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Quick answer: If you loved Wuthering Heights, try Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Villette, Wide Sargasso Sea, Rebecca and Jamaica Inn. Each one offers a dark passion, a gothic mood or a brooding landscape that matches its characters.
Emily Brontë's only novel, published in 1847, tells of Heathcliff, an orphan taken in by the Earnshaw family on the Yorkshire moors, and his fierce love for Catherine. When she marries a wealthy neighbor, Heathcliff's revenge spreads across two families and two generations. Readers love its wild setting, its dark passion and its layered storytelling. These books share its gothic atmosphere and its obsessive, destructive love.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Setting | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë | Yorkshire | readers who want the sister classic |
| The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Anne Brontë | Yorkshire | readers who want the third sister |
| Villette | Charlotte Brontë | Fictional Belgium | readers who want a darker Charlotte |
| Wide Sargasso Sea | Jean Rhys | Caribbean | readers who like classic retellings |
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | Cornwall | readers who love a haunted house |
| Jamaica Inn | Daphne du Maurier | Cornwall | readers who love a moody moor |
| My Cousin Rachel | Daphne du Maurier | Cornwall | readers who like suspicion |
| The Thirteenth Tale | Diane Setterfield | Yorkshire | readers who want a modern gothic |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | Europe | readers who like outcasts and revenge |
| The Woman in White | Wilkie Collins | England | readers who want Victorian suspense |
| Tess of the D'Urbervilles | Thomas Hardy | Wessex | readers who want tragic love |
| Far from the Madding Crowd | Thomas Hardy | Wessex | readers who like rural settings |
| Great Expectations | Charles Dickens | England | readers who like cruelty and obsession |
| Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Mexico | readers who want a modern horror spin |
| Gone with the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | American South | readers who love selfish, passionate leads |
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
A plain governess falls for her employer, who is hiding a terrible secret.
Best for: readers who want the sister classic.
2. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
A mysterious widow reveals the truth about her cruel husband.
Best for: readers who want the third sister.
3. Villette by Charlotte Brontë
A young Englishwoman teaches at a school abroad.
Best for: readers who want a darker Charlotte.
4. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
A short novel imagines the backstory of Mr. Rochester's first wife.
Best for: readers who like classic retellings.
5. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A young bride lives in the shadow of her husband's first wife at Manderley.
Best for: readers who love a haunted house.
6. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
A young woman discovers her uncle's dark trade on Bodmin Moor.
Best for: readers who love a moody moor.
7. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
A young man falls for the widow he blames for his cousin's death.
Best for: readers who like suspicion.
8. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A famous author finally tells a young biographer her true story.
Best for: readers who want a modern gothic.
9. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A scientist creates a creature that destroys his life.
Best for: readers who like outcasts and revenge.
10. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A young teacher helps a woman uncover a cruel conspiracy.
Best for: readers who want Victorian suspense.
11. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
A country girl's life is ruined by a wealthy man and a harsh society.
Best for: readers who want tragic love.
12. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
A young farmer's love for an independent woman is tested by her other suitors.
Best for: readers who like rural settings.
13. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
An orphan named Pip falls for the cold-hearted Estella.
Best for: readers who like cruelty and obsession.
14. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A young woman goes to a decaying mansion to rescue her cousin.
Best for: readers who want a modern horror spin.
15. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Scarlett O'Hara fights to survive the Civil War and its aftermath.
Best for: readers who love selfish, passionate leads.
How to Choose
The natural next stops are the other Brontë novels. Jane Eyre is warmer and more romantic, while The Tenant of Wildfell Hall takes a critical look at the sort of man Heathcliff is. For the same dark moors, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Jamaica Inn are hard to beat, and The Thirteenth Tale offers a modern gothic story full of nods to the Brontës. If it was Heathcliff's cruelty and his hunger for revenge that gripped you, Frankenstein gives the same sense of an outcast's rage. For tragedy, read Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Readers who want a contemporary and spooky twist on the form will enjoy Mexican Gothic.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wuthering Heights about?
An orphan named Heathcliff loves Catherine Earnshaw and takes revenge when she marries another man.
Is Wuthering Heights a romance?
It is often called one, but it is also a dark story of cruelty and revenge.
Who narrates Wuthering Heights?
Mainly the housekeeper Nelly Dean, speaking to a tenant named Lockwood.
Did Emily Brontë write other novels?
No. This was her only novel, though she also wrote poetry.
Are there film versions?
Yes. There have been many, including the 1939 classic, the 2011 Andrea Arnold version and a 2026 film by Emerald Fennell.