Wuthering Heights

Written by Emily Brontë

Narrated by Juliet Stevenson

Heathcliff was to serve as the name for the ragged, dark-skinned orphan whom Mr. Earnshaw found abandoned in the streets of Liverpool and took home to live with his own children, Cathy and Hindley, at Wuthering Heights. The stormy life of the mysterious Heathcliff, his love for Cathy and his relationships with the people who lived at Wuthering Heights and at nearby Thrushcross Grange make up Emily Bronte's classic novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Audio Holdings
• Release date: Jan 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781601360205

Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë (1818-1848) was an English novelist and poet known famously for her only novel, Wuthering Heights. The work was originally published in a three-volume set alongside the work of her sister Anne. Due to the politics of the time, she and her sister were given the names Ellis and Acton Bell as pseudonyms. It wasn’t until 1850 that their real names were printed on their respective works. The initial reception of Wuthering Heights by the public was not favorable. Many readers were confused by the novel structure—they had not previously encountered a frame narrative (story-within-a-story) as unique as that of Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë died from tuberculosis at age thirty, only a year after the publication of her landmark book. Alas, she didn’t live long enough to revel in its legacy; the book later became an iconic work of English literature.

Reviews for Wuthering Heights

[mariannehusbands · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wuthering Heights has been in my consciousness ever since the 70's when Kate Bush was wailing out her high pitched ethereal lyrics -Out on the wiley, windy moorsWe'd roll and fall in green.You had a temper like my jealousy:Too hot, too greedy.How could you leave me, When I needed to possess you?I hated you. I loved you, too. I watched the TV adaptaion with Tom Hardy some years ago and still have vague recollections of it - mostly of Tom Hardy's brooding gorgeousness. And as I have said before seeing any tv or film adaptation before reading the book for me is a mistake. When I first started reading I found myself trying to link in the story to what I had seen and thought I already knew which detracted somewhat for allowing the story to unfold.What surprised me most on reading was it wasn't all about Cathy and Heathcliff as my memory had held it. So much of this tale is about the children of the initial characters. If there is any place for pathetic fallacy in literature then Wuthering Heights is the perfect venue. Not only does the weather provide the sometimes wild, sometimes brooding, sometimes oppressive atmosphere of the book but for me it is also a metaphor for the characters themselves. Many like myself come to the story thinking it will be a tale of love and passion only to discover that the pervading emotions are childish petulance and hatred and revenge. I have learnt much about life and love in nearly half a century on the planet and one thing I have learnt is that, when it comes to human relationships, hate is not the opposite of love - apathy is. So for me there is still more love in the story than hatred. It just manifests itself in an immature way. When I think of Heathcliff then the word repression comes to mind. I was once told that Wuthering Heights is best read when young and I can see why - there is for me is an immaturity in Cathy Earnshaw's behaviour in particular.The amazing thing for me about Wuthering Height's is held in the author herself - how on earth did a young woman in victorian England come up with all of this? The initial reviews of the book were not favourable and critics thought it morally reprehensible drivel. I need to find out more about Emily Bronte and her life and experiences - ooh a trip to Haworth when I am next back up in the Motherland. I have the 1939 film adaptation waiting with Larry O and Merle Oberon which I will watch with interest - although a more unlikely Heathcliff I cannot imagine. And a final note - having seen Tom Hardy digging up Cathy from her grave to embrace her again like a deranged lunatic ( my favourite scene ) I was eaer for it to come up in the book - it was there at last, so very near the end although the writing of it a very different less urgent account than the one I experienced in viewing.

