Today I’m pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for Heathcliff. My review is written with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and for providing my copy of the book.

Blurb:

“It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…”

Cathy’s immortal words from Wuthering Heights change Heathcliff’s life. At just seventeen years of age, heartbroken and penniless, he runs away to face an unknown future.

Three years later, he returns – much improved in manners, appearance and prosperity.

But what happened during those years? How could he have made his fortune, from nothing? Who might his parents have been? And what fate turned him into literature’s most famous anti-hero?

For almost two centuries, these questions have remained unanswered. Until now…

Review:

I must admit to not being a massive fan of Wuthering Heights but I was interested to see how Barnard would develop such iconic characters. Although the cast list at the beginning still comes in handy, I was impressed with the way the author has made the characters and storyline accessible to the modern reader. The language and way of speaking is much more colloquial, but is still respectful to the original novel.

Heathcliff is told from a number of viewpoints. I found this really helpful in terms of getting to know the characters, as it enabled me to see single events from multiple perspectives and think about how they may have been affected by what happened.

Through Heathcliff’s adventures in Liverpool, Barnard has the opportunity to explore themes such as slavery and prostitution. I have very little knowledge of how slavery and prostitution operated in the 18th century, but Heathcliff is clearly well researched and I enjoyed learning more.

There is a twist at the end of the novel, which brought a smile to my face.

Heathcliff is available from Amazon.