Are There Any Differences In The First Edition Of Wuthering Heights?

Question

Reading early printings of Bronte's classic, my edition has a different ending. Are textual changes or missing chapters in the original 1847 version common among hardcore collectors?

Emmanuel Elimanco · Answer

Then there is Wuthering Heights by the Brontës. The differences between the editions of this Brontë novel are largely to do with the text’s provenance. The first edition of Wuthering Heights (1847) was the only edition of the novel to be supervised by the author herself, long before the numerous modern critical editions complete with scholarly notes and often amended text from the author’s manuscript. One can sense how important an author’s ‘first edition’ is to them and how their initial vision is of paramount importance. I am currently reading a new story that is being released on a serialized basis. This story is called The First Heir and it is about a man who discovers that he is the main beneficiary of a disputed will. In order to confirm his inheritance, he must investigate the circumstances of his father’s sudden death. But as he delves deeper into the empire his father built, he discovers that there are many others who are as determined to claim the inheritance for themselves. A real corporate thriller and a great exploration of the themes of legacy and identity.

Xavier · Answer

There are some slight variations in word choice between my Penguin Classics version of Wuthering Heights and this facsimile of the first edition. For example, in the passage where Heathcliff declares that Cathy’s ghost is haunting him, a change in punctuation creates a greater sense of panic. Also, the first edition contains more vernacular and uses greater quantities of Yorkshire dialect than the standardized version found in later editions. This in turn affects the reader’s perception of the novel’s atmosphere and of the overall ‘gothic’ setting and tone of the novel.

Yvette · Answer

The paratext of the first edition (title page and preface) is of special interest to the book historian. The use of a male pen name by Emily Brontë for her joint publications with her sisters (under male names) led to initial misperceptions. The preface to the second edition of the novel, written by her sister Charlotte and added to the 1850 edition, created a softer impression of Emily Brontë, the ‘native and nursling of the moors’ as her sister called her. Viewing the first edition of the novel with its raw portrayal of the love between Catherine and Heathcliff by itself without the preceding praise by Charlotte, is especially radical.

Wyatt · Answer

As a literature enthusiast who loves classic novels I have been comparing several different editions of ‘Wuthering Heights’. The first edition was written by Emily Brontë under the pseudonym Ellis Bell in 1847. The text has many more punctuation errors and contains a lot of unconventional spellings. Most of these have been corrected in later editions but they add to the raw and untamed feel of the novel and reflect the wild setting of the Yorkshire moors as well as the nature of the main character Heathcliff.

Additionally, often an important factor in relation to classic literature such as Wuthering Heights, is the way the chapters are divided up and how this differs in comparison to subsequent single-volume editions of the novel. Furthermore, an interesting point to note in relation to the first edition of Wuthering Heights is that there were very mixed reviews from early critics and reviewers. Many were taken aback by the authors exploration of dark themes, which were far removed from more recent and later sanitized versions of the novel.

Keira · Answer

The first edition of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my collectible vintage books. Not only is the book old, but the typesetting is very different from modern books. The older fonts are generally closer together on the page which creates a much denser reading experience. This original edition of Wuthering Heights does not have the same editorial enhancements that are found in modern editions of the book. Dialect words such as 'wuthering' are not italicized or footnoted, thus leaving the reader to understand their context. Some of the rough language and unpolished prose that the later editors smoothed out to make more readable is also left intact. The binding of an early edition of this novel is also quite different from that found in current novels. Early editions of Wuthering Heights were bound in dark cloth with simple gilt lettering on the cover. Modern editions typically have much more elaborate covers featuring illustrations.