[antao-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-01-02)The “dog scene” does not exist in the book as some sort of sick foreplay; it’s actually an extremely clever piece of writing. Besides showing Heathcliff total disregard for Isabella, it’s a reality check for those girls with romantic notions about Byronesque “bad boys”. Isabella is so infatuated, that she cannot understand, although he flaunts it on her face ( that’s what makes the scene interesting) that what she takes for intensity and romantic darkness is actually plain cruelty. Isabella is selective in what she chooses to see, she wants to run away with this man everyone calls dangerous and not even the fact he hangs her pet dog stops her on her tracks. As we will see later in the book she does eventually find out he’s actually a plain domestic abuser, but by then she has been totally crushed.It’s not Emily’s fault people see Heathcliff as some sort of romantic hero, just like Isabella readers have been choosing what they want to highlight or disregard.The book has been adapted many times - mostly very badly and there a misunderstanding that this is a romantic novel so people are confused and disappointed in it. It’s also been lampooned many times. Actually it’s an extraordinary brilliant observation of the effect of neglect in early childhood, long before child psychiatry. There is no whitewashing and the damage done as an infant to Heathcliffe is permanent despite the kindness of the Earnshaws. He destroys what he loves and others with him. The character of Nelli Dean is also brilliantly drawn. She understands more than anyone but is forced to observe on the sidelines as a servant as the family and then another family is pulled into the tragedy. I love the story of her refusal to accommodate her precious piano pupils play time and her preference to the dog.The Brontës lived though a traumatic childhood and survived a boarding school which sounded like a pro type for the workhouses. Haworth at the time had greater social deprivation than the east end of London, with all the alcoholism, drugs, disease and violence that went with it and their brother brought home daily. Orphans and abandoned children were bought like slaves from London to work in the mill towns and as vicarage daughters were expected to help out with the night schools their father had organised. They weren’t sheltered - they saw the lot which is why no doubt Emily Brontë drew the character of an abandoned orphan child so well. Emily Brontë refused to admit to her consumption and was kneading bread the morning she died. Like Elizabeth, first she remained standing for as long as possible only finally lying down just before she died.Child neglect, for whatever reason, it was one of the themes in “Wuthering Heights” that stroked a chord with me, and I do not think it’s explored enough. The fact that Heathcliff decided to replicate his own abuse by inflicting it on Hareton, with the expectation that he would turn out as “twisted” as him as form of vengeance is quite interesting. Even more interesting is the fact Emily chose to make that experiment a failed one; even before that advent of child psychology, she clearly understood that the experience of abuse and neglect is unique to the individual, and the way people react to it unpredictable. That’s something that bewildered Heathcliff, and in a way, the realisation that he could not make people as detestable as he was, even though they have also been victimised, contributed to, by the end to make him him even more unstable.

[ut0tecum0loquerer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Ugh, I could barely make it through the first hundred pages! Neither of the main characters have any redeeming qualities.

[k8_not_kate · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I reread this book at eighteen for a class, I thought for sure it would destroy some of my memories of reading it for pleasure as a dreamy fifteen or sixteen-year-old, but instead it reinforced that Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books of all time. Almost reading like a novella and its sequel (both of which I thought were superb, contrary to what other reviewers have said), both Cathy and young Catherine's stories are engaging and Bronte's language and style will also draw you in. She weaves relationships between her characters that make the reader completely involved in the plot and the novel's conclusion is possibly one of the best I've ever read: it's happy, tragic, and satisfying. Without question one of those novels I will continue to pick up every few years for my entire life.

[tronella_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was alright, other than the impenetrable dialect-writing of one character, but I read on the internets that apparently this book is supposed to be a love story, and that Heathcliff is apparently a tragic romantic hero. What! That made me mad. He was a complete dick! The whole book is him being horrible to other people because the amazingly shallow girl he liked said something mean about him one time! Actually, pretty much all the characters were overly shallow and immature, and I don't believe any one of them was ever in love once, no matter how much swooning they did.Sigh. I think this is one of those times where the characters bug me too much for me to enjoy the story.

[humphreys3_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my all time favorite reads. I find that, Emily Brontë, grasped the balance between love and hate perfectly. Showing how you can’t have one without the other. The more Catherine and Heathcliff loved one another, the greater the hate they had for that love, not necessarily towards each other. It reminds me of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam:27, 1850: “I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all.” When you feed the love you have for someone, you fuel all the other emotions, whether you want to or not. For Catherine and Heathcliff, if they had never truly loved, much less cared, then they would have never known the hate. Vice versa.

[colereadsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful classic novel that I wish I had read sooner!Synopsis:Wuthering Heights is set in the 19th century in the Yorkshire moors, and follows several generations of the families who live there. It follows the romantic and destructive relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, the young orphan Catherine’s father adopts. Heathcliff is badly treated by Catherine’s older brother, and departs the Heights, feeling his love for Catherine is not returned. Heathcliff returns many years later and proceeds to extract revenge on all who wronged him in his childhood.Review:Wuthering Heights is a novel I’ve always wanted to read, I’ve had a copy of the book for a long time and it has lived on my bookshelves for years, but I've never gotten around to reading it. I so wish I’d read it earlier, it’s a fantastic, haunting book and really is a great example of classic English literature.Jane Eyre has been one of my favourite novels since I was a little girl, so I just loved examining the similarities between it and Wuthering Heights, and there are quite a few. Both novels look at things not often talked about in Victorian literature, and the nature of the violent relationships highlighted in Wuthering Heights, was I'm sure quite shocking at the time.Something that really interested me about the novel is the structure, it’s written in a sort of Russian doll style, with a narrative within a narrative, and I love that you sometimes see the same thing from different viewpoints, because it calls into question the reliability of the narrator, and I do love an unreliable narrator. It’s such a wonderful book, the story is so powerful and it has all the tropes of Gothic and Victorian fiction, it’s a fabulous fabulous book.Whilst this is my first time reading it, I actually picked it up as a result of a feminism module I'm taking at University, I found it so fascinating to analysis the novel under the concept of feminism, the depicts of domestic violence and the role Isabella Linton plays in the novel – a character which I believe is very overlooked, made it a really fascinating topic. I think one of the interesting things about a novel like Wuthering Heights is that it’s hard to approach it without any preconceived notions of the story. Most people will have seen at least one of the many film and TV adaptations, or perhaps read a retelling of the story or even just have a vague idea of the romantic story of Heathcliff and Catherine. But Wuthering Heights is much more than just a passionate love story, it is brutal, harrowing and destructive and features more revenge, anger and supernatural elements than anything else. This edition also has loads of background information, essays and reviews from the time so if you’re interested in looking at the novel in more detail, this is definitely a great edition for that!Wuthering Heights has influenced so many popular novels today it is a must read for practically everyone, but if you’re a fan of Gothic fiction, Jane Eyre, or the old unreliable narrator, I urge you to grab this one off the shelf next!

