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    Wuthering Heights
    Wuthering Heights
    Wuthering Heights
    Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

    Wuthering Heights

    Written by Emily Brontë

    Narrated by Freda Dowie and Ken Drury

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    When Mr Earnshaw brings a black-haired foundling child into his home on the Yorkshire moors, he little imagines the dramatic events which will follow. The passionate relationship between Cathy Earnshaw and the foundling, Heathcliff, is a story of love, hate, pity and retribution, the effects of which reverberate throughout the succeeding generations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateSep 9, 1995
    ISBN9789629544652
    Author

    Emily Brontë

    Emily Brontë was born in 1818, the daughter of a curate. She was the most enigmatic of the three famous novelist sisters. Losing her mother very early in her life and following her elder sister Charlotte to school, she found life away from the Haworth parsonage extremely hard. Her time as a teacher at Law Hill School near Halifax was similarly trying. Homesickness drew her back to the moors and the life of a reclusive author. It was there, in 1848, that she died of tuberculosis just months after her brother Branwell. Few of her papers survive and her reputation is based on a few surviving poems and one novel, Wuthering Heights.

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    Reviews for Wuthering Heights

    4/5

    368 ratings320 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I actually had to read this my first year in college, not high school, but I didn't get what all the hype was. It was a crappy love story, unsatisfying and annoying. I remember hating all of the characters.
    • 5/5
      This book is like nothing I've ever read. Beautifully written yet filled with hateful characters and depressing scenes. Yet...yet, I loved it! Emily Bronte does what few authors are capable of doing successfully; compelling you to care for people and situations you otherwise would not. So unlike her sister, Charlotte, who created a likable, strong character in Jane Eyre, Emily creates Cathy, Heathcliff, and the rest of this brooding, spoiled, and somewhat selfish cast of characters driven to depression and madness by the pitfalls of love--both familial and romantic--and and makes you want to never stop reading about them. A true classic and one that everyone should read and keep in their library.
    • 5/5
      It is hard to imagine a more powerful bond in all of fiction than that of Catherine and Heathcliff. I'm ever intrigued and perplexed, nay downright haunted by it. I'm fascinated by the author, a young recluse who's intimate relations, I'm told, were more confined to "bird and beast", yet her level of understanding of human relationships, and the various opposing forces of nature acting on them, is astonishing and exemplary. Catherine and Heathcliff's eternal bond, who's divine and darker contrasts are forever locked in a cosmic struggle, do battle on this mortal stage, threatening to tear them apart for ever, yet their love is unyielding and death itself cannot challenge it. This is a monumental work by the greatest of the Bronte sisters.
    • 4/5
      I thought that this was a book that, as an English major, I should have read at least once already. I certainly think it was worth the wait. I enjoyed the story but the characters are actually all pretty diabolical or completely insane. The story is told by Nelly Dean, a housekeeper who has been at Wuthering Heights from the beginning of the tale, and from her narrative I get the impression that you can't completely trust this version of the tale. She seems meddling and somewhat self-serving, although I don't doubt her feelings towards the characters and factual information. I just wonder if the story has been slightly altered in order to make it more interesting for the listener (in this case both Mr. Lockwood in the book and the reader), or to present herself in a better light. Overall, a very interesting, dark love story with some very twisted and unfortunate characters.
    • 4/5
      Catherine and Heathcliff are vindictive, manipulative, selfish and cruel characters. Despite, or perhaps because of, this their story makes for an incredibly engrossing tale of drama and revenge. It's also a little bit of a ghost story as well. Before the end of the third chapter, the reader has a sense of the melodramatic, gothic flavour of the writing. After a visitor to Wuthering Heights remarks on a nightmare he's had about a ghost clawing at his window:"[Heathcliff] got onto the bed, and wrenched open the lattice, bursting, as he pulled at it, into an uncontrollable passion of tears."Come in! come in!" he sobbed. "Cathy, do come. Oh do - once more! Oh! my heart's darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last!" (p.33)The rest of the novel is told in the form of a maid relating the history of these characters to the understandably perplexed visitor.It is basically the story of two families: the Earnshaws who live at Wuthering Heights and the Lintons who live at Thrushcross Grange, and how Heathcliff manages to almost destroy both of them. Heathcliff was an orphaned child taken in by the head of the Earnshaw family. As a little child he was friends with Catherine Earnshaw, because the two shared a wild and reckless spirit. However, before they grew up, Heathcliff was reduced to a servant and Catherine married the wealthy pretty-boy Edgar Linton. Cue Heathcliffe leaving, only to return to Wuthering Heights as a strong and wealthy man with plans for an awesome revenge. One thing about Heathcliff is that he is totally honest about what a monster he is. When he sets out to marry Isabella Linton (Catherine's sister-in-law after she marries Edgar) he does it only to hurt and torture Edgar and Isabella Linton, whom he sees as namby-pamby snobs. But before she agrees to marry him, Heathcliff strangles her little dog in front of her! The fact that she is still stupid enough to run away with him does not make his abuse of her any better, but it does make Isabella a rather stupid and unsympathetic character in her own right. Catherine Linton nee Earnshaw is a selfish and manipulative woman who plays Edgar and Heathcliff off each other - teasing and tormenting each and mocking the other behind his back. She works herself into fits to manipulate them and eventually seems to kill herself from the strain of it. But one of the most dramatic parts of the narrative is her last meeting with Heathcliff:"Let me alone. Let me alone," sobbed Catherine. "If I've done wrong, I'm dying for it. It is enough! You left me too - but I won't upbraid you! I forgive you. Forgive me!""It is hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands," he answered. "Kiss me again; and don't let me see your eyes! I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murderers - but yours! How can I?"They were silent - their faces hid against each other's tears. At least, I suppose the weeping was on both sides; as it seemed Heathcliff could weep on a great occasion like this. (p.192)If you want gothic melodrama - look no further. It's all richly entertaining - especially when Heathcliff actually digs up her grave and has a wall knocked out of her coffin. I have to admit that my interest waned a little in the second half of the novel, which deals with the next generation. Catherine's daughter, Cathy Linton is manipulated by a still vengeful Heathcliff into marrying his sickly son. Heathcliff even tortures and torments his deathly ill boy into the charade - but even the sick child is not a character one wants to sympathize with - being self-centred, malicious and sadistic. Heathcliff takes out his hatred on the Earnshaw and Linton families by trying to destroy both as thoroughly as possible - abusing, torturing and harassing even the children of those he perceived wronged him, and is only thwarted by his own insane obsession with the ghost of the dead Catherine. That there actually manages to be a somewhat happy ending for the two families is pretty remarkable. Catherine the younger, freed from her marriage to the sickly Heathcliff junior by his death, finds a surprisingly complex soul to love in that of Earnshaw's grandson, Hareton, raised as a brute by Heathcliff but willing to change for her sake. And the original Catherine and Heathcliff get to be ghosts together, haunting the moors and tormenting the poor villagers that they liked to terrify when they were living! Hey, it's a surprisingly entertaining classic - a dramatic gothic read that everybody should pick up at least once in their lifetime.
    • 4/5
      I read this as a part of the BBC's Top 100 Books. It was not a chipper tale, though I wasn't expecting it to be. Some of the characters lacked redeeming qualities, and I might have been more sympathetic to them with if I could have connected with them in some way. I appreciate the risks the author tooks as a female writer in her society.
    • 1/5
      I love 19th Century Literature, but this book was a chore. I found the characters simply unsympathetic, and the story as a whole rather boring with writing that often felt awkward or stilted, as did the story. I don't recommend this, though I certainly recommend the author's sister.
    • 5/5
