Why not read Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights?
If you’re wondering why we, seemingly out of the blue, are banding together to read a novel that was published nearly 200 years ago, then look no further than all the chat on the Wuthering Heights thread, our companion thread for lamenting about the hollow marketing ploy with no respect for the original text that Emerald Fennell’s much hyped 2026 Wuthering Heights adaptation seems to be - at least, based on reviews (wouldn’t know, haven’t watched it, not going to).
In the spirit of ~the discourse~ a group of ambitious lit-freak DiSers have decided to pay the deserved respects to the original text by hosting this readalong.
Don’t worry, nobody will be staying up all night reading this to keep up, unless they really want to. We’ll keep the pace gentle for those who have limited time.
Sadly for Emily Bronte she is unable to capitalise on the amazing marketing opportunity the Emerald Fennell film would be for her book, as the text has been available in the public domain for a long time and can be found in various electronic formats on Project Gutenberg. @Ruffers has also very helpfully advised of free audiobooks including from BBC - BBC Sounds - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - Available Episodes
I propose we commence on 2nd March 2026 to give those a chance who want to get hold of a physical copy from their library, in a charity shop, on eBay etc (although note in the spirit of contempt for the shallow cynicism of the late stage capitalist mess that is Emerald Fennell’s film this is an Amazon-free readalong where possible). Of course, if you do in fact wish to stay up all night reading Wuthering Heights, you are welcome to read ahead, just try to keep your thoughts to yourself until we discuss each chapter.
The schedule
Chapters
Dates
1-4
2-8 March 2026
5-8
9-15 March 2026
9-11
16-22 March 2026
12-14
23-29 March 2026
Break
30 March-5 April 2026
15-18
6-12 April 2026
19-22
13-19 April 2026
23-26
20-26 April 2026
27-30
27 April-3 May 2026
31-34
4-10 May 2026
I have seen the 2026 Wuthering Heights adaptation
I intend to see the 2026 Wuthering Heights adaptation
I do not intend to see the 2026 Wuthering Heights adaptation
I want to join in with this but am a little nervous because I don’t want to have a negative association with reading.
Would someone who is not so good with attention and despised reading Jane Eyre at A-Level English get something out of this? I am reading a lot more than usual lately so am up for it in theory, but not sure how I’ll fare.
For reference: I have tried reading Infinite Jest three times and all three times got about 1/10th of the way through before giving up.
When I started reading classics I was quite worried about both the density of the language and difficulties with following plot that I can experience. If you don’t have much experience of reading 19th century literature it can take a little bit of zoning in and focussing on the language initially but it will get easier with practice. There are also quite a few characters with similar / the same names in Wuthering Heights but hopefully reading it at a slower pace and discussing it with friends of DiS will help clear up any confusion. A decent adaptation that doesn’t write out half the characters might also help bring the story to life.
In terms of the actual story and tone it’s really quite distinct from Jane Eyre, but it would probably depend on what you disliked about that since there are characters who are even worse than Jane’s care-givers and Mr Rochester in WH.
Thanks for sharing that, and to JP & KB. I think I might go for the JP approach of giving it a go and reserving the right to tapping out and not feeling bad about it (well only a little).
Oh no, this is a thing I particularly struggle with. Hate it in Russian novels where they alternate between first name, surname and nickname without any pattern as to which one they use when. My wife explicitly said I might not enjoy 100 Years Of Solitude for this exact reason (yes she was referring to the book haha).
Shit yeah I guess the film has got a bunch of people rushing to read it. Hopefully you can pick up a cheap second hand copy off eBay or in a charity shop if you need a physical format.
I read Jane Eyre for A Level and loathed it. Also had to read Wuthering Heights for A Level, fully expected to hate it, ended up thinking it was great.
hated Jane Eyre