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Wuthering Heights
A collection of acclaimed novels and short stories by a major woman author whose every work was a radical study of human personalities and Middlemarch This realistic novel about an intellectual, idealistic woman has won recognition as one of the 10 Greatest Books of All-Time. Daniel Deronda George Eliot's last completed novel is also her most ambitious work. Its story about conflicts of loves and spiritual quests made it controversial from almost the first day of its publication. Silas Marner and Two Short Stories The return to grace of a wrongly convicted, exiled weaver is at the center of Eliot's memorable Silas Marner. In addition to the novel, this handsome contains two shorter "The Lifted Veil," a dark Gothic fantasy about a youthful clairvoyant and "Brother Jacob," a deliciously satirical fable about a confectioner's apprentice."The Barnes & Noble Classics series offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
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About the author
Emily Brontë
1,701 books14.3k 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
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 11, 2026
Listen, clearly there is love that is central to the story here. I would not argue it's *not* about love at all, ya know? But I gotta be honest; I don't really see this as "a love story." And I feel like it's kinda weird that this has been called one of the greatest love stories in the English language.
I find this notion of it being a great love story to be - like the book itself - complex. Like, there is a love that creates a great tragedy that perpetuates generationally. And there is love between Cathy and Linton and then Hareton that helps eventually break through abuse. (I've heard the recent film doesn't really get to the children, and if that's the case, that is absolutely wild. Not only because that feels soooo important to the central themes of the book, but that's also - in my mind - where the book starts getting really interesting.)
But I will admit, I did find this to be a bit tough to read, both in terms of being an older piece of literature (I especially struggled with the accents), but also the subject matter. It's definitely meant to be rough narratively. I definitely liked it by a certain point, but I admit to it taking a bit of time to get there for me.
I find this notion of it being a great love story to be - like the book itself - complex. Like, there is a love that creates a great tragedy that perpetuates generationally. And there is love between Cathy and Linton and then Hareton that helps eventually break through abuse. (I've heard the recent film doesn't really get to the children, and if that's the case, that is absolutely wild. Not only because that feels soooo important to the central themes of the book, but that's also - in my mind - where the book starts getting really interesting.)
But I will admit, I did find this to be a bit tough to read, both in terms of being an older piece of literature (I especially struggled with the accents), but also the subject matter. It's definitely meant to be rough narratively. I definitely liked it by a certain point, but I admit to it taking a bit of time to get there for me.
February 23, 2026
5 stars after seeing the movie. Wowowow. A book where EVERYONE is so unlikeable it’s shocking.
I think in light of the adaptation, there is something to be said about how we are in a place where smut and sex is having such a big moment on screen (and in books) and that the display of intimacy that we as a society are used to seeing, and want to see, is so different from what it was at the time this book was written.
Is the adaptation faithful? No. But I don’t think it needs to be. In various Shakespeare classes we often discussed how a lot of “adaptations” of the bard are actually appropriations. And while that word often has a negative connotation, it doesn’t have to in this instance. But I will say, I would have been very interested to see emerald fennels take on the second generation.
Some of the most romantic things I’ve ever read were in this book I’ll admit that. Was it a romance? Not so sure about that… but both the book and the movie have me feeling big feelings.
I think in light of the adaptation, there is something to be said about how we are in a place where smut and sex is having such a big moment on screen (and in books) and that the display of intimacy that we as a society are used to seeing, and want to see, is so different from what it was at the time this book was written.
Is the adaptation faithful? No. But I don’t think it needs to be. In various Shakespeare classes we often discussed how a lot of “adaptations” of the bard are actually appropriations. And while that word often has a negative connotation, it doesn’t have to in this instance. But I will say, I would have been very interested to see emerald fennels take on the second generation.
Some of the most romantic things I’ve ever read were in this book I’ll admit that. Was it a romance? Not so sure about that… but both the book and the movie have me feeling big feelings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2026
Fourth or fifth time I've read Wuthering Heights, this time in conjunction with the new The Book Club podcast hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tabby Syrett. It's beautifully written and the scope of the plot is impressive, but I've always found the brutality of the story off-putting.
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February 23, 2026Honestly, I had a hard time reading this book. I didnt realize that it changed narrators half way through until I listened to the audiobook.
February 29, 2024
Quick review: This is one of those most chilling books I've ever read. This is my third read of it, and I fall in love with it every single time. It's gorgeously painful.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews