Concerned about next week's radio 4 adaptation of Wuthering Heights

Never mind Heathcliffe, surely Hareton is the hero of WH? Everyone always seems to forget about the second half of the book.

Bingo! Hareton is the hero of WH. He has an abusive and damaging childhood but transcends it all to not only win the girl, but inherit everything too.

I first read WH as a teenager where I was blown away by the intense and passionate love story between Cathy and Heathcliff. It's only when you read it as an adult that you realise how wrong and unhealthy the (possibly incestuous) relationship is between the two of them. Heathcliff was never really written to be a romantic hero (sorry, off topic).

Lydia isn't punished in the book, but I bet a marriage to Wickham isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I like how in the TV adaptation they show him already getting bored of her.

My first exposure to WH was through seeing Kate Bush on the telly. That was life-changing.

The more I learned about WH after that, the more I became convinced that it was best to avoid the book, or any faithful adaptation, like the plague. My life has been enhanced as a result.

The only additional comment I would make is: Becky Sharp. She could take on Amelia and Cathy together without breaking sweat.

what about Colonel Brandon? (as played by Alan Rickman obvs)
and yes to Gabriel Oak 'whenever I look up, there you will be and whenever you look up, there I will be'

Yes I like Hareton

Never mind Heathcliffe, surely Hareton is the hero of WH? Everyone always seems to forget about the second half of the book.

Anybody else a fan of South Riding by Winifred Holtby? I have to admit that Nigel Davenport as Robert Carne made a strong impression on me at an impressionable age. Flawed character, though.

I could never get in to WH, I tried it a few times but always stalled after a few chapters.

Has anyone mentioned Glibert Markham yet (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), I seem to recall that he was a good egg.

“I read WH as a teenager and found it wildly romantic. Reread it a few years ago and it seemed to be a story about dysfuntional parenting.”

:)

Interesting about Darcy. Him humiliating himself to bribe Wickham to marry Lydia is a big deal. It was almost his only vulnerability and he has to suck it up.

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that Lydia gets away Scott free..... the woman unpunished and all that.

I've been googling romantic heroes- very few surprises but pleased to find one list which did include Gabriel Oak, Tom Jones and Capt.Wentworth but inexplicably included Raskalnikov.

“Well it will exclude me as I hated the story. How anyone can look on Heathcliffe as romantic, brooding , sexy whatever. The two main characters were totally un-likeable.”

Aye, aye - Read it years ago as a youngster. Cathy and Heathclif were so angst, self absorbed and unlikeable - i found it a depressing slog to read. Might enjoy listening to it now I’m much older to see what I get from it now.

I agree Darcy is a pretty good model for a hero. He starts off being an arse because he's been raised to be an arse, Elizabeth calls him out on it, he reflects seriously on what she's said, realises she's totally right and modifies his behaviour accordingly. I'm pretty convinced they'll do alright.

I'd actually like to ban DD from reading Wutherjng Heights till she's at least 25 and able to read Heathcliffe as an appalling sociopath rather than broodingly romantics. Or maybe not all teenagers are as misguided as I was ...

Every single book anyone has mentioned in this thread is Welsh-exclusionary

I'm going to the police...

Diggory Venn once you had washed the reddle off him scrubbed up well.

I read WH as a teenager and found it wildly romantic. Reread it a few years ago and it seemed to be a story about dysfuntional parenting.

I bloody hate Hardy. Unless you’re talking about Tom Hardy but even he couldn’t rescue Heathcliffe.

Isn't a fair old portion of it set on Penistone Crags?

Make of that what you will.

Another crap "hero": Angel Clare in Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Excluding Gabriel Oak, Dick Dewy and Mr Maybold most of Hardy's men are pretty awful. Oh and Diggory Venn once you had washed the reddle off him scrubbed up well.

Gabriel Oak is a decent cove. Thoroughly agree about Captain Wentworth - I love Persuasion.

How this is classic literature remains a mystery to me.

A minor character but Richard Swiveller in The Old Curiosity Shop who rescues the "Marchioness" from being kept as a slave and eventually marries her. I've seen them described as Dickens best love story.

I quite like Eugene Wrayburn from Our Mutual Friend too.

Another crap "hero": Angel Clare in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

YY to this ^

And will everyone please read Oliver Twist as the book actually makes sense. Dickens never does anything randomly nor allow thing to happen by chance - and that is what annoys me about the films.

The Mill on the Floss. Just sodding marry him!!!!!!

Heathcliff and Mr Rochester were such hideous abusive bastards! Mr Darcy was a good egg though, just socially awkward.

Another crap "hero": Angel Clare in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.