Historical fiction book · Curated
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë · historical fiction
Lockwood, new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, takes shelter at Wuthering Heights and hears how the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw loved each other on the Yorkshire moors—until Cathy married Edgar Linton, died in childbirth, and Heathcliff’s revenge closed on the next generation at both houses. Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel is eighteenth-century gothic literary historical fiction of obsessive love, class, and a house that will not let the dead go.
Why read it: A perennial title-search gothic novel—the Brontë classic readers still look up by name, and a moorland counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
About this historical novel
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is historical fiction set around 1771–1802 in the Early modern / Regency / Napoleonic period with key settings including Wuthering Heights, Thrushcross Grange, Yorkshire moors, England. Lockwood, new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, takes shelter at Wuthering Heights and hears how the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw loved each other on the Yorkshire moors—until Cathy married Edgar Linton, died in childbirth, and Heathcliff’s revenge closed on the next generation at both houses. Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel is eighteenth-century gothic literary historical fiction of obsessive love, class, and a house that will not let the dead go.
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction and 2. Historical romance so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include obsession, revenge, class, moors, and gothic. A perennial title-search gothic novel—the Brontë classic readers still look up by name, and a moorland counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
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Plot summary
Lockwood, new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, takes shelter at Wuthering Heights and hears how the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw loved each other on the Yorkshire moors—until Cathy married Edgar Linton, died in childbirth, and Heathcliff’s revenge closed on the next generation at both houses. Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel is eighteenth-century gothic literary historical fiction of obsessive love, class, and a house that will not let the dead go. A perennial title-search gothic novel—the Brontë classic readers still look up by name, and a moorland counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
Subgenres
Eras
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Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- A Tale of Two Cities · Charles Dickens
After eighteen years in the Bastille, Dr Manette is restored to his daughter Lucie in London—then the French Revolution draws an exiled aristocrat, a wasted English lawyer, and the Manettes back to Paris and the shadow of the Guillotine. Dickens’s novel is historical fiction of 1775–1793 London and Paris: sacrifice, revenge, and the best and worst of times.
- Jane Eyre · Charlotte Brontë
Orphaned Jane Eyre survives Gateshead and Lowood, then takes a governess post at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with the brooding Edward Rochester—and discovers the secret locked on the third floor that makes their wedding impossible. Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel is Regency gothic historical romance: a woman who will not be owned, and the most famous governess courtship in English fiction.
- Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen
When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley takes Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet is determined to marry off a daughter—but it is the proud Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth Bennet’s first impression of him, that turns a Hertfordshire season into the most famous courtship in English fiction. Jane Austen’s 1813 novel is Regency historical romance of manners, money, and a woman who will not marry without respect.
- Sense and Sensibility · Jane Austen
When Henry Dashwood dies, his widow and daughters are turned out of Norland: Elinor conceals her attachment to Edward Ferrars, while Marianne throws her heart at the dashing John Willoughby—until secret engagements, a broken ankle at Cleveland, and the marriage market of Barton and London test both sisters. Jane Austen’s 1811 novel is Regency historical romance of sense mixed with sensibility, and of two women who will not be saved by feeling alone.
- Middlemarch · George Eliot
In a Midlands town on the eve of the 1832 Reform Act, idealistic Dorothea Brooke marries the dry scholar Casaubon, while ambitious doctor Tertius Lydgate is drawn to beautiful, expensive Rosamond Vincy—two marriages, and a whole province of clergy, bankers, and gossips, testing what a life is for. George Eliot’s novel is Reform-era historical fiction of vocation, money, and the unhistoric acts that shape an English town.
- Vanity Fair · William Makepeace Thackeray
Becky Sharp leaves finishing school with nothing but wit and climbs Regency England beside gentle Amelia Sedley—through London drawing rooms, a disastrous marriage, and the chaos of Waterloo. Thackeray’s novel without a hero is Napoleonic-era historical fiction of class, hypocrisy, and a social war fought as fiercely as the one on the Belgian field.
Regions & places
Britain & Ireland
Wuthering Heights · Thrushcross Grange · Yorkshire moors · England
Themes
- obsession
- revenge
- class
- moors
- gothic
Tags
classic · literary · gothic