[melodyaw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

SummaryWuthering Heights is a dark tale of enduring passion and violent love. Set on the wild, rugged Yorkshire moors of northern England, this classic gothic novel follows the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, adopted siblings and lifelong lovers. Narrated through the diary of Mr. Lockwood, a tenant of nearby Thrushcross Grange, this strange and fantastic story tells of a love that transcends all boundaries—even death.Mr. Lockwood is paying a polite visit to his landlord, Heathcliff, when he is expectedly stranded there during a snowstorm. Forced to stay the night at Wuthering Heights, despite Heathcliff’s clear displeasure, Lockwood finds an unoccupied room in the grand house. Unable to sleep, however, he stumbles upon the diary entries of a young girl named Catherine Earnshaw, who writes of adventures with her young friend Heathcliff. After nodding off to sleep, Lockwood is awakened when the Catherine’s ghost appears at his window, pleading to be let in.When Lockwood returns to Thrushcross Grange the next day, he asks his housekeeper, Ellen (Nelly) Dean, to tell him the story of Heathcliff and the others at Wuthering Heights. Nelly begins her story thirty years earlier, when Mr. Earnshaw brings home an orphaned Heathcliff to raise with his own children, Hindley and Catherine.Though Catherine and Heathcliff are, for many years, inseparable despite Hindley’s cruel persecution, eventually the two seem to drift apart. Catherine becomes a proper young lady, and since Hindley forces Heathcliff to work in the fields after their father’s death, Heathcliff becomes ignorant and angry. Catherine chooses to marry Edgar Linton, a rich neighbor whom she naively believes will take care of her and Heathcliff. However, Heathcliff interprets this move as rejection, and he runs away for several years.When he returns, he has mysteriously acquires wealth and prestige, though his brooding nature has not been appeased. He has vowed revenge against all of those who have wronged him. When Catherine is confronted by her two loves, Edgar and Heathcliff, she falls ill and dies after giving birth to Cathy. Before she dies, however, she and Heathcliff reassert their undying love to each other.Now, many years later, Heathcliff is more embittered than ever, and he lives to torment the offspring of his long-dead enemies. But he is constantly conscious of Catherine’s post-mortem presence, and he is pulled toward eternal love and happiness with her beyond the grave.AnalysisDespite the many narratives-within-a-narrative (the story is a diary entry, often recording Nelly’s narrative, who in turn often relates the detailed speeches of others), I found the story surprisingly easy to follow on audiobook. I enjoyed listening to the heavily accented speech of Joseph and other characters, though I also checked a paperback out from the library to understand what they were actually saying!Nelly’s judgmental comments about the devilish behavior of Catherine and Heathcliff, which only seems to worsen with time, make the pair seem irresponsible and deserving of any punishment that they receive. Nelly supports this viewpoint with the opinions of Edgar Linton and Hindley, both of whom despise Heathcliff and become frustrated with Catherine, and she portrays the lovelorn couple as ungrateful and spiteful.It struck me as odd that such a seemingly selfish and cruel pair would feel so deeply for each other. In my experience, relationships between truly destructive people such as Catherine and Heathcliff never end well. But their love persists and even grows stronger with each passing year.All of the other characters in the story judge the actions of Catherine and Heathcliff quite harshly, but their persecution only serves to strengthen the depth of feeling between the two. Every time Nelly criticizes their irreverent and even cruel behavior, I felt more sympathy and understanding for them and I began identifying with the persecuted couple. No one believes in them but themselves, and that is what makes their love so powerful and endearing.I found Wuthering Heights to be an enjoyable read; even more than Jane Eyre. Such a powerful story of love and loss ages well, and the unconventional use of an unreliable narrator had an interesting effect upon my view of the characters and story.The very subtle addition of Catherine’s ghost, which could be interpreted as real or could be read as merely a figment of Lockwood’s and Heathcliff’s imaginations, does not diminish the credibility of the story. On the contrary, the supernatural elements throughout the novel only serve to add to the dark, intense feelings between the two lovers.

[wbwilburn5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most revered classic novels. A true dark romance full of love, daring and sensuality. We would all like to be loved and to love another with this intensity.

[mpaige_17 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A first-read for me this year. Now I know why this is a classic. This is a love story gone wrong between Cathy and Heathcliff and everything Heathcliff does as an act of revenge. It is a novel that spans two generations of love and loss and examines how life can come full circle.

[jinxyjo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic tale, that every teen should read, showing the emotions of love, betrayal and heartache.

[katie_h_11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Oh boy. I have no idea where the love for this angsty novel comes from. I'm glad that I waited until adulthood to read it, because I know I wouldn't have given it half a chance in high school. The classic story tells the tale of Heathcliff, an unfortunate orphan who is adopted by Catherine's family. He and Catherine fall in love, and their forbidden love is doomed from the start, darkening Heathcliff's heart, and leading him to hatefully seek revenge on her entire family. NONE of these characters are loveable, and I would argue that none of them are even likeable. Heathcliff is a nightmarish beast and Catherine is petty and selfish. Their flaws are so numerous that it was impossible for me to get emotionally invested in any of the characters. This is supposed to be a classic love story, but where is the love? Where is the kindness? The patience? The sharing and caring? OK, so I've read this "masterpiece" once, and I'm glad I did, due to the many Heathcliff/Catherine references in pop culture, but now that the last page is turned, I'm glad to be rid of these people.

[baswood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully Overwrought - Confusingly Incestuous

[jessiejluna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once upon a time I called this my favorite book. I am not sure I can still say that twenty years later, but there is a special place for it on my shelf and in my heart.

