Publication Blurb

Wuthering Heights was published 1847, the only novel written by Emily Bronte. It was published under the 'pen name' of Ellis Bell. All three sisters became published writers. Charlotte; "Jane Eyre", Anne; "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" and Emily; "Wuthering Heights". The novel was written between 1845 and 1847 and its first edition succeeded in selling only 7 copies. The death of Emily in 1949 prompted Charlotte to write a preface to the second edition, published in 1951. As Charlotte was a well known author in this height, the book gained popularity and by the 20th century, the love story of Heathcliff and Catherine became a classic of literature. The novel was influenced by the two styles of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The late 18th century was dominated by the Gothic novel, in which the supernatural played the role. This reached its highest point with the publication of "Dracula" by Brahm Stoker. This also influenced Mary Shelly to write "Frankenstein". The early 19th century was dominated by the novels of Sir Walter Scott and Jane Austin. These novelists were influenced by the romantic movement of Wordsworth and Colderidge. Both of these influences are seen in "Wuthering Heights", where the house itself and its inhabitants, the servants and the dogs are typical of the Gothic novel, where Thrushcross Grange by contrast is more typical of the world of Jane Austin. Therefore Wuthering Heights can be interpreted as a compendium as both the Gothic and romantic novels of the periods immediately proceeding 1847. In 1850, Charlotte published a second edition of Wuthering Heights to which she had written a preface, on this occasion it met with both critical and commercial success, and by the end of the century it was regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written.

Background Information