Wuthering Heights (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

Imagine a world where the wind never rests, where the sky is always poised between storm and calm, and every stone on the moor holds a secret. This is where our journey begins, at the threshold of Wuthering Heights—a house as wild and unyielding as the landscape that surrounds it. The moors are not just a setting; they are a living, breathing presence, shaping the lives and hearts of those who dwell upon them.

Mr. Lockwood, our guide, is a man seeking solitude, but what he finds is anything but peaceful isolation. On his first approach to Wuthering Heights, he is greeted by suspicious eyes, snarling dogs, and an air thick with unspoken stories. The house stands like a fortress, battered by years of wind and weather, its very stones seeming to whisper of old feuds and lost loves. From the start, we sense that this is a place where the past is never truly buried, and where every gust of wind carries a memory.

Lockwood’s initial discomfort is palpable—he is an outsider in every sense, both to the land and to the tangled relationships he is about to uncover. The household is a puzzle: a brooding master, a bitter young woman, a silent, watchful servant. Even the dogs seem to guard more than the door. Yet, beneath the chill, there is an invitation: to look closer, to listen for the stories that echo through the halls.

The moors themselves are almost a character, their wildness reflecting the untamed emotions that will soon be revealed. They offer freedom to some, but to others, they are a prison of wind and loneliness. Isolation here is both a blessing and a curse, a space for secrets to grow and for passions to smolder.

As we end this first step on our journey, let the wind carry us forward—to the next chamber of this haunted house, where the echoes of old sorrows and joys await, and where the story truly begins to unfold.