The Republic of Heaven

I had to post this sooner or later, because this is just one the the best books ever. Its so well written and unusual, and one of the reasons I love it is because Ive never seen any adaptions of it, so all the characters are just made up by me. Anyway, Im guessing alot of people here have read it, so what are your views?

p.s...I love Hareton! He's total SoL

SoL? Then that means.. heheh.

True, I copied your word, but he just is, sexy accent, all manly.....

I do hope you don't mind the assignment of aforesaid acronym to your personage.

The more Cathys the merrier .

Ohh, I love the young Cathy, she rocks, but the older Catherine..... I believe 'muppet bitch' sums her up

Rather conceited, wasn't she?

I believe the part when she told Nelly she coulndn't understand why people hated her, made me want to hit her the most

Jameson wrote:I had to post this sooner or later, because this is just one the the best books ever. Its so well written and unusual, and one of the reasons I love it is because Ive never seen any adaptions of it, so all the characters are just made up by me. Anyway, Im guessing alot of people here have read it, so what are your views?

Definitely up there with my absolute favourite books that I return to again and again. You really need the edition - the Oxford Classics one is a good one - that goes back to Emily's original text before Charlotte cleaned it up after her death.

The best adaptation is the 1939 film with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier (although Olivier was as wooden in that as he was in Rebecca and all the other films he didn't quite ruin).

My favourite quote:

Emily Bronte wrote:'It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff, now, so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire'

Enitharmon wrote:

Jameson wrote:I had to post this sooner or later, because this is just one the the best books ever. Its so well written and unusual, and one of the reasons I love it is because Ive never seen any adaptions of it, so all the characters are just made up by me. Anyway, Im guessing alot of people here have read it, so what are your views?

Definitely up there with my absolute favourite books that I return to again and again. You really need the edition - the Oxford Classics one is a good one - that goes back to Emily's original text before Charlotte cleaned it up after her death.

The version I have says 'complete and unabridged' would that be it? If not I'll have to get that version

Jameson wrote:The version I have says 'complete and unabridged' would that be it? If not I'll have to get that version

I don't think Charlotte cut anything, she just changed some of the more "vulgar" Yorkshire dialect for something more refined.

Well I don't know what half of them are saying so...
And does anyone else think Egar Linton was cool? I felt sorry for him, it was sad when he died

Jameson wrote:And does anyone else think Egar Linton was cool? I felt sorry for him, it was sad when he died

Edgar Linton's just a big wimp! Give me a roll in the heather with Heathcliff any day!

No hes not! Hes a soft, kind man, totally unsuited to Catherine.
And Heathcliff is evil, although I'd have a roll in the hay any day with Hareton (after he had learnt to read)

No takers for Hindley I assume

What about Joseph?

Blundering Mr Lockwood, anyone?

Ah...

I've picked up the book very recently - could someone just explain that whole digging up the grave incident to me? I'm not entirely clear what Heathcliff was doing at all.

You mean the part when Heathcliff comes to Thrushcross Grange to collect Cathy for Linton, and is speaking to Nelly? Basically he means he never (and never will) recover after Catherine's death, and will only be happy when he too is dead. He tells Nelly how the night of her burial he dug up her grave, and held her. He also did it recently (around Edgars death) to hold her now (fairly decomposed) body. He also convinced the gravedigger to knock out one side of her coffin, and when he dies to knock out one side of his too, so that they *ahem* can decompose together. He also says that when Edgar's coffin (which is at the other side of Catherine) finally gives through, Edgar won't know 'which is which'

Hey, they don't call it a gothic romance for nothing, kiddo
(I think all thats right, anyway)

Yeah that's the gist of it. The power of love (or something that originally started as love, and got twisted by the decades of hinsight) can make people go all morbid like that.