Catherine by Essie Fox BLOG TOUR #Catherine @essiefox @OrendaBooks #WutheringHeights #HistoricalFiction #Retelling

 

The greatest tragic love story ever told – but this time, Catherine tells it herself. In Catherine, Essie Fox breathes new life into Wuthering Heights, transforming a gothic masterpiece into a haunting confession of obsession, madness and love that even death cannot end.

With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw’s death leaves Hindley, Catherine’s brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude.

Desperate to protect him, Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the handsome heir to Thrushcross Grange. She believes his wealth might free Heathcliff from cruelty – but her choice is fatally misunderstood, and their lives spiral into a storm of passion, jealousy and revenge.

Now, eighteen years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and seek redemption.

Essie Fox’s Catherine reimagines Wuthering Heights with beauty and intensity – a haunting, atmospheric retelling that brings new life to a timeless classic and lays bare the dark heart of an immortal love.

Catherine by Essie Fox was published on 12 February 2026 by Orenda Books in hardback. The paperback will be published in October. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour. 

I have read every book that Essie Fox has written, beginning with her debut back in 2011. I love her writing, it's dark and gothic, full of incredibly quirky characters and always plotted to perfection. When I heard that she was writing a re-telling of Wuthering Heights, from Cathy's point of view, I was intrigued and a little excited. 

This year, so far, has been the year of Wuthering Heights. With the release of the latest screen adaptation, the novel has had something of a re-birth. I expect many people will have read it for the first time and some may have re-visited the original novel too. I have never seen Wuthering Heights as a 'romance' - despite some labelling it that. Whilst there is, without doubt, a toxic love story at its heart, I have always thought of it as a gothic tragedy, and Essie Fox's re-telling is the perfect accompaniment to the original text. 

I closed Catherine with that delicious shiver that only the very best gothic fiction can deliver. Dark, intoxicating and gloriously atmospheric, this is a novel that seeps into your bones and lingers there long after the final page.

From the wild, windswept Yorkshire moors to the brooding isolation of Wuthering Heights and the refined elegance of Thrushcross Grange, the setting is everything you would hope for. It is bleak, beautiful and utterly immersive. You can almost feel the bite of the wind and hear it howling across the heath. The author captures that gothic atmosphere perfectly.

Catherine Earnshaw is as wild and untamed as the landscape she adores. Growing up alongside the mysterious foundling Heathcliff, who was brought to the Heights by her father from the streets of Liverpool, their bond is fierce, consuming and impossible to define. It is childhood friendship, a passion and something darker all at once. When Mr Earnshaw dies and Catherine's brother Hindley takes control, reducing Heathcliff to servitude, the shift in power changes everything. The cruelty, the misunderstandings, the impossible choices, all of it builds with an almost unbearable intensity.

Essie Fox allows us inside Catherine’s mind in a way that feels really fresh, yet a little bit bold. She details Cathy's decision to concentrate on Edgar Linton, the polished, privileged heir to Thrushcross Grange, instead of Heathcliff very well. 

The characters are vivid and compelling. Heathcliff remains magnetic and dangerous; Edgar is more than just a  contrast; and Catherine herself is gloriously flawed, passionate and achingly human. Every relationship feels intense, and so very raw.

What I particularly loved is how the author honours the feel and the spirit of the original novel, while giving Catherine her own voice, she is fierce, wounded and unforgettable. 

Beautifully written, steeped in gothic drama and brimming with emotion, Catherine is a haunting tale of obsession, madness and love that refuses to die.

An absolute triumph, and highly recommended by me. 

Essie Fox is the Sunday Times bestselling author of seven historical novels, including The Somnambulist, shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and The Fascination, an instant Sunday Times bestseller. 

Her work has twice been selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month, most recently for her gothic mystery Dangerous. 

She appears regularly at literary festivals and cultural institutions and is the host of the podcast Talking the Gothic. 

She lives in Windsor.