Wuthering Heights

by Jim Pipe (Adapter), Nick Spender (Illustrator), Emily Brontë

This immortal English romance is retold here in graphic novel format. It is the story of Heathcliff, a foundling rescued from the slums of Liverpool, and his love for Catherine, daughter in the wealthy Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights. Barron's popular and growing series of " Graphic Classics " titles introduce many of the world's literary masterpieces to young readers. Elementary and secondary school teachers will value these books as a way to make great novels and plays accessible to their students--especially to those students who resist reading. Presented in graphic novel format, each title tells an absorbing, fast-paced story dramatized with high-quality color illustrations. After delving into any of these stimulating titles, many boys and girls will feel encouraged to discover the joy of reading the masterworks in their original form. Each " Graphic Classics " title includes a thumbnail biography of the author, a list of his or her important works, a timeline of historic events that helped inspire the story, general notes, and an index. " Graphic Classics " titles are available in both paperback and hardcover editions.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Manga, Classics, Romance

48 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2009

About the author

Jim Pipe studied Ancient & Modern History at Oxford University, then spent ten years in publishing before becoming a full-time writer. He has written numerous non-fiction books for children, many on historical subjects. He lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his lovely wife Melissa and his twin sons.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

just a bad idea all around.

my own damn fault, really - i should have done some research before ordering this. it is not a graphic novel version of wuthering heights. it is more like an illustrated cliffs notes version of wuthering heights, put out by barron's. it's not as though they commissioned a proper illustrator for it, and made a genuine graphic adaptation, which is a bummer. sorry, nick spender, but you aren't charles burns...



and jim pipe, who gets credit for having "retold" this classic story of everlasting love and deliberate cruelty, has summarized one of the most emotional, pivotal scenes thusly:

nelly is in the kitchen rocking hareton on her knee, when cathy reveals that edgar has asked her to marry him. unknown to the two women, heathcliff is listening. he can bear no more and leaves in a rage of despair

accompanied by a drawing of what looks like this guy:



way to suck all the emotional resonance out of a scene, keeeeee-rist.

if you don't wanna read the book, fine. if you wanna just watch the movie, fine. if you are a cliffs notes kind of person, fine. but what kind of person are the cliffs notes not easy enough for?? who needs this shit to be (poorly) illustrated?? what is wrong with the world that allows something like this to exist??

everything.

i have never used cliffs notes or any shortened form of study guide, because i know how to read. but if this is the way all of those things are, then i am officially depressed for anyone who has ever used them. this takes all the soul out of the book, and makes it terrible. it is more work to read this flat piece of shit than to read the entire novel (even the first 40 or so "boring" pages) but there are just enough actual lines for you to think you are getting the original work. trust me, you're not.

also, i hate you.

but if you don't know what "flogged" or "locket" mean, read this book - it has footnotes to help you. yeah, just like infinite jest.

come to my blog!

[Maryam · Rating 1 out of 5]

//A story of an English student's problem//

"Oh no I have a book report due on Wuthering Heights tomorrow, I haven't finished the book and I don't even have internet to use Cliffnotes!"

Solution: This "graphic novel"

The End.

Quite a poor book to graphic novel adaptation.

[Gemma Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a really interesting retelling of the story but in truth it was just a basic version of the classic that I think was meant for children in classrooms. I didn't really enjoy reading this however of you want to introduce someone young to the bronte's or you are studying the novel and want a quick way to remember the tale then it is quite faithful and most major plot points are present. In short it's a very simplified and dare I say it dumbed down version but it's true to the story and child friendly. There's also a few pages on the history of the author which was personally my favourite part

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I have absolutely NO CLUE what was going on here. I accidentally bought a graphic novel instead of the real deal and I was just deeply confused. I think it's for students to understand the story better but boy was I confused. Nothing really made sense and it was just a wild ride. The only thing that stayed with me was:

"You say I killed you - haunt me then."

Which just has to be one of the greatest quotes ever composed. But yeah, I definitely need the real novel, because I was really looking forward to reading this story.

