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Brontë Omnibus
This omnibus includes: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Jane Eyre, the story of a young girl and her passage into adulthood, was an immediate commercial success at the time of its original publication in 1847. Its representation of the underside of domestic life and the hypocrisy behind religious enthusiasm drew both praise and bitter criticism, while Charlotte Brontë's striking expose of poor living conditions for children in charity schools as well as her poignant portrayal of the limitations faced by women who worked as governesses sparked great controversy and social debate. Jane Eyre, Brontë's best-known novel, remains an extraordinary coming-of-age narrative, and one of the great classics of literature.
Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, the year before the author's death at the age of thirty, endures today as perhaps the most powerful and intensely original novel in the English language. The epic story of Catherine and Heathcliff plays out against the dramatic backdrop of the wild English moors, and presents an astonishing metaphysical vision of fate and obsession, passion and revenge. "Only Emily Brontë," V. S. Pritchett said, "exposes her imagination to the dark spirit." And Virginia Woolf wrote, "Hers...is the rarest of all powers. She could free life from its dependence on facts...by speaking of the moor make the wind blow and the thunder roar."
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final epistolary novel by Anne Brontë, published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant phenomenal success but after Anne's death her sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication.
The novel is framed as a letter from Gilbert Markham to his friend and brother-in-law about the events leading to his meeting his wife.
A mysterious young widow arrives at Wildfell Hall, an Elizabethan mansion which has been empty for many years, with her young son. She lives there under an assumed name, Helen Graham, and very soon finds herself the victim of local slander. Refusing to believe anything scandalous about her, Gilbert Markham discovers her dark secrets. In her diary Helen writes about her husband's physical and moral decline through alcohol and the world of debauchery and cruelty from which she has fled. This passionate novel of betrayal is set within a moral framework tempered by Anne's optimistic belief in universal salvation.
Jane Eyre, the story of a young girl and her passage into adulthood, was an immediate commercial success at the time of its original publication in 1847. Its representation of the underside of domestic life and the hypocrisy behind religious enthusiasm drew both praise and bitter criticism, while Charlotte Brontë's striking expose of poor living conditions for children in charity schools as well as her poignant portrayal of the limitations faced by women who worked as governesses sparked great controversy and social debate. Jane Eyre, Brontë's best-known novel, remains an extraordinary coming-of-age narrative, and one of the great classics of literature.
Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, the year before the author's death at the age of thirty, endures today as perhaps the most powerful and intensely original novel in the English language. The epic story of Catherine and Heathcliff plays out against the dramatic backdrop of the wild English moors, and presents an astonishing metaphysical vision of fate and obsession, passion and revenge. "Only Emily Brontë," V. S. Pritchett said, "exposes her imagination to the dark spirit." And Virginia Woolf wrote, "Hers...is the rarest of all powers. She could free life from its dependence on facts...by speaking of the moor make the wind blow and the thunder roar."
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final epistolary novel by Anne Brontë, published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant phenomenal success but after Anne's death her sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication.
The novel is framed as a letter from Gilbert Markham to his friend and brother-in-law about the events leading to his meeting his wife.
A mysterious young widow arrives at Wildfell Hall, an Elizabethan mansion which has been empty for many years, with her young son. She lives there under an assumed name, Helen Graham, and very soon finds herself the victim of local slander. Refusing to believe anything scandalous about her, Gilbert Markham discovers her dark secrets. In her diary Helen writes about her husband's physical and moral decline through alcohol and the world of debauchery and cruelty from which she has fled. This passionate novel of betrayal is set within a moral framework tempered by Anne's optimistic belief in universal salvation.
705 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 1982
32 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Emily Brontë
1,608 books14k followersEmily Brontë was an English novelist and poet whose singular contribution to literature, Wuthering Heights, is now celebrated as one of the most powerful and original novels in the English language. Born into the remarkable Brontë family on 30 July 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, she was the fifth of six children of Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë, an Irish clergyman. Her early life was marked by both intellectual curiosity and profound loss. After the death of her mother in 1821 and the subsequent deaths of her two eldest sisters in 1825, Emily and her surviving siblings— Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell—were raised in relative seclusion in the moorland village of Haworth, where their imaginations flourished in a household shaped by books, storytelling, and emotional intensity.
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 30, 2008
I only read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. They were written very well and I give Jane Eyre five stars. However, Wuthering Heights was too grim and morbid a story although written beautifully so I give it four stars.
September 27, 2008
Jane Eyre-Bronte's development of such a moral and courageous woman is to be applauded. We need more of these heroines in our day and time!
Working on reading the others
Working on reading the others
August 25, 2008
I love Jane Eyre! Fell in love with it in High School and still love it.
January 4, 2019
Love love love
October 15, 2025
Interesting reading these back to back. Aspects come out such as how much they were presumably writing to entertain each other with their own insider story hooks. It took on the feel of fanfic a bit once I started noticing revisions I assumed were for an immediate audience, for overly long stories published serially. They became more approachable viewed that way.
May 2, 2008
Jane Eyre:
I had a hard time getting into this book at first. At the time I was very busy. It was a sweet and sad story. It has a surprising twist and is still very romantic.
I couldn't just find "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. I haven't read the other two books listed with this but I do want to read Wuthering Heights.
I had a hard time getting into this book at first. At the time I was very busy. It was a sweet and sad story. It has a surprising twist and is still very romantic.
I couldn't just find "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. I haven't read the other two books listed with this but I do want to read Wuthering Heights.
June 2, 2015
Pretty much what I expected: Victorian gothic melodrama spewed all over the place. Not really what I'd call an excellent book; I had no special love for any of the characters, and the story was of course slightly silly. And yet, I had the irresistible urge to finish it.
April 30, 2008
I only read Jane Eyre, and I loved it. I surprised myself and my lack of morals, when I found myself wishing Jane would just forget about Mr. Whatever_his_name_is crazy, phyco wife and run away with him- Are you shocked with me :)!!!!
May 3, 2008
Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books. It is a little wordy, but so, so amazing. I have read Wuthering Heights. I don't like it as well, but it is a good dark, crazy people story.
I ave not read "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." Is it good?
I ave not read "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." Is it good?
May 3, 2008
I've only read Jane Eyre from this book. I read it in college for a lit class so that might be why I was so into it. But I really did like it!
May 10, 2008
liked them all, but i'm a sucker for the classics
May 10, 2008
I tried to find "Jane Eyre" alone, but couldn't. It's a classic love story and I adored it :)
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September 27, 2009currently reading jane eyre, read w. heights and the tenant, loved both. these books have restored my faith in female writers.
June 21, 2010
Simply amazing. The Bronte sisters really don't need any explanation.
January 14, 2011
I love all the classics, especially the Bronte' sisters.
May 22, 2011
I love having these three classics together in one volume with an interesting cover.
July 8, 2012
I have read them all, but it is really only Jane Eyre that I love and have read repeatedly.
July 30, 2014
Thumbs up to Wuthering Heights which is the least romantic story ever, and to Jane Eyre, but I can't get into Wildfell at all.
March 14, 2015
I liked all three stories. Many reoccurring themes in all three stories. Abandonment by the father, alcoholism and abuse, working as governesses. Makes me wonder how much was from their real life.
February 2, 2008
These are definitely the three best of the Brontes.
July 9, 2009
tenant is suprising
theme governess, victorian woman , legal
theme governess, victorian woman , legal
August 24, 2011
Loved all three stories but I think The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was my favorite.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews