A rare first-edition copy of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, still in its original cloth binding and complete with the novel’s well-known typographical errors, is to be auctioned at Christie’s in London on 30 June. It will be the first time this particular volume has gone under the hammer since 1908, and it is expected to sell for between £400,000 and £600,000.
Only about 250 copies of the first edition were printed in 1847, and the vast majority were later rebound for collectors or libraries. Mark Wiltshire, a books and manuscripts specialist at Christie’s, said original cloth examples are now “extremely scarce”. The book has remained in a private library for most of its life, adding to its rarity. It is being offered for sale alongside a first edition of Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey; both novels were originally published under the male pseudonyms Ellis Bell and Acton Bell, respectively.
The first edition of Wuthering Heights is notorious for its spelling mistakes, which were introduced when the manuscript was rushed into print after the success of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Wiltshire noted that even the word “heights” is occasionally misspelled in the text. When the novel first appeared, it shocked some Victorian critics, with one reviewer in 1848 condemning its “vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors”.
Since then, the story of Cathy and Heathcliff has become a cultural touchstone, inspiring Kate Bush’s 1978 pop-operatic song and numerous film and television adaptations. The most recent big-screen version, directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, has drawn fresh attention to the novel. Wiltshire described the book as a work that “artists return to again and again because of its emotional force, its atmosphere, and its psychological intensity”.
For UK audiences, the auction coincides with renewed interest in Brontë’s work, and the novel itself remains widely available. Readers can find Wuthering Heights on BBC iPlayer as part of past adaptations, and the 2025 film is expected to stream on major platforms later this year. The novel has also been recognised by the BAFTA and Brit Awards through adaptations and musical tributes over the decades.