      This is the ultimate love story. Heathcliff and Catherine possess the kind of passion most will never feel. Certain passages simply take my breath away, such as, "Nelly, there is a strange change approaching; I'm in its shadow at present" from near the end of the book.
    • 2/5
      Given its cultural importance, I'm glad I read this book, but it's far from a favorite. I might have liked it better if this wasn't famous as a "great romance." Certainly even a lot of what is on the romance aisle has heroes patterned after Heathcliff--the ultimate brooding Byronic "alpha hero." The problem is I loathe him and Cathy both. Am I supposed to feel sympathetic towards a guy who kills puppies? I'm not speaking metaphorically here.That said, there is a lot to admire here in a literary sense, even if in my case almost grudgingly. I like the layers of narrative here. The story is mostly filtered through a housekeeper, Nelly Dean, telling the story of Heathcliff and Cathy and those they affected to someone renting a nearby estate. The imagery, the techniques feel both modern and timeless and there's a lot of material here beyond that central romance--a lot that cycles back in the next generation in a way that speaks of healing despite Heathcliff's malign intents. I liked all that, even if I was too repulsed by Heathcliff and Cathy to count this a favorite or a story I'd ever want to read again. This is more a story of hate than love.
    • 2/5
      The introduction to my copy of this book said something like: "it's amazing that a 17-yr-old virgin could have this much insight into the depths of the human heart." To me, the book shows exactly the lack of insight into relationships that most sheltered, 17-yr old virgins have.
    • 5/5
      I refuse to review this title, but I can say its one of my favorites and not just because of twisted dark romance, but the sheer elegance of the writing and the topic which was shocking for the time period.
    • 5/5
      the characters were terrible and unlikable but their story was haunting. A love story I can never forget. The writing was also magnificent.
    • 5/5
      Me, I'm of the "I love it" camp. The characters are so vibrant and chaotic, and are real enough to evoke hatred and a strong desire to march into the book and give them all lectures/a punch in the face. Bronte's writing conveys exactly the darkness and oppression caused by Heathcliff. One of my favourite "classics".
    • 5/5
      Perhaps one of the best books ever written, how does one begin to review Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights? Suffice it to say the volume is flawless. Bronte writes with straightforward cause, telling her story through the narrative vine of Nelly, beloved servant at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Having been close to the Earnshaws and Lintons for her entire lifetime, Nelly is uniquely qualified to tell the tale of undying love and bleak revenge. Wuthering Heights has become an undying classic for a reason: ripping good storytelling with fantastic characters and effective mood. If you're looking for the definitive gothic Victorian novel, this is it. Jump in and soak up the vibe.
    • 5/5
      This is my second time read of this great epic and it's still very impressive. Nowadays everyone loves dark tales, this story of Heathcliff and Catherine is as dark as a tale can get. "A love so dark that it destroyed everyone it touched". 
    • 4/5
      I love this book because in the most of romances, the characters are almost perfect but in this case thei aren't! They have faults, tremendous faults and that's what makes the book interesting to see at what point the human nature can go and at what point pride and evil can make a love, possibly platonic fail!
    • 4/5
      Not to say that this book wasn't more than a little difficult to "break" into, when I finally was pulled in, I went on an emotional roller coaster! I felt connected to the characters and my emotions drove my enjoyment down to the last scene. It may sound cliche or corny. I hated some of the characters, but at the same time I couldn't stop reading. It was a good kind of loathing, if you know what I mean.
    • 3/5
      i listened to this. i would check to see if anyone had this on hold and no one did. so i'd be listening to it and try to renew it and someone had it on hold. this happened 3 times over at least a year. i've have to start each time from the beginning. the reading was quite good with both a man and a woman but i never really warmed to the story.
    • 3/5
      Wuthering Heights tells the tortured story of Catherine Earnshaw, the orphan Heathcliff, and the people who surround them. The story depicts a stark environment that surrounds the two soul mates and the passion that destroys almost everyone.

      Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, was the only novel written by Emily Bronte. It is classified as a Victorian Gothic novel, with a strong leaning toward Byronic Romanticism. Indeed, this novel is the epitome of a Gothic Romance- tortured souls, regret, a love that surpasses time. At the time of its publishing, it was met with mixed reviews. However, in the 20th century, it was deemed a superior classic.

      Emily Bronte was a masterful writer, who seems almost more in line with modern writers than those of her day. Wuthering Heights is the true model for the tortured love stories that seem to dominate the media these days. Heathcliff and Cathy are the ultimate tortured soul mates- one of the most well-known lines is when Cathy declares she is Heathcliff- meaning that they cannot live without the other.
      Heathcliff proves this when his life becomes a shell when she is gone. He allows the worst parts of himself to take over and treats everyone around him worse than he was treated as a child.

      I wasn't expecting to like this novel as much as I did. I tried to read it in high school, but couldn't get very far. I'd seen the movie with Laurence Olivier and thought the characters were insipid. A friend of mine and I were talking one day in April about classics and she wanted to read this, so I agreed to try it again. Boy, was I surprised. I literally couldn’t put the novel down. This book proves to me that everything deserves a second chance.
    • 1/5
      I'm pretty sure Hell is a library with nothing but Wuthering Heights on its shelves. As anyone can see from my library, I'm more than a little fond of classics. But this book is nothing short of torture. Heathcliff is an ass, Catherine is an idiot, and everyone around them is doomed. If you are tempted to read this book, seek professional help. It's the most pointless, depressing waste of time I've subjected myself to in quite some time. Seriously, this book sucks.
    • 4/5
      This was an enjoyable Gothic story, with strong characterisation and a fitting setting on the bleak moors, the rest of the world almost non-existent outside of the two houses and two families the novel centres around. It's not my favourite of the Gothic novels I've read from around this period - the plot was fairly obvious after a few pages in, and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters enough to champion their cause in the midst of all the gloom. That being said, the characters were very memorable (I shan't forget Heathcliff and his demons in a hurry), and the story was very cleverly crafted.3.5 stars - good while it lasted, but I'm glad to move on now.
    • 4/5
      A marvelously written, darkly gothic novel, but I have to admit that I like Charlotte Bronte better.
    • 4/5
      I liked it. Sometimes depressing but I found the human relationships and interactions very intriguing.
    • 5/5
      An intense story of love and hate. Most of characters aren't likable at all. I found myself hating Catherine deeply and later, Heathcliff.
    • 4/5
      A most unusual novel. Dark tale of wretched and unlikable characters, of a tormented and bold - yet unable to change his fate subjected to his time (the Victorian England) - tragic soul and his other-worldly passionate and dark love relationship, with vengeful, selfish or pathetic actions, obsessions and great tragedy, which is irritating and painful while reading; but somehow turns into a fluffy(?!), moderately sunny and comforting ending.

      Not quite pleasant and easy to read but definitely one of the most thought-provoking after: it is compelled to read it more than once.

      No. It's not about love. And it certainly is not a romance! Cathy and Heathcliff's relationship is much more complicated, messy and profound than a simple romantic love.

      On another note, has anyone been "vexed" by the narrative of this story as I was? The choice of the narrator has left much to be desired, too ambiguous and unrealiable to my liking, which, in a positive way, gives the readers the freedom to interpret as well, obviously.
    • 4/5
      I am sure every lit major has read this book! At times the sentence were too complex for my taste. I enjoyed the novel. It is very dark with very complex characters. At times I felt empaty and compassion for them and at others dislike. This book, it the opening of a cultural shift. This book talks about the dark side of English and western cultural. Values and beliefs that were so much part of the west are about to be questioned.
    • 5/5
      This book is like nothing I've ever read. Beautifully written yet filled with hateful characters and depressing scenes. Yet...yet, I loved it! Emily Bronte does what few authors are capable of doing successfully; compelling you to care for people and situations you otherwise would not. So unlike her sister, Charlotte, who created a likable, strong character in Jane Eyre, Emily creates Cathy, Heathcliff, and the rest of this brooding, spoiled, and somewhat selfish cast of characters driven to depression and madness by the pitfalls of love--both familial and romantic--and and makes you want to never stop reading about them. A true classic and one that everyone should read and keep in their library.
    • 4/5
      Although it took me a good 50 pages to really get into the story, I think this book is brilliant. The depth of the characters is amazing. Specifically, the range of emotions you go through while reading about each character. One minute you love them and the next you think they've gotten what they deserve. I was prepared for a romance and in the end, I beleive it was. Very satisfying to read and I am not surprised it has such a cult following. I will definitely read again.
    • 4/5
      Have to say I liked the black & white film better.I went into this really wanting to fall in love with Heathcliff, it just didn't happen and I can usually find the best in any vampire or Phantom of the Opera, downtrodden misunderstood victim that no one understands.I just could not find any redeeming qualities in him. Or any of the other characters either. I dare say Bronte had a bit of trouble keeping to character with Hareton, (view spoiler)I understand Heathcliffe wanted his revenge, but frankly his cruelty got a bit just out of hand. I will just stick with the Hollywood lite version of this one.It is a brilliant book, I will say that.The using of some of the same names did get a bit confusing in parts though.
    • 4/5
      Definitely a love story, if not a romance novel, this book shows how an obsessive love drives these rude and manipulative characters to a long string of despicable actions.