A midnight storm rages around lonely Wuthering Heights, and a miserable ghost claws at the window. We are taken backwards in time, to the beginning of the story of the Earnshaws and Lintons: the separation of spiritual twins, the bitter, repeated clashes, and the doom that seems inescapable for these two families. The tale unravels in a bleak environment that seems hostile to human life and love. But the savagery at work outside is nothing compared to the cruelty the characters inflict upon one another. Wuthering Heights illustrates the violent ruin of passionate natures as few other novels have. Solitude, pain, and loss were all part of Emily Brontë’s own life. In creating her 1847 masterpiece, she drew upon her childhood experiences in an isolated English home much like Wuthering Heights. But she also relied upon her brilliant imagination and a superb talent for detail to depict the finest nuances of her characters’ language, gestures, and dress. This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary and reader’s notes to help the modern reader contend with Brontë’s complex characters and vocabulary. We hope that Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Editions will make your reading more enjoyable and perhaps more meaningful.