[tabatha014 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book has so much hype so I expected it to be amazing. Boy was I let down! I didn't really care for this book at all. And people say Heathcliff and Catherine's love was so epic, but he was a horrible person who did nothing but torment others. I don't know, maybe I just didn't get it, but I wasn't impressed in the slightest.

[melumebelle-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

While most of the population is lead to believe that this is some sort of fantastical romance novel, I have to crush those thoughts by speaking the truth: this book is not romantic at all and centers around an emotionally detached stalkeresque man whose only desire in life is to prove that he is worth something and has control. I have found that generally, people who enjoyed this book also extremely enjoyed the Twight Saga (which makes a reference to this book) because, well, Edward and Heathcliff are both (excuse my language) asses who are completely controlling and care only for themselves. While the writing style of this book was indeed enjoyable, I detested the story itself.

[amaliagavea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How can I find and put together the suitable words and write a review about one of the most iconic creations in World Literature? One of those books that provoke such intense feelings that either you worship them or you utterly hate them. There is no middle ground. Every year, I revisit Wuthering Heights for two reasons. First, it is one of my personal Christmas traditions and secondly, I prepare extracts to use in class for my intermediate level students. This year, I finally felt confident enough to write a text. I will not call it a review, but a summary of what this masterpiece means for me, what I feel each time I gaze upon its title.I was 12 when my mother made me a special gift. (I have a mother that gave me a book about self-destructive love and a father that gave me Crime and Punishment a year later. I know, they rock!) It was a thick volume with a dark cover. A cover as black as the night scene it depicted. A young couple running in the moors against the wind, and a black, foreboding mansion looming in the background. To this day, that cherished Greek edition of Emily's only novel is the most beautiful I've ever seen. I read it in a single day. I remember it was a windy day, a summer torrent rain that lasted all afternoon. It left me speechless. It shaped me. It shaped my reading preferences, it shaped my love for eerie, dark, doomed, haunting stories with twisted anti-heroes. It even shaped the choice of my profession.When I was 15, one of the best teachers I've ever had gave us a project. She divided us into groups and asked us to make a presentation of our favourite book. She put me in a group with two classmates. Such kind and charming souls they were but would never open a book if their lives depended on it. I didn't care, I was happy because I'd get to choose the book. We left our teacher crying buckets in the classroom, marking a heroic A+ on our papers. During the 3rd year in university, we had to complete individual assignments. I'll let you guess the theme and the book I chose. My professor had to interrupt me at some point, kindly but firmly. ''Yes, thank you, Amalia, this is great, but there are others waiting, you know.'' Were they? Anyway, you get the point. My level of obsession with this novel equal Heathcliff's obsession with Cathy.Emily Brontë's novel may not be for everyone. It doesn't matter. Nothing is for everyone. But, she has created an eternal tale -or nightmare- of a love that is destructive, dark, twisted and stranger than all the other sweet, lovey-dovey stories that have been written. She has created one of the most iconic couples in Literature, she has provided the first and finest example of the Anti-hero in the face of Heathcliff. She has ruined many girls' expectations, because who wouldn't want to be loved as fiercely as Cathy was? (For years, my notion of the ideal man was Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff in the 1992 film. The best adaptation of the novel, with Juliette Binoche as Cathy) How many writers who have written only one novel can claim to have accomplished all these?One of the reasons I became a teacher was to have the opportunity to teach this book. It is my greatest satisfaction when I see its impact on my teenage students. They are familiar with the bleak and twisted tales of our times, nothing shocks them anymore. They love it unanimously, it is a rare case where boys and girls love the same book equally. So, mission accomplished.''I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!'' For me, this book is my soul. It lies there, making the question ''What is your favourite book?'' the easiest ever.P.S. Please, God, when I die, put me in a sector where I can meet Emily. You can keep Shakespeare, Austin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. I prefer long talks with a disturbed, fragile, wild girl...

[rockstarninja_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite book ever. I first read this in the 5th grade and have loved it ever since.

