
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
'Wuthering Heights' Summary
Thirty years earlier, the Earnshaws live at Wuthering Heights with their children, Hindley and Catherine, and a servant — Nelly herself. Returning from a trip to Liverpool, Earnshaw brings a young orphan whom he names Heathcliff and treats as his favourite. His own children he neglects, especially after his wife dies. Hindley beats Heathcliff, who gradually becomes close friends with Catherine.
Hindley departs for university, returning as the new master of Wuthering Heights on the death of his father three years later. He and his new wife Frances allow Heathcliff to stay, but only as a servant.
Heathcliff and Catherine spy on Edgar Linton and his sister Isabella, children who live nearby at Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is attacked by their dog, and the Lintons take her in, sending Heathcliff home. When the Lintons visit, Hindley and Edgar make fun of Heathcliff and a fight ensues. Heathcliff is locked in the attic and vows revenge.
Frances dies after giving birth to a son, Hareton. Two years later, Catherine becomes engaged to Edgar. She confesses to Nelly that she loves Heathcliff, and will try to help but cannot marry him because of his low social status. Nelly warns her against the plan. Heathcliff overhears part of the conversation and, misunderstanding Catherine's heart, flees the household. Catherine falls ill, distraught.
Edgar and Catherine marry, and three years later Heathcliff unexpectedly returns — now a wealthy gentleman. He encourages Isabella's infatuation with him as a means of revenge on Catherine. Enraged by Heathcliff's constant presence at Thrushcross Grange, Edgar cuts off contact. Catherine responds by locking herself in her room and refusing food; pregnant with Edgar's child, she never fully recovers. At Wuthering Heights Heathcliff gambles with Hindley who mortgages the property to him to pay his debts. Heathcliff elopes with Isabella, but the relationship fails and they soon return.
When Heathcliff discovers that Catherine is dying, he visits her in secret. She dies shortly after giving birth to a daughter, Cathy, and Heathcliff rages, calling on her ghost to haunt him for as long as he lives. Isabella flees south where she gives birth to Heathcliff's son, Linton. Hindley dies six months later, leaving Heathcliff as master of Wuthering Heights.
Twelve years later, Isabella is dying and the still-sickly Linton is brought back to live with his uncle Edgar at the Grange, but Heathcliff insists that his son must instead live with him. Cathy and Linton (respectively at the Grange and Wuthering Heights) gradually develop a relationship. Heathcliff schemes to ensure that they marry, and on Edgar's death demands that the couple move in with him. He becomes increasingly wild and reveals that on the night Catherine died he dug up her grave, and ever since has been plagued by her ghost. When Linton dies, Cathy has no option but to remain at Wuthering Heights.
Having reached the present day, Nelly's tale concludes.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1847Authors

Emily Bronte
England
Emily Jane Brontë (30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature....
Books by Emily BronteDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth
A young English lord returns to Ireland to take control of his family's estate, only to discover that his absentee landlord father has been neglecting...

Ellendigen - Deel 1 - Fantine by Victor Hugo
De Ellendigen, of Les Misérables in het Frans, is een epische roman van Victor Hugo die het leven van Jean Valjean, een veroordeelde die probeert een...

Wyllard's Weird by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
When young and enigmatic Edward Wyllard inherits his family's ancestral home, he is met with a chilling discovery - a cold case that has haunted the W...

The House without the Key by Earl Derr Biggers
It is a mystery novel. First published in 1925, it is the first in a series of novels featuring the iconic detective, Charlie Chan. The story is set i...

Rainbow Trail by Zane Grey
The Rainbow Trail follows the story of a young woman, who faces the complexities of life on the Western frontier. She is caught between her love for...

A Mummer's Wife by George Moore
A Mummer's Wife tells the story of Kate Ede, a bored Midlands housewife unhappily married to an asthmatic draper. When a handsome travelling actor com...

Home by Anne Brontë
Home is a passionate story of love, sacrifice, faith, and redemption set against the backdrop of a bleak Yorkshire landscape. The novel explores the t...

Fortunata y Jacinta: dos historias de casadas (Primera Parte) by Benito Pérez Galdós
“Fortunata y Jacinta” es una obra maestra del realismo español, que explora las complejidades del amor, el matrimonio y la sociedad en el Madrid del s...

Magnificent Ambersons (Growth Trilogy Vol 2) by Booth Tarkington
The Magnificent Ambersons is a novel that explores the decline of an aristocratic family in the face of a changing world. The Ambersons are a wealthy...

Howards End by Edward M. Forster
It's sad, but true to say that today Edward Morgan Forster's works are known more from their film and television adaptations rather than from their or...
Reviews for Wuthering Heights
No reviews posted or approved, yet...