Unsettling and violent, Emily Brontë’s first and only novel, Wuthering Heights (1847) is nevertheless considered one of the greatest love stories of world literature. It has inspired a devoted readership and a whole series of adaptations, the latest of which, Emerald Fennell’s steamy film version (“Wuthering Heights”, 2026) borders on fan fiction. Tapping in to the rich tradition of Gothic novels, Emily Brontë (a keen reader herself) embeds Cathy and Heathcliff’s romance within a framework that reveals more than a passion that goes beyond the grave – it reveals a whole microcosm of dysfunctional family dynamics and abuse, the workings of class and race divides, set in a remote, rural Yorkshire landscape shortly before the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Come for the passion, stay for the exquisitely crafted storytelling – midnight is the perfect time to talk about the many meanings of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights!

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