Wuthering Heights

By: Emily Brontë

Narrated by: Patricia Routledge

Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The passionate and tragic story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff is one of the high points of 19th-century Romantic literature. In the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff, and in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors of its setting, Wuthering Heights creates a world of its own, conceived with a disregard for convention and an instinct for poetry and the darkest depths of the human soul in torment.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

It wasn't what I expected, I'm so glad I listened!

What did you love best about Wuthering Heights?

The layers of generational issues and ending that I didn't see coming.

What did you like best about this story?

The way that the author used Ellen Dean to narrate the story and then the way that Mr. Lockwood narrated from his view and then the author handed the story back to Nellie for a wonderful finish. Made me realize that the 1800's and 2012 are not that different when it comes to family disfunction.

What does Patricia Routledge bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The passion she read with for some of the characters moved my emotions.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh yes!! I cried, I was spooked, I was horrified, I was angry and in the end I was pleased.

Any additional comments?

Sometimes I had a hard time understanding Joseph's accent.Fantastic book and I now understand why it is on the Classic Literature list.

Stunning Performance!

Patricia Routledge delivers a Tour de Force in her narration of Bronte's haunting classic. Mesmerizing.

Gifted Narrator

Routledge brought this classic story to life with her fantastic acting and perfect pacing. A performance deserving of an encore.

There is a reason this is considered a classic

Wow, they just don't write books like this anymore! Made even better listening to this narrator. Such complex characters and a storyline that make you even like the villain. If you've never read it, you must!

Complex tale of love and (mostly) hate

Is there anything you would change about this book?

People often complain that there are no likeable characters in Wuthering Heights, and I agree with that. However, that is not a change I would make. I didn't mind hating everyone. But if you look to the classic romances in order to fall in love, find something else to read. There's no one to love here.

Would you be willing to try another book from Emily Brontë? Why or why not?

Yes. Wuthering Heights is imaginative and well-written.

Have you listened to any of Patricia Routledge’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard any of Routledge's other performances, but this one was lively. Unlike many female performers, she performed both male and female voices well. I have to admit I had a bit of trouble understanding Joseph's thick Yorkshire accent, but he's pretty inconsequential to the story - you can pretty much assume that it's just a lot of hateful, self-righteous gibberish.

A fantastic audiobook

Wurthering Heights is one of my favorite stories, it was nice to revisit this age old classic read exceptionally well by the narrator who really maintains her character voices and fully conveys the intended emotion with her delivery.
Outstanding performance by the narrator and I will look for more books read by this lady.
Impressed.

Beautifully read by Routldge

The movie with Olivier and Oberon don't do justice to this complex story. Exquisitely read.

A classic

A classic I have wanted to read for a long time. Love the Audible version with the narrator bringing the characters to life!

Stirring and unsettling. Didn't want to stop listening.

A great listen of this classic. The characters pull at many emotions while the tale of their desperate lives unfolds.

This is the narrator!! Choose this one!!

First off, I must say that there are several narrators to choose from to listen to for this book. This one, Patricia Routledge, is absolutely amazing! Her range of characterizations seem to know no end! She is so believable at all times! I often had a hard time believing this was all read by one person! Wow!!!

I hesitate to give this book even four stars, not because I don’t think it is a classic. It is. But it is so dark. There is so much unhappiness and fear, and so many angry people in it. It is hard to find the redeeming value. I want to shake some of them (that seems to be the thing to do during this time period when you want to bring people to their senses) because they are so oblivious to reality. I’m glad it didn’t go on much longer. I couldn’t have stood it!

Another thing about this book is that there weren’t a lot of lovable characters. Certainly neither Heathcliff nor Cathrine were very lovable. Nor was Isabella. Perhaps Edmond, what we knew of him, could be said to be lovable. He was certainly loving, but we didn’t see that much of him. Linton Heathcliff was too pathetic and spoiled to really be lovable. I suppose Ellen was the most lovable of all. She is a strong, determined character and for that I admire her. Young Cathrine ended up having some redeeming qualities, but she went through a lot before any of that shone through.

It also seems like people just died because they were tired of living. Or they developed a cough and whoop, they were gone. Maybe that was 19th century reality. By and large, this is not a story that gives you the warm fuzzies. It’s rather more like Frankenstein.

Still I’m glad I reread it—I had read it as a young girl, but did not remember much of it, other than it was very dark, and the protagonist was named Heathcliff, not a name easily forgotten. This book is beautifully written and just the masterful use of language makes it a pleasure to read. I love that about Victorian novels. I guess that is why some of us keep coming back to them.