Wuthering Heights: Riverside Edition

Wuthering Heights, the only book written by Emily Brontë, and originally published in 1847 by Thomas Cautley Newby under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, is a classic work of English literature. The Brontë sisters are known for classical and important literature, such as Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë) and Agnes Grey (by Anne Brontë).  The first edition of Wuthering Heights was first published in three volumes, the first two composed of Wuthering Heights , with the third volume containing Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey . The second edition of  Wuthering Heights  was edited by Charlotte Brontë and published in 1850. Emily Brontë herself died in 1848 at the age of 30 from tuberculosis.  In the first American edition, published by Harpers & Brothers in 1848, the authorship of Wuthering Heights was mistakenly attributed to Charlotte Brontë on the title page, which stated: ‘by the author of Jane Eyre.’  The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centers (as an adjective, Wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The work was deeply controversial at the time of publication because it challenged long-held perceptions of class, religion, morality, and the position of women in society. Additionally, the novel contains vivid descriptions of violence. The novel follows the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights, a house on the wild moors of England, and it’s owner, Healthcliffe, on a tragic and compelling story of love and revenge

Read More: Identifying first editions of Wuthering Heights

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