Wuthering Heights – Interesting Literature

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Wuthering’

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the literary history of a distinctive word

During the eight years I’ve been running this blog and combing every book, website, and trivia list I can find for eye-catching literature-related facts, one of the most satisfying I’ve discovered is that Emily Brontë, who wrote the novel Wuthering Heights, and Kate Bush, who wrote the song ‘Wuthering Heights’, share a birthday: they were born on 30 July in, respectively, 1818 and 1958.

A Short Analysis of Emily Brontë’s ‘Love and Friendship’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

When she died in 1848, aged just 30, Emily Brontë had written just one novel, Wuthering Heights. Of course, that novel was a classic and remains one of the most popular and widely read Victorian novels. But Emily Brontë also wrote many poems. ‘Love and Friendship’ sees Emily Brontë reflecting on the differences between these two pillars of our emotional lives.

Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree—
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Guest Blog: Ten Interesting Facts about Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

By Laura Inman 1. Wuthering Heights was originally published as the first two volumes of a three volume novel, with Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë’s novel written at the same time, as the third volume, although the two works had nothing to do with each other. The manuscript of Wuthering Heights has never been found, nor … Read more