Emily Brontë occupies a unique place in the annals of literature. Her reputation as a major novelist stands on the merits of one relatively short novel which was misunderstood and intensely disliked upon publication; yet no study of British fiction is complete without a discussion of Wuthering Heights. The names of its settings and characters, particularly Heathcliff, have become part of the heritage of Western culture, familiar even to those who have neither read the novel nor know anything about its author’s life and career. Several film versions, the two most popular in 1939 and 1970, have helped perpetuate this familiarity. -- Emily Bront� Biography