Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Summary
The orphan Heathcliff grows up alongside Catherine Earnshaw on the wild Yorkshire moors, and their fierce, destructive bond outlives Catherine's marriage to another man and poisons two generations of the families around them. Brontë tells the story through layered narrators whose limited perspectives leave the violence and passion at its center only partly explained. The novel's stormy setting and its refusal to soften its characters' cruelty have made it one of the most intense love stories in English literature.
Historical Context & Significance
Brontë published the novel in 1847, also under the pen name Ellis Bell, and initial reviewers found its violence shocking. It has since been reassessed as a singular achievement in English fiction, unlike anything else written in its period.