763 Emily's Desk Drawer

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

Books, History, Arts

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After the publication of her debut novel Wuthering Heights in December of 1847, Emily Brontë - still writing under her pen name Ellis Bell - joined Currer and Acton Bell (her sisters Charlotte and Anne) as promising and intriguing young writers. Sadly, Emily would die barely a year later. How did the public view her and her writing during this brief period? And how did she view herself? In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the five reviews of Wuthering Heights that Emily Brontë clipped and kept in her desk drawer between the book's publication and her tragically early death at the age of 30. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Shors Travel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in May 2026! Scheduled stops include The Charles Dickens Museum, Dr. Johnson's house, Jane Austen's Bath, Tolkien's Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and more. Learn more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Act soon - there are only two spots left! The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.3	Hello, today in the podcast we look at the contents of Emily Bronte's desk drawer.
0:14.6	In particular, the five reviews she clipped and kept after publishing her one and only novel,
0:22.9	The masterpiece Wuthering Heights.
0:33.0	The book was published in December of 1847. The reviews came out in January of 1848, and Emily would die at the end of that year at the age of just 30. For barely a year of her life, she was a published novelist,
0:40.5	with reviews to show for it. What did those reviews say to her about her and her work?
0:47.2	We'll clear away 150 years or so of subsequent readers and look at her very first ones,
0:54.3	maybe giving us a glimpse inside the mind of the dying Emily Bronte today on the history
1:01.0	of literature.
1:22.1	Okay. Okay, here we go. Happy New Year, everyone. I'm Jack Wilson. Let's jump right in. Are you looking forward to 26? I have to say that I am. No more doom and gloom for me. I'm going to seize the day or year,
1:30.4	as the case may be, and why not? I might not have much more time here. I'm not sick or anything,
1:36.5	but I'm aging as we all are. I am determined that no matter what else happens in this world,
1:42.5	my destiny is going to be shaped by me.
1:46.3	Emily Bronte did not have much time on the planet. What's fascinating about this topic for me
1:52.2	is that she wrote a work of genius. It was on our list as number 15 on the list of greatest books
1:59.0	of all time, the highest ranked book by Abrante, by the way.
2:03.7	And although it was accepted for publication before Jane Eyre, her older sister Charlotte's book,
2:09.7	it came out after Jane Eyre. And so the comparisons were inevitable.
2:14.5	Critics and the public had loved Jane Eyre. They saw that novel as signs of a great new
2:20.9	promising talent on the scene, Charlotte Bronte, except at that point she was known as Currer Bell,
2:28.4	whom nobody knew. Currer Bell had not been around the usual literary haunts in London, had not attended the
2:36.6	posh schools one might expect for such a capable writer. Nobody knew who he was, if indeed he was
	...

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