[Zoe Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book from the library to give me an insight of the real book and to ease me back into reading as I haven't picked up a book in a while. It's done the job. I liked the plot and I am now going to buy the proper 'classic' copy of the book. The only thing I wasn't keen on was the amount of characters. I think this will be more manageable in the proper book but for a graphic novel it was overwhelming.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wuthering Heights (Barron's Graphic Classics) by Jim Pipe, Emily Brontë, Nick Spender (Illustrator)

Enjoyed being able to return to the story arc. These Barron series are NOT graphic novels (as implied) but simply illustrated ‘notes’ that help give the bigger picture of where the characters and tales fit into the overall narrative. This one is certainly tamer and less brutal than what the story actually is. Definitely needed the family tree at the back of this book for frequent reference. ****
…

(Below is my review of the original story)

Book Review - Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights (originally 1847) (London: HarperPress, 2013).

COMPLEX, POETIC, FASCINATING and FRUSTRATING.

According to Whitcoulls (NZ) Top 100 books, Wuthering Heights is described as “Heathcliff and Catherine cannot live with nor without one other. One of the greatest love stories ever told.” Love story? More of a morbid gothic rendering of an estranged maniacal monster who systematically strangles the estate of two houses.

Complex:
For the first half of the story I kept getting confused at the characters (despite being only two households). Mrs Earnshaw's daughter-in-law is Mrs Earnshaw (Mrs Hinton Earnshaw) whilst Mrs Earnshaw (senior) has a daughter Miss Catherine Earnshaw who marries Mrs Linton's son becoming Mrs Catherine Linton, who in turn has a daughter Miss Catherine Linton who marries and becomes Mrs Linton Heathcliff before planning to remarry and become Mrs Earnshaw. The latter's late mother-in-law was Mrs Heathcliff (nee Miss Linton) the daughter of Mrs Linton.
Got it?

The complexity of the narrative is exemplified is situations such as Heathcliff's comments to Hareton relayed to Catherine as heard by Zillah, which she shares with Nelly who tells Lockwood (who writes it down, as per Emily Brontë's authorship) for us readers.

Poetic:
There is not a page that does not have beautiful language and abundant imagery. Emily Brontë doesn't just say she was “excited” or she “looked forward”, but rather she “indulged most sanguine anticipations of the innumerable excellencies ...” (p212). Here are some others.

“Still, I thought I could detect in his physiognomy a mind owning better qualities than his father ever possessed. Good things lost amid a wilderness of weeds, to be sure, whose rankness far over-topped their neglected growth; yet, notwithstanding, evidence of a wealthy soil, that might yield luxuriant crops under other and favourable circumstances.” (p.209)

“'No books!' I exclaimed. 'How do you contrive to live here without them? … take my books away, and I should be desperate!'” - Mr Lockwood (p.317).

Fascinating:
It is an interesting worldview that we as readers are invited into.

“I don’t know if it be a peculiarity in me, but I am seldom otherwise than happy while watching in the chamber of death, should no frenzied or despairing mourner share the duty with me. I see a repose that neither earth nor hell can break, and I feel an assurance of the endless and shadowless hereafter—the Eternity they have entered—where life is boundless in its duration, and love in its sympathy, and joy in its fulness.” (p.177).

The perennial inquisitiveness of human nature is described in ways such as:
“‘Ellen, how long will it be before I can walk to the top of those hills? I wonder what lies on the other side—is it the sea?’
‘No, Miss Cathy,’ I would answer; ‘it is hills again, just like these.’” (p.202).

I learnt many new words such as 'saturnine' (gloomy, sombre, melancholy), 'adieu' (goodbye) and that a 'beck' is a small stream (pp. 320, 347)

Frustrating:
Sure, it is complex, poetic and fascinating, but also frustrating.

“And far rather would I be condemned to a perpetual dwelling in the infernal regions than, even for one night, abide beneath the roof of Wuthering Heights again.” (p.194)

Why didn't someone stand up to this devilish brute? Where were the civil authorities? Why did no one attempt to address the injustice's of Heathcliff's tyrannical oppression and abuse? Why didn't someone in the household stick a knife in his gut?!

“She obeyed his directions very punctually – perhaps she had no temptation to transgress. Living among clowns and misanthropists, she probably cannot appreciate a better class of people, when she meets them.” (p.320).

Complex, poetic, fascinating and frustrating … and pleasantly unique.

- - -
“He fixed his eye on me longer than I cared to return the stare, for fear I might be tempted either to box his ears, or render my hilarity audible.”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

- -
Learn something new everyday.
'Beck' = Northern English for a small stream, “a beck which follows the bend of the glen.” - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (originally 1847) (London: HarperPress, 2013), pages 347, 359.

[Kayleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

With the Jane Eyre one I enjoyed looking at the illustrations but this one was one big mess.
It didn't told the story in a proper way. The illustrations looked strange and I couldn't understand sometimes who who was. (With help with the family tree)
It feels again more like English literature notes getting a drawing.
I don't recommend it. Maybe only when you need to learn the story by heart of if you collect multiply editions of a story.

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wuthering Heights, the Graphic Novel adapted by Jim Pipe and illustrated by Nick Spender is a great starting point if you are unsure you want to read the full novel or as a quick refresher.

The illustration worked so well with the story and the adaptation kept to vibes and general story of the original novel by Emily Bronte. The full novel is much better and worth the read but the graphic novel was fun.

3.5 stars

[Elena Cathalina · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you respect English lit at all, don’t read this. It is in my humble opinion an insult to the actual novel. If however you don’t care about good literature and practically just want the Cliff notes on Wuthering heights in form of a graphic novel, I guess this wouldn’t be a complete waste of your money..

[Mathilda Stenbäck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shame on you for not doing justice to the original. I shouldn't be surprised. The original is one of my favorite books.

[Sandy Carmichael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never have understood why this is considered a classic; in any form I find it boring and depressing.

[Terri Purcell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Baaaaaaaad.

So bad.

From the illustrations to the choppy way the story was adapted.

Baaaaaaaaad.

[Monique · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very confused about what happened in this. I thought Heathcliff was supposed to be dreamy? Oh well. I still don't want to read the proper book.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel is an adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. It follows the lives and interactions of Heathcliff and Isabella, Cathy and Edgar Linton, and Hindley Earnshaw, as well as those of their children, Hareton Earnshaw, Cathrine Linton, and Linton Heathcliff. Heathcliff, taken in as a wild, miscreant boy by the Earnshaw family, uses his overwhelming love as an excuse to treat the rest of his relatives to a life of misery, suffering, and heartbreak.
While this is an interesting adaptation and serves as a good introduction into the storyline and characters of Emily Bronte's famous work, it is by no means a comparable replacement for the work itself. Because it is adapted to the graphic novel format, they had to simplify the original novel, which is completely understandable; however, I feel that they just picked the wrong details to focus on. However, I did feel that the graphic novel format did make it is easier to keep track of who is who with the pictures.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wuthering Heights does not make a very good graphic novel.

I'm probably biased because I 1) haven't actually read Wuthering Heights and 2) love reading graphic novels (including manga), but I don't think those should have been a problem. In fact, I was excited when I stumbled across the graphic novel because I hoped it would interest me in the actual novel.

What I found instead was a pared-down version of a literary classic, complete with tiny, partitioned-off images of the heads of people I hardly recognized interacting in ways I hardly cared about. Without more of Emily Bronte's context, I couldn't see the importance or thematic weight of the characters' relationships, let alone sympathize with the book as a whole.

And no, I don't want to read the original after reading the graphic novel. The story didn't win me over.

[Jamie Maltman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd call this graphic-assisted cliff notes of the book, because most of the story is told through the blocks of narrative beneath the cells. If their target audience is high school students assigned the book who want to get a head start this way, then I guess it does its job. But this is by no means a full graphic novel adaptation. (I got it out of the library when looking at other graphic novels with my son. I'd seen this particular line of classic adaptations and was curious, but now find myself disappointed.)

[Ama · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this together with Brontë's Wuthering Heights but honestly, it was so weird. It's as if they wanted to cram the whole novel into a cartoon and minimize the number of pages as much possible. I won't deny that Wuthering Heights is complicated (especially the language) so I'm sure it's an enjoyable read for others as it's more comprehensible, but it wasn't my cup of tea. In fact, it's a really good means to 'read' Wuthering Heights if you can't/don't want to read the original novel, but it's not a substitute of course.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad for a graphic novel. This fulfills my reading challenge of graphic novel. I have always loved this story, but this was difficult to keep the characters straight. I missed the in-depth characterization.

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a graphic novel like this may be good to introduce young people to classic literature, it just doesn't capture the passion and feel of the original book.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!!!!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad version for a graphic novel but I prefer the longer novel. Includes several pages of text that set it into context for students, although this does refer to some of the characters who are not featured in this version of the story