Book Anatomy · Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights: Commercial facts
13 lenses on commercial facts for Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L12 L13
L1. Total word count. Count
1847, 117,006 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L2. Chapter count and average length. Count
1847, 117,006 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L3. Length against modern norms for the genre. Both
117,006 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules.
At 117,000 words, book is long for Gothic romance but standard for Victorian novel. Modern Gothic romance typically 80,000 to 100,000 words. Length justified by dual narrative frame and two-generation plot. Pacing tight despite length; few digressions.
L4. First published as a serial or a volume? Research
1847, 117,006 words. See the full lens on the book page.
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L5. Serial instalment breaks and how each ends. Both
Book not serialised. Published as single volume in 1847. If serialised, natural breaks would occur at chapter 9 (Heathcliff's departure), chapter 16 (Catherine's death), chapter 27 (Catherine's captivity), chapter 33 (Heathcliff's confession). Each ends with major revelation or cliffhanger.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 16, Ch 27, Ch 33
L6. Sales and reviews in its day. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L7. Adaptations: film, TV, stage, count and type. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L8. Sequels and series. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L9. Modern books in the same mould (comps). AI
Modern comps: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Gothic mystery, second wife, haunting past); The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (dual narrative, family secrets, supernatural); Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (isolated house, obsessive love, Gothic atmosphere); The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell (period Gothic, psychological horror).
L10. Who it would be shelved for today. AI
Shelved today as: Gothic romance, Victorian literature, dark romance, psychological thriller. Appeals to readers of atmospheric Gothic, complex love stories, and literary fiction. Crossover appeal to fantasy readers interested in supernatural elements. Academic interest in feminist critique of female agency.
L11. Content notes. AI
Content notes: domestic violence, emotional abuse, child neglect and abuse, death in childbirth, grief-induced illness, obsessive behaviour, class prejudice, brief sexual coercion (Isabella's elopement), alcohol abuse, psychological torment, supernatural horror elements.
Chapters: Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 17, Ch 27, Ch 30
L12. A modern pitch line and blurb. AI
Pitch: A foundling's obsessive love and thirst for revenge destroy a family across two generations. When Heathcliff returns wealthy to the Yorkshire moors, he systematically ruins those who wronged him, but his greatest torment is the ghost of the woman he loved and lost. Blurb: Wuthering Heights is a dark, passionate tale of love, revenge, and redemption set on the wild moors of Yorkshire. When the mysterious Heathcliff returns to claim his place in society, his obsession with the beautiful Catherine Earnshaw threatens to consume everyone around him.
L13. Title style against genre norms. AI
Title style typical of Victorian Gothic: place-name plus atmospheric descriptor. Echoes Jane Eyre (place-name), Rebecca (single word suggesting mystery). Avoids character names; emphasises setting as character. Fits Gothic genre norms of the era. Modern reissues sometimes add subtitle: 'A Tale of Passion and Revenge.'
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Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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