands them, writes them, and you get to read some of the worst parts of what humans are capable of, especially when it comes to love, but it doesn’t deter you from feeling sympathy for the characters in one way or another. Except for Hindley. F*ck Hindley.
February 9, 2026
Once upon a time, I considered myself a romantic, but after reading this classic, I determined that I am not. What is up with the 1800's and everyone dying at such a young age? There is so much death in this novel. My goodness. Let's count...Mr. Earnshaw, Mrs. Earnshaw, Hindley Earnshaw, Frances Earnshaw, Mr. Linton, Mrs. Linton, Catherine Earnshaw, Edgar Linton, Linton Heathcliff, and Heathcliff. 11 of the main characters. Living in the 1800's was rough; they were a sickly bunch (consumption, fever, tuberculosis, alcoholism, childbirth, starvation)!! The "survivors" of the story were Joseph (curmudgeonly servant), Nelly (housekeeper), Mr. Lockwood (tenant), Hareton (son of Hindley and Frances), and Catherine (daughter of Catherine and Edgar). The only "love" I saw in this story was that between Heathcliff and the first Catherine, though it was an odd, jealous, revengeful sort of love that ended up haunting them both for eternity, which was Heathcliff's wish upon Catherine's death, so I guess that's a happy ending? I'm glad storytelling (and medical science) has progressed. The world is depressing enough without fiction adding to it.
January 28, 2026
Classic love/loss/vengeance tale set in the English moors. Ghosts, unexplained disappearances, death--all the gothic "ejaculations" one could want. I was often confused about which character was which when there were two Catherines, one lady who was called Nellie/Ellen/Mrs Dean, several people called Linton (as both a last and first name), people called Earnshaw (a last name) but also the only name of the father of one of the Catherines. Don't get me started on Heathcliff having only one name but his son taking Heathcliff as his last name? Sheesh. I needed a chart to keep track of the names but it was high time I read the actual book.
October 20, 2023
Perhaps if the book had been told from the first person perspective I would have been able to connect more with the characters and their love. I felt that Heathcliff and Catherine's love was more passion than love, but this could also have happened because of what was mentioned above. I really liked the ending because I felt that it was a very good closing where it transformed the two people who were in love and served to transform the original love or passion of the two main protagonists into a true love that will last in a very beautiful way. In which where it will be able to be enjoyed.
February 15, 2026
I first read this many years ago when I was alot younger and I absolutely loved it but now after re reading it and looking at it with older eyes I think this time I felt that Catherine Earnshaw's manner was quite annoying and very selfish. Heathcliff in my eyes became a monster because of all the ill treatment heaped upon him from the first. There were so many decent people in the story destroyed by these two. Is it a love story between Catherine and Heathcliff? I hesitate to call it that. I felt the hero or in this case heroine was Nellie.
December 31, 2024
Barring a few romantic comments from Heathcliff and Catherine which are quite frankly verging on insanity, the entire book seemed like a whole lot of extreme incest, children having the same names as their parents which only added to the confusion, and sickly Victorian people dying all over.
This book being a classic was the only reason I picked it up after somewhat liking Jane Eyre, but this led me to my longest book reading slump.
Not picking up another classic in the near future.
This book being a classic was the only reason I picked it up after somewhat liking Jane Eyre, but this led me to my longest book reading slump.
Not picking up another classic in the near future.
February 3, 2026
I've been reading a few classics lately. It was time for Wuthering Heights. All I knew before reading it was that it was by one of the Brontë sisters and that it inspired Kate Bush's iconic song.
It was a well-structured engaging read, but towards the end I was getting a bit tired of the relentlessness of Heathcliff's badness, and the younger generation's awful personalities. And then it ended.
Given the song, I thought the ghostliness might have been more prominent than it was in the story.
It was a well-structured engaging read, but towards the end I was getting a bit tired of the relentlessness of Heathcliff's badness, and the younger generation's awful personalities. And then it ended.
Given the song, I thought the ghostliness might have been more prominent than it was in the story.
Read
February 19, 2026I had never read this classic novel. Now I have 🤷♀️
Definitely not a romance/ love story - more like a tale of vengeance and ghosts, possibly insanity, and of course inbreeding.
Once I decided to not try to figure out why pop culture always tries to sell it as a love story I actually enjoyed it as the disturbing Gothic novel that it is.
Definitely not a romance/ love story - more like a tale of vengeance and ghosts, possibly insanity, and of course inbreeding.
Once I decided to not try to figure out why pop culture always tries to sell it as a love story I actually enjoyed it as the disturbing Gothic novel that it is.
January 19, 2026
A lot of things I wasn’t expecting…mainly to do with cousin love, multi-generational trauma, and character deaths happening in one to two lines. Prose was beautiful though and the toxic pair felt salaciously delicious—the abuse, not so much. 👻/10
February 11, 2026
Beautifully written, but the lives of the characters were so tragic. Life is hard, so to read about people whose soul purpose is to denigrate others throughout generations, as they have been themselves, was not satisfying as I had hoped. A love story that has very little love in it…
January 11, 2024
Misspelled title on Goodreads. It is Wuthering Heights. Highly suspenseful and dark.
June 20, 2024
absolutelyloved this book ,even thought the storyline was very messed up, so many Catherines confuse me a lot ,but the cousins marrying each other was very disturbing.
July 17, 2024
sorbang oa
Read
November 6, 2024Very difficult read and a struggle to get through. What I understood, I liked but I missed a lot of it so didn't put a rating.
May 16, 2025
my girlfriend asked me to read it. at the end I was left confused...
June 20, 2025
Très originale, où la narratrice est la servante, histoire parfois sombre avec emotions intenses. Une histoire d’amour passionnée, de trahison,la mort et le surnaturelle
June 25, 2025
The characters in this book are very disturbing and unlikable. I found the story to be very entertaining though and there were still lessons and ideas gained from these character's mistakes.
July 19, 2025
I thought it was boring and then all of a sudden I was locked in
September 24, 2025
A classic. It took me less then 2 days. Its a lovely read! perfect for the girlies who love English literature
September 25, 2025
This made me actually mad at the alphabet and hate reading.
October 8, 2025
J’ai relu ce livre et c’est toujours un chef d’œuvre
🥰🥰🥰
🥰🥰🥰
November 5, 2025
Dark, twisty, toxic, dramatic and all In all romantic!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews