Hay Festival Book Club – Wuthering Heights
– Free Online
Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!
Emily Brontë’s novel of impossible desires, violence and transgression is a masterpiece of intense, unsettling power.
It begins in a snowstorm, when Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter at Wuthering Heights. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: the intense passion between the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, her betrayal of him and the bitter vengeance he now wreaks on the innocent heirs of the past.
As the new film adaptation nears its controversial release, we revisit the classic novel that started it all.
Read it? Loved it? Let us know what you think over on our new Instagram page, @hayfestivalbookclub.
Further reading
Wuthering Heights: bold new trailer for Emerald Fennell’s epic adaptation, The Guardian.
Wuthering Heights is a Virgin's Story, and Other Opinions of Brontë's Classic, Literary Hub.
About the authors
Emily Brontë (1818-48) is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, and a collection of surviving poems; she remains one of the most intensely original and passionate voices in English literature.
About Hay Festival Book Club
Timeless titles to offer you a break from the day to day. Can't decide what to read next? Follow your curiosity and join Hay Festival on a journey to imagine the world anew through great literature. Unconstrained by genre or form these are our monthly picks of great books worth reading (or re-reading) right now.
Throughout the month, we'll share interesting links and articles relating to our selection on Instagram channel (@hayfestivalbookclub) and invite you all to get involved with your questions and comments. Each selection will also be marked with a free online event.
If you'd like to recommend a book for consideration, get in touch via bookclub@hayfestival.org.
Happy reading!
Supported by Unwin Charitable Trust.
Buy the book for this event
Wuthering Heights
Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before. What unfolds is the tale of the intense love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrenders to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal are visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.
