EPISODE · Mar 24, 2025 · 27 MIN
Novel Approaches: ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë
from Close Readings · host London Review of Books
When Wuthering Heights was published in December 1847, many readers didn’t know what to make of it: one reviewer called it ‘a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors’. In this episode of ‘Novel Approaches’, Patricia Lockwood and David Trotter join Thomas Jones to explore Emily Brontë’s ‘completely amoral’ novel. As well as questions of Heathcliff’s mysterious origins and ‘obscene’ wealth, of Cathy’s ghost, bad weather, gnarled trees, even gnarlier characters and savage dogs, they discuss the book’s intricate structure, Brontë’s inventive use of language and the extraordinary hold that her story continues to exert over the imaginations of readers and non-readers alike. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrna In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsna Read more in the LRB: David Trotter: Heathcliff Redounding https://lrb.me/nabronte1 John Bayley: Kitchen Devil https://lrb.me/nabronte2 Alice Spawls: If It Weren’t for Charlotte https://lrb.me/nabronte3 Patricia Lockwood: What a Bear Wants https://lrb.me/nabronte4 Buy this book from the London Review Bookshop: https://lrb.me/crbooklist Audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksna Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
When Wuthering Heights was published in December 1847, many readers didn’t know what to make of it: one reviewer called it ‘a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors’. In this episode of ‘Novel Approaches’, Patricia Lockwood and David Trotter join Thomas Jones to explore Emily Brontë’s ‘completely amoral’ novel. As well as questions of Heathcliff’s mysterious origins and ‘obscene’ wealth, of Cathy’s ghost, bad weather, gnarled trees, even gnarlier characters and savage dogs, they discuss the book’s intricate structure, Brontë’s inventive use of language and the extraordinary hold that her story continues to exert over the imaginations of readers and non-readers alike. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrna In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsna Read more in the LRB: David Trotter: Heathcliff Redounding https://lrb.me/nabronte1 John Bayley: Kitchen Devil https://lrb.me/nabronte2 Alice Spawls: If It Weren’t for Charlotte https://lrb.me/nabronte3 Patricia Lockwood: What a Bear Wants https://lrb.me/nabronte4 Buy this book from the London Review Bookshop: https://lrb.me/crbooklist Audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksna Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Novel Approaches: ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë
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