Product Description

This new edition of Emily Brontë's classic 1847 novel uses the authoritative Clarendon text. Patsy Stoneman's introduction considers the bewildering variety of critical interpretation to which the novel has been subject, as well as offering some provocative new insights for the modern reader.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #350178 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
"Ideal for the college survey course: judicious introduction plus just the right admixture of explanatory notes (vital for American students' comprehension of dialect words), up-to-date bibliography, and several other brief, indispensable supports to well-informed reading."--Katherine Linehan, Oberlin College

About the Author
Patsy Stoneman is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Hull.

Customer Reviews

Classic that fits no genre
WH is, essentially, a story about turbulent people living in a turbulent place. I don’t think Bronte meant her characters to fit certain “social types” or be analogies for something else but to be real people unfortunately in very difficult circumstances and I believe that is how WH is best read.
As dark, haunting and changeable as the other Bronte sisters’ infamous classic: Charlotte’s Jane Eyre is personal and gently loving- the two novels are both works of genius but a million miles from each other. However, both have wonderful descriptions of the Yorkshire moors and a sense of real feeling behind their story line.
One of WH strengths is its change of narrative voice- there are two main narrators and letters and other media between. This gives a sense of many people affected by one story thus heightening the strength of Heathcliff and Cathy’s passion.
The end of WH is one of the most discussed in literature and if you are reading it for the first time the question of whether it’s happy or not will occupy you for a long time.
With so much literary criticism spent on WH it is difficult to add original comments. So I would simply urge you, if you haven’t read it yet, to get a copy- it will live with you forever.

WOW!
Right, where do i begin??? how did i ever live without reading this book?? i was told by some idiot that it was boring which put me off for a while, but i read it recently and was totally blown away!! It is honestly the most intense, passionate, maddening book i've ever read. It starts out strong and keeps on going, i actually had to force myself not to read it all in one night and to save some for the next day! Emily Bronte uses such powerful imagery in her prose that it just stuns you. The setting of the story in the Yorkshire moors was absolutely fitting, i doubt that if it had been set anywhere else it couldn't have possibly been half as powerful. The moors add to the air of mystery, gloom, beauty, passion,love, and tragedy. Heathcliff and Cathy are definately the most interesting and intense pair of lovers i have ever read of. Heathcliff especially provokes me, mostly because i cannot decide whether i love or hate him, and that is but one part of the genius of this book. Heathcliff is the hero/anti-hero of the book and just so utterly fascinating a character. The best ingredient of this masterpiece is the fact that the story takes place in such a secluded region, with equally interesting characters, away from the social niceties and civilities that are common in other books of this time. Therefore, the passion and tragedy of the love and hatred in this story is more strongly felt. I could honestly go on forever but i'll spare all you readers out there. All i will say is that you definately must read this book, i know that this is horribly cliche but it truly is one of the best books i have ever read in my life! You will not be sorry.

Can be revisited time and time again... A rare quality!
Having first read the novel at a young age, it struck me as a tragic love story. A novel with a strikingly resonant feel of modern teenage angst, yet with the grandeur, only a Bronte classic can achieve. However, my interest of the novel took on exciting new depths when I studied it in my University years. A multi-generic plot emerged, and unusually, a book appraised widely within the class! It took me another couple of years to explore the different theories of the tale, which led me to persue the task more fully through my final year dissertation. I focused upon a reading of masculinity and patriarchy in the text, as much of the criticism focuses upon a feminist perspective. However, the feminist angle can not be ignored and a particularly influential account can be found in Gilbert and Gubar's 'The Madwoman in the Attic'. (Essay: Emily Bronte and The Bible of Hell).

I can certainly recommend this classic to all ages and, for those of you forced to study this book at school, it is a relief to find so much interesting and varied criticism on the text. Most of all, enjoy it, and when you've finished, you'll find it difficult not to pick it up and enjoy it all over again!