Psychological study, ghost story, gothic thriller, historical romance, religious allegory, a fable about fathomless feelings—Wuthering Heights has been subjected to countless interpretations and yet always defies categorization. The tale of Heathcliff's and Cathy's ungovernable love and suffering—and the havoc that their passion wreaks on the families of the Earnshaws and the Lintons—shocked the book's first readers, with even Emily's sister Charlotte claiming, "whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know. I scarcely think it is." Replete with unforgettable characters and situations that have seared themselves into the literary consciousness, Emily Brontë's intense masterpiece is one of the most haunting love stories in the canon of English literature.