Catherine – Essie Fox

Published By: Orenda
Pages: 296
Released On: 12/02/2026

With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw’s death leaves Hindley, Catherine’s brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude.

Desperate to protect him, Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the handsome heir to Thrushcross Grange. She believes his wealth might free Heathcliff from cruelty – but her choice is fatally misunderstood, and their lives spiral into a storm of passion, jealousy and revenge.

Now, eighteen years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and seek redemption.

*****

Thanks to Anne at Random Things Book Tours for the copy of this title in return for an honest review and spot on the book tour.

Hmmmm a retelling of Wuthering Heights…one of the most loved stories with the most loved characters in it. This could spell disaster. But surely in Essie’s hands, it can’t be anything but magical, right?

There’s 47 chapters which makes it roughly 6 pages a chapter, which is good as I like a quick chapter, it helps add to the frenzied pace.

The writing is so lyrical and poetic. It has the same feel of a classical novel, which fits the story, but it’s easier to read (as enjoyable as they are, we all admit that classics can be harder to read than more contemporary stories).

You think you know these characters, and their heart is still there, but Essie has given them a new lease of life, without completely stomping over what makes them them.

Some of it is uncomfortable reading, particularly regarding Heathcliff’s skin colour, but you do have to accept that this story is of its time and that was the norm then, and Essie has handled it very sensitively.

It’s been a long time since I last read Wuthering Heights – we’re talking 15+ years – an I thought I had forgotten a lot of it, but something was clearly still there because I kept recognising bits which was lovely to see.

I read this one January evening when it was dark and freezing and it was absolutely hammering it down outside, and it was just the perfect time to get lost in this delightfully dark story.

There were a few bits that were perhaps more drawn out than I personally felt they needed to be but that is the tiniest little thing. Not really a complaint, more of an observation.

I’m not sure there is an historical figure or topic Essie can’t write about.

I’ve read three of Essie’s books now and this is hands down her best one.