Emily Brontë published exactly one novel. She died the year after it appeared, aged thirty, from tuberculosis. Wuthering Heights was critically dismissed at publication as too savage, too dark, and too uncontrolled.
It is now one of the most read British novels in history. Everything about it is extreme — the landscape, the passion, the revenge — and it has been in the public domain for generations.
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What Wuthering Heights Is About
The structure is unusual: Lockwood, a visitor renting a nearby property, asks his housekeeper Nelly Dean about the strange inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Nelly tells him everything. The novel is Nelly's account of approximately thirty years of Yorkshire history, beginning with the arrival of a mysterious foundling child.
The child is Heathcliff, brought back from Liverpool by Mr Earnshaw and inserted into a family that doesn't want him. Earnshaw's son Hindley resents him. Earnshaw's daughter Catherine becomes his closest companion — something that looks like love but may be closer to two people recognising each other as the same being.
When Earnshaw dies, Hindley degrades Heathcliff to servant status. Catherine eventually marries the wealthy Edgar Linton, partly because Edgar can give her the life Heathcliff cannot. Heathcliff disappears for three years and returns rich and brutal, intent on revenge.
The second half of the novel extends the destruction to the next generation. Heathcliff doesn't just want to hurt the people who wronged him — he wants their children to inherit the consequences.
The novel's most interesting question is whether Heathcliff's love for Catherine is real. The evidence is contradictory and Brontë refuses to resolve it.
How Long Is Wuthering Heights?
| Reading speed | Time to finish |
|---|---|
| 200 WPM (slow) | ~9.8 hours |
| 250 WPM (average) | ~7.9 hours |
| 350 WPM (practised) | ~5.6 hours |
| 500 WPM (RSVP) | ~3.9 hours |
Wuthering Heights is notably shorter than Jane Eyre and can be read comfortably across a weekend.
Reading Tips for Wuthering Heights
Understand the structure first — the novel opens with Lockwood (present-tense), then shifts to Nelly Dean's narration (past), with Lockwood occasionally interrupting. This nesting can be confusing. A brief note in most editions explains it; read it before starting.
Track the two families — Earnshaws (Heathcliff, Hindley, Catherine) and Lintons (Edgar, Isabella). The second generation — Hareton Earnshaw and young Catherine Linton — matters greatly to the ending.
Use RSVP mode at 300–350 WPM — Brontë's prose is dense but rhythmically consistent. RSVP reading works well once you're past the structural complexity of the opening.
Don't try to sympathise with Heathcliff — readers who spend energy deciding whether he is sympathetic often miss what he is. He is consistent, self-knowing, and absolutely committed. That's the interest.
Joseph's dialect: don't struggle with it — context usually provides meaning, and you'll get used to it quickly.
For speed reading techniques that apply to Victorian prose, see how to read faster.
Where to Read Wuthering Heights Free
- warpread library — instant browser reading, RSVP mode, no account
- Project Gutenberg — EPUB, Kindle, text download
- Standard Ebooks — best-formatted free EPUB
The Brontë Comparison
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre were published in the same year (1847) by two sisters. The contrast is striking: Charlotte's novel is first-person, controlled, ultimately affirming; Emily's is structurally complex, morally uncomfortable, and refuses easy resolution. Reading both is one of the great paired reading experiences in English literature.
For more free classic novels, see the 50 best free classic novels to read online.
Continue Reading
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For tips on building reading speed with books like this, see How to Speed Read: 7 Proven Techniques — covering RSVP practice, subvocalisation reduction, and how to track your progress.
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