Sabrina Casher · Answer

For those unfamiliar with the experience of old books, let me just say that the first edition of Jane Eyre from 1847 has a very distinct smell. Now, aside from that scent, there is one main difference readers of Jane Eyre may notice between the original 19th century first edition and the modern edition. For one, the lack of additional paragraph breaks throughout the novel, with some sections feeling dense with large blocks of text. Victorian printers worked with a very limited budget and thus printed matters with extreme economy of space. As a result, long stretches of dialogue are presented to the reader in solid, unbroken blocks of text. This type of text demands close attention from the reader. In terms of the mood and atmosphere of the novel, it can be said that the first edition of Jane Eyre presents the reader with a very claustrophobic and even frantic take on the character’s arguments and their interactions. It is a very difficult read, but it is also a very immersive one. The lack of white space between paragraphs and between sections of dialogue serves to drive home the oppressive and inescapable nature of the characters’ and of their surroundings. The first edition is, quite literally, a physical manifestation of the novel’s mood.

denthoughts · Answer

Wuthering Heights is a novel obsessed with origins, legacy and corruption. Heathcliff wants to return to a past time when things were different, to reverse the corruption of the Earnshaw blood and the Linton blood. Our own scholar obsession with the first edition mirrors our obsession with the Heights and the Grange. We want the pure, original, uncorrupted text before any editorial interference began to mediate it. But then our own Heathcliff like quest for the pure text can also destroy the pleasure of reading it. A good readable modern edition can be our Nelly Dean, enabling us to read and enjoy this difficult and strange novel without becoming Heathcliff like in our ambition.

Larry Allen · Answer

A book’s material history can become legendary. It is well known that the first edition of Wuthering Heights was not a great success when first published and therefore was printed in relatively small numbers. As with all old books, many have perished over the years. The differences between versions of a book are bibliographic ghosts, of interest to collectors and those who buy and sell books at auction. Some versions of a book are more rare than others and the rarest are the first edition, first issue, which includes certain ads in the back. Of most interest to readers of the story itself is the difference in early critical reaction to the un-prefaced raw novel and the conditioned novel that we read today, 150 years on from its first publication, complete with Charlotte Bronte’s apologetic preface. Reading the 1847 text is as close as we get to the shock of the first readers of the book.

Tim Collinsworth · Answer

Audiobook listeners won’t care about any of this, as the version of the book they are listening to is the version defined by the narrator’s interpretation and performance of the text. Will it be read in a posh, theatrical style or in a rough, northern accent? Whatever, the difference between editions of the book as written in 1847 will pale into insignificance when compared to the effect of a couple of commas, as read. Some versions of the book may be near modern edited versions, whilst others will claim to follow the first edition most closely. But you’ll never hear the differences in spelling, or the use of dashes rather than parentheses. What you will hear is the impact of the narrator’s use of tone, pace and stress – and that is all that matters to the listener. So, if you’re wondering about the differences between editions as potential material for your next reading, remember that the book as printed is a different entity from the book as heard. The physical old book is one thing, but the voice in your ear is another kind of magic altogether.

Mark Blake · Answer

For the sake of curiosity, I went on a research trip for a project. Basically, the few textual differences are all minor. Emily died in 1848 so there was no second edition by her, with her revising etc. Charlotte (and others) edited later 19thc. editions but the main change of note was her 1850 preface which attempted to give a framework to EH’s wild, innovative work. However, this preface is not included in the 1847 edition. Thus, the most ‘authorial’ text would appear to be the first edition prior to interference from family members. (Modern scholarly editions reproduce the 1847 text as near as possible and list any edits of a trivial nature to clarify a sentence etc. for example the Oxford World’s Classics edition by Ian Jack includes a few such corrections in footnotes but the main text is as it was in 1847).

Sophia Bendel · Answer

Who cares about that? A few tiny typos in a book from 1847 are of little concern to most people. The novel’s power is found in the deep character study, the Gothic atmosphere, and the bleak Yorkshire setting. One can even read a very poorly scanned PDF of a Wuthering Heights edition and still get the full impact of the novel. Edition notes and variants are the obsession of gatekeepers who want to make classic literature a club that they can be part of. Read the book in whatever format you can get your hands on. The story of Heathcliff’s revenge and Catherine’s ‘I am Heathcliff’ declaration is far greater than the sum of any paper it is printed on and any typographical errors that may exist in that print. So, let’s not worry about all of this bibliographic anxiety and simply read and enjoy.

Are There Any Differences In The First Edition Of Wuthering Heights?

11 Answers

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