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Wuthering Heights
When Lockwood seeks relief from a lashing storm in the surly hospitality of Heathcliff, master of Wuthering Heights, a grand house on the Yorkshire moors, he can’t imagine the tale that he will soon hear.
It is a tale of passion and revenge involving Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, his childhood best friend and the love of his life who deals him a stunning betrayal. Reader and Lockwood both are held spellbound by the story of Heathcliff’s quest for vengeance and his bitter acrimony which has devastating consequences for all.
For generations, Emily Brontë’s novel of suspense and operatic intensity has enraptured and moved readers to fall in love with Heathcliff’s dark moods and brooding intensity. Salient to this day, this novel is a surprisingly modern exploration of race, gender, class, and the ways that love is frustrated and thwarted by bigotry and prejudice.
It is a tale of passion and revenge involving Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, his childhood best friend and the love of his life who deals him a stunning betrayal. Reader and Lockwood both are held spellbound by the story of Heathcliff’s quest for vengeance and his bitter acrimony which has devastating consequences for all.
For generations, Emily Brontë’s novel of suspense and operatic intensity has enraptured and moved readers to fall in love with Heathcliff’s dark moods and brooding intensity. Salient to this day, this novel is a surprisingly modern exploration of race, gender, class, and the ways that love is frustrated and thwarted by bigotry and prejudice.
408 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2025
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5 people want to read
About the author
Emily Brontë
1,488 books13.8k 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
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November 30, 2025They say you’re either a Jane Eyre girl or a Wuthering Heights girl. I am a Jane Eyre girl. But that was a wild ride!!
February 14, 2026
This book is about love, and heartbreak, and property inheritance, and illness, and death, and moors, and maybe ghosts, and good, and evil. Heathcliff is taken in by the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights and grows up and grows to love Earnshaw daughter Catherine. Without a secure place in the world, Heathcliff sets out to make one for himself, regardless of the consequences.
I enjoyed this book. I read it in college but didn’t have time to read for enjoyment, so I thought I’d pick it up again (which I did before I knew a movie was coming out). There were parts I found unsatisfying, mostly having to do with imbalanced conflict and lack of agency by characters who should have agency, but I thought the ending redeemed the narrative.
I enjoyed this book. I read it in college but didn’t have time to read for enjoyment, so I thought I’d pick it up again (which I did before I knew a movie was coming out). There were parts I found unsatisfying, mostly having to do with imbalanced conflict and lack of agency by characters who should have agency, but I thought the ending redeemed the narrative.
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December 4, 2025This is my 4th reread and I probably wouldn't have read except for the fact that I love the Smith and Taylor editions. They are so clean and elegant. Plus they also have great afterwords- two folks weighing in on aspects of the novel with fresh perspectives and interesting angles.
In the world of Emily vs Charlotte I am definitely Team Charlotte and my last time reading WH was just to prove how much I disliked it. But this reread reminded me just how weird it all is and how the storytelling - mostly through the voice of Nelly Dean provocatively raises more questions than it answers. Thinking about Heathcliff as being a person of color also raises really interesting issues. I found myself thinking about Mansfield Park and all the omissions and gaps in that narrative. WH has similarly unanswered and unexplained gaps. And really, who is Lockwood anyway? What a mysterious text.
In the world of Emily vs Charlotte I am definitely Team Charlotte and my last time reading WH was just to prove how much I disliked it. But this reread reminded me just how weird it all is and how the storytelling - mostly through the voice of Nelly Dean provocatively raises more questions than it answers. Thinking about Heathcliff as being a person of color also raises really interesting issues. I found myself thinking about Mansfield Park and all the omissions and gaps in that narrative. WH has similarly unanswered and unexplained gaps. And really, who is Lockwood anyway? What a mysterious text.
February 14, 2026
Everyone in this book needed therapy...
What a wild ride Withering Heights is. I went in thinking it was "one of the greatest romances of all time", and not just because of the new movie claiming it to be such.
Heathcliff being referred to as a tragic romantic hero is entirely wrong. He's a villain, and everything bad that happened around him was because of him and his lack of accountability or sympathy, justifying his heartbreak as reason to be, for lack of a better term, a dickhead.
I was raging about what everyone was doing to each other through the whole thing and it consumed my every thought until I finished, so that alone deserves 5 stars.
I was appalled, offended, shocked, and I couldn't look away. The way the story ends so quietly is the best way it could have ended. I wish I read it sooner!
What a wild ride Withering Heights is. I went in thinking it was "one of the greatest romances of all time", and not just because of the new movie claiming it to be such.
Heathcliff being referred to as a tragic romantic hero is entirely wrong. He's a villain, and everything bad that happened around him was because of him and his lack of accountability or sympathy, justifying his heartbreak as reason to be, for lack of a better term, a dickhead.
I was raging about what everyone was doing to each other through the whole thing and it consumed my every thought until I finished, so that alone deserves 5 stars.
I was appalled, offended, shocked, and I couldn't look away. The way the story ends so quietly is the best way it could have ended. I wish I read it sooner!
February 14, 2026
An extraordinary feat. Chaucerian in its form, stories wrapped within stories, perhaps the finest use of the first-person I've ever read. Furthermore, a tale which attempts to show the generational snare of racial indignity, as suffered mainly by Heathcliff, and then enacted upon the remaining members of his adopted family until death at last seizes hold of him, removing forever the haunting misery associated with Wuthering Heights.
Also, notably: it is literacy and the study of books between Catherine the Younger and Hareton that calms Heathcliff's fury enough to leave them in peace to love as he and Catherine the Elder never were.
Also, notably: it is literacy and the study of books between Catherine the Younger and Hareton that calms Heathcliff's fury enough to leave them in peace to love as he and Catherine the Elder never were.
September 30, 2025
I'm a huge fan of these Smith & Taylor classics. As an object they're just nice. Simple and clean with good binding and nice card stock. I with they'd do all the classics!
To the novel. I read Wuthering Heights back in college in a class on English Romanticism after reading the works of Coleridge. I loved the classic gothic setting and the raw emotion of Cathy and Heathcliff. Reading it a decade later I'm struck by just how awful the people are, it was almost unreadable. I think partly because it's so believable. Once you get over the characters though, it's a well-done moody novel that weaves themes of nature/nurture, obsession, and moving beyond generational trauma.
To the novel. I read Wuthering Heights back in college in a class on English Romanticism after reading the works of Coleridge. I loved the classic gothic setting and the raw emotion of Cathy and Heathcliff. Reading it a decade later I'm struck by just how awful the people are, it was almost unreadable. I think partly because it's so believable. Once you get over the characters though, it's a well-done moody novel that weaves themes of nature/nurture, obsession, and moving beyond generational trauma.
February 9, 2026
Everyone needs to be institutionalized
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews