The Birth of Wuthering Heights - by E Chitham

Book Synopsis

In The Birth of Wuthering Heights, Edward Chitham explores the sources of Emily Brontë's inspiration and the ways in which she composed her poetry and her one major novel This key study discusses the probable content of her unfinished second novel and also makes use of new discoveries to show that Emily Brontë was not only well-read in the classics, but that she had also made her own translations of Virgil and Horace. It also foregrounds the publishing history of Wuthering Heights, revealing how the original text was almost doubled in size from its first submission to a publishers and its final acceptance. This book, published for the first time in paperback, provides a fascinating insight into Emily Brontë's mind and working methods.

Review Quotes

'Anagramatic exploration of names, scouring of maps and locations...a startling dexterity with dates, a breathtaking clarity in complexity are all displayed in what is nothing less than a tour-de-force. For all who continue to be intrigued by the mysteries of Emily Brontë's elusive genius, this is a book to be read at a sitting and then to keep to hand. It is a fine detective book and celebration of a poet-novelist-novelist-poet who, as her sister Charlotte tells us, was never afraid of hard work.' - Brian Wilks, Brontë Society Transactions

About the Author

EDWARD CHITHAM, Education Consultant for the National Association of Gifted Children, and Assistant Staff Tutor, Open University. He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Jesus College, Cambridge. His previous work includes local history, The Black Country, a children's novel, Ghost in the Water, and many works on the Brontës. He was for three years editor of Brontë Society Transactions and is also engaged in research into the life and work Felicia Hemans.