[mattviews · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading Wuthering Heights is like a journey into a dream abound with entangled relationships, bitter vengeance, and how the innocent heirs from feuded families struggle to escape the macabre legacy of the past. The person who unraveled the history behind Wuthering Heights was Lockwood, a new tenant of the Thrushcross Grange who was forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord Heathcliff.Heathcliff was kidnapped and shipped to England, grew up under the roof of the Earnshaws. Old Earnshaw took a liking of the young Heathcliff while his son Hindley persistently and insidiously grumbled long string of tales against him and treated him like a house servant after the old Earnshaw passed away. At Wuthering Heights the young Heathcliff cultivated a consummate bonding with Catherine Earnshaw who later on betrayed him and married Edgar Linton.LoveThe novel's pivot tends to focus on the power of the central relationship between Catherine Earnshaw-Linton and Heathcliff. However dark and vindictive the novel might have turned out, the work's attraction, as a love story is not difficult to extract. Catherine loved Heathcliff because he was more herself than she was. Their souls were made of the same materials. Her soul, her heart, and her conscience reproved and convinced her that it was wrong to marry Linton, though Heathcliff might appear to be an unreclaimed, uncultivated creature, which would degrade her. In her final words to Heathcliff, the embittered Catherine Earnshaw writhed in torment. Here the novel has attained to the fullness the celebration of such transcendent love, which has surpassed the bounds of mundanity and death, despite the fact that their reunion was marked by dejection, regret, and bitterness. To Heathcliff the entire world was such a dreadful conviction of memoranda that he had lost his beloved Catherine Earnshaw, even though her daughter Cathy asserted that nobody would love him nor cry for him when he died. VengeanceHeathcliff's eye-for-an-eye vengeance visited upon the next generation. To revenge on Hindley Earnshaw's being acrimonious to him, Heathcliff determined to make Hindley's son Hareton a brute. He never taught him how to read or write, never rebuked him for any bad habit and never led him a single step toward virtue. When Heathcliff later became master of Wuthering Heights, he reduced Hareton to a mere house servant and deprived him of any wages. Edgar's daughter Cathy was forced to marry Heathcliff's sickly son Linton who braced the brawl of the previous generation by reviving how Cathy's mother had betrayed the man she loved for her father Edgar Linton. Through his son Heathcliff meant to usurp Edgar Linton's property at Thrushcross Grange and confiscated Cathy's fortune. The heirs (Cathy Linton, Hareton Earnshaw, and Linton) strived to escape from the bitter rift of the previous generation. The second half of the novel (volume ii) somewhat signifies such restoration of order and balance in this second generation. Dream/Stream-of-ConsciousnessThe appearance of Catherine Earnshaw's ghost in the early part of the novel proves to be such an appropriate notion to set the tone of Wuthering Height. The house servant only proved the house was haunted at the expense of the new tenant Lockhood, the ghost also challenged the limits of life. Wuthering Heights as a whole conveys a sense of vagueness and ambiguous plausibility. The notion of dream proved to be a significant source of understanding as both Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff envisaged their happiness in dreams, and Catherine articulated the dreams' informing power to Ellen Dean, who narrated the story to Lockwood over the span of a night at Heathcliff's abode. The warped sense of time, the geographical remoteness, and social aloofness contribute to a dreamlike, stream-of-conscious setting. Such dreamlike setting offers an uncensored realm, free of logic and boundaries, to the transgression of identity, sexuality, violence, and vengeance. "May you not rest, as long as I am living. You said I killed you - haunt me, then." The book obviates a transcendent love that surpasses grief and death. It is meant to be haunting.

