But, what happened in those intervening years to turn him from a wild creature into that gentleman? Emily Brontë left that part of her story a mystery. Lin Haire-Sargeant ingeniously fills in Heathcliff's missing years.
"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.
Two of the most fascinating characters in the novel are Hareton Earnshaw, the son of Hindley and Frances, and Cathy Linton. The development of their characters and their relationship is one of the most interesting aspects of the novel.