[jenson_aka_dl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Mr. Lockwood became tenant of the brooding Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights he had no idea of the dramatic and tragic history of the land. When faithful servant, Nelly, seeks to enlighten him he is treated to a tale of horrible proportions, of violence and revenge and the inhumanity of love turned to obsession.I can honestly say I never expected to like this story. I knew very little of what the story was about, just that it was a much venerated classic that was frequently used as inspiration for stories even until today. But, I did like it despite the fact that I'm not fond of colloquial language, tragedy or dark Gothic drama. I expected the writing to give me much more trouble with understanding than it turned out. In the end it was only Joseph's dialog that was completely incomprehensible and it was easy enough just to skim over those parts.I've seen this story referred to as a romance which rather shocks me. I didn't really find the book romantic at all. Heathcliff's obsession with Catherine was so violent and consuming and later, what happened between Linton and Catherine, was more about psychological drama, betrayal and angst than anything else. It was utterly fascinating in a watching a train wreck sort of way. Also amazing, although potentially included with just with this edition, was the illuminatory introduction written by Charlotte Bronte about her sister Emily post-mortem. It is so hard to believe a young, cloistered, quiet spinster could ever come up with such a dark and compelling storyline. It is a pity that the harshness of the critics of their time hurt Emily Bronte so badly when it comes to such an amazing piece of work. It is easy for me to see why this piece of literature has been a cornerstone classic since the 1800s and I'm so glad to have finally discovered it.

[lollypop917 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a difficult read for me. For several months I would pick up this book become utterly disgusted with the characters and put it back down again. I'm really not sure why I finished it as the more I think about it the more I truly hated it. I wish I had returned it to the library unfinished. This is the story of Heathcliff a gypsy boy taken in by the Earnshaw family and Catherine Earnshaw his only childhood friend. Let's just say that as events unfold and as the characters develop we come to know the evil Heathcliff and selfish Catherine will never be together. Since they truly love each other the only alternative seems to be to make life miserable for themselves and everyone around them. At this point I was really hoping for a rabid pack of wolves to attack everyone and end their misery. Unfortunately this did not happen.On a more positive note this book was very well written and the character development superb.

[suzanne81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wuthering Heights is known as a gothic romance. I do not consider it a romantic story. It is dark, and "disagreeable", and utterly fascinating. It is difficult to feel sympathy for any of the characters, yet the story stays in your mind long after you finish it. What was this character's motivation? Why did that happen? What if.... Could it be.... One is compelled to reflect on human nature and the author's goals in telling the story.

[eloquent_codex · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mr. Lockwood is the new tenet of Thrushcross Grange a beautiful house opposite of the foreboding Wuthering Heights occupied by his irritable landlord. Cooped up in his new residence recuperating Mr. Lockwood persuades his housekeeper to tell him the tale of his landlord and how things came to be as they are. She reiterates the dark history of the two houses filled with love, loss, jealousy and the desperate pursuit of vengeance. Wuthering Heights is a classic Gothic novel. I put off reading this book for a long time so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed reading it. I adored how dark and dramatic it was. The setting and time period were wonderfully conveyed. The supernatural elements further heightened the atmosphere of the setting.The narrative approach was interesting. Its conversational gossipy tone and perceptive look at the characters' lives made it an engaging read. The fact that the main narrator seemed the most level headed heightened the drama. I found the overly melodramatic moments amusing and continually wanted to know more about the characters. There were so many layers to the story that I'll definitely have to reread it at some point.It was a rewarding experience to finally read the book that influenced some of the authors I follow and identify which elements inspired books I've previously read. So even though it was my first time reading Wuthering Heights it still felt oddly familiar.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally being able to read this unique and passionate novel for itself, without dissecting the writing and author from a literary angle, makes all the difference. Written a year before Emily Bronte died, 'Wuthering Heights' is a true classic. The characters are vividly drawn and enduring, immortalising the destructive romance of Heathcliff and Cathy in both pale imitations and parodies ('I'm so cold!') I admire Emily Bronte all the more for not allowing her vindictive hero and a selfish heroine to be 'tamed' or redeemed, as demanded in most modern fiction - they are how they are, whether through nature or nurture, which is far more realistic. Heathcliff's behaviour is understandable, if not sympathetic, in the first half of the story, but the injustice and sheer extent of his vengeance renders him pathetic and far from appealing. He is not, as he warns Isabella, a romantic hero. For all that, 'Wuthering Heights' is now one of my favourite romances - not because the hero and heroine live happily ever after, but because they don't. Heathcliff and Cathy's love consumes them both, dragging down others with them, yet their names are synonymous with the term 'romance'. The reason is captured in Heathcliff's heartrending speech to Cathy, 'Kiss me again; and don't let me see your eyes! I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murderer - but yours! How can I?'The Yorkshire moors supply the gothic setting and atmosphere for this miserable tale, representing the wild and forthright personalities of the characters. Northern humour, droll, and dialect, largely unintelligible without endnotes, are also embodied by Joseph, the cantankerous old man servant at the Heights. For good or ill, this is the image of Yorkshire that still thrives in the popular imagination: bleak, windswept moorland, inhabited by dour and miserly 'folk'. From someone who lives next door to 'Bronte country', I can only say that the charm of Emily Bronte's writing for me is in its blunt honesty and the many shades of humanity she describes.

[yonitdm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great scene description character development and story.

[cscovil_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

EMILY BRONTE: Wuthering HeightsRead several times and listened on audio July 2009. Raw, passionate, haunting, tender, brutal and unforgettable.It seems as if, in her isolation, Emily Bronte seeks all that life has to offer, its good and evil, its pleasure and pain, through the writing of this book. Wuthering Heights was her only novel and it is such a masterpiece that it feels as if she put everything into it, or perhaps that that it extracted everything out of her.When the master of Wuthering Heights brings home the street urchin Heathcliff he changes the destiny of his family and that of the neighbouring household at the Grange. His daughter Cathy develops a bond with Heathcliff that begins to deepen but, ashamed of his low position, she denies this growing passion and marries Linton, the heir to the Grange. Heathcliff goes off to better himself and returns to exact a terrible revenge. One of Wuthering Heights strengths is its narrative technique- the story is relayed in the main part by Nelly (Ellen) Dean the nursemaid and Mr Lockwood, tenant at the Grange but the unfolding of the story includes letters, ghostly sightings, anecdotes relayed second hand and related conversations between other characters spanning three generations. This gives a sense of many people affected by one story thus heightening the strength of Heathcliff and Cathy’s passion.The prose style is surprising direct and modern, vigorous to the point of brutal in its laying bare the themes of love; romance; passion; revenge; and violence; covering ideas about: nature; religion; superstition; death; and the social values of the 19th Century. Feminist ideas about the inheritance of land and money, and about marriage for social status underpin the plot. This book can be quite confusing at times by the use of similar names such Catherine's daughter also being named Catherine and Isabella Linton calling her son Linton. Also having to travel through two sets of narration in a non-chronological order. However, Brontë deals with all these factors masterfully to produce a masterpiece of English Literature that is far removed from other novels of the period.

[jules188 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is by no means a happy one or even a dark romance (my favorite), however it still is really well written. Catherine gives one of my favorite monologues and what I think is one of the best passages ever written in any book. Catherine is the type of woman no other woman wants to be accused of being - headstrong, selfish, needing of attention of the men around her.

Heathcliff is dark and menacing and by absolutely no means a hero, in some parts he makes me actually sick with his hatred, vengefulness, and need to own Catherine.

Even though it is a twisted book, I love it.

[sstaniforth_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my all time favourite books. Dark. Moving. Gothic. Absolutely cram-packed full of passion. Your feelings for both Heathcliffe and Cathy switch from love,lust and hate, chapter by chapter. Not an easy book to read, but definately a worthwhile one.

[araceli.arias · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a good book but it's pretty depressing and during the second half I got a bit tired of most of the characters.

[infjsarah · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I can remember trying to read this book when I was a teenager and giving up after 50 pages. 25 years later I thought I'd try again with an audiobook. Now I remember why I gave up - what an unpleasant bunch of people! I kept expecting something dramatic to happen but it didn't. If children are treated unpleasantly then it's hardly a surprise if they grow up unpleasant. And the great passion between Heathcliff and Cathy was more the rantings of 2 people who never grew up. Not a classic I would recommend. "Jane Eyre" is a thousand times better.