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Nelly Dean: A Return to Wuthering Heights
Young Nelly Dean has been Hindley’s closest companion for as long as she can remember, living freely at the great house, Wuthering Heights. But when the benevolence of the master brings a wild child into the house, Nelly learns she must follow in her mother’s footsteps, be called "servant" and give herself over completely to the demands of the Earnshaw family.
But Nelly is not the only one who finds her life disrupted by this strange newcomer. As death, illness, and passion sweep through the house, Nelly suffers heartache and betrayals at the hands of those she cherishes most, tempting her to leave it all behind. But when a new heir is born, a reign of violence begins that will test even Nelly’s formidable spirit as she finds out what it is to know true sacrifice.
Nelly Dean is a wonderment of storytelling and an inspired accompaniment to Emily Bronte’s adored work. It is the story of a woman who is fated to bear the pain of a family she is unable to leave, and unable to save.
But Nelly is not the only one who finds her life disrupted by this strange newcomer. As death, illness, and passion sweep through the house, Nelly suffers heartache and betrayals at the hands of those she cherishes most, tempting her to leave it all behind. But when a new heir is born, a reign of violence begins that will test even Nelly’s formidable spirit as she finds out what it is to know true sacrifice.
Nelly Dean is a wonderment of storytelling and an inspired accompaniment to Emily Bronte’s adored work. It is the story of a woman who is fated to bear the pain of a family she is unable to leave, and unable to save.
474 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2015
34 people are currently reading
3,207 people want to read
About the author
Alison Case
3books33followers Alison Case is a Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts and her academic background has focused on Victorian Studies, Narrative Theory, and Gender Studies. Her first book, Plotting Women: Gender and Narration in the 18th and 19th-Century British Novel, is well-known and well respected. With these interests, it’s not a surprise that Case’s first novel focuses on a well-known literary character from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
April 3, 2022
Nelly Dean, the most endearing and self-sacrificing character in Wuthering Heights, is the subject of this sweet read. She is the former play fellow and friend of Hindley, Cathy and Heathcliff, who becomes a long suffering servant in their house. Nelly is whip smart and as well educated as the others, but her social class makes her beneath them; she doesn't except this in her heart or mind.
This is Nelly's story and it's as full of heartbreak as the others, but you have a ton more sympathy for her, as she isn't selfish or entitled or full of rage like them. She is a decent, caring person in a horrible situation. Nelly has common sense on her side. She knows how to take care of herself, as she's always had to and she takes care of the others too.
This is Nelly's story and it's as full of heartbreak as the others, but you have a ton more sympathy for her, as she isn't selfish or entitled or full of rage like them. She is a decent, caring person in a horrible situation. Nelly has common sense on her side. She knows how to take care of herself, as she's always had to and she takes care of the others too.
September 20, 2015
Over the years, there have been many re-imaginings, sequels or prequels, based on classic novels and some are more successful than others. I loved by Jo Baker, which looked at “Pride and Prejudice� from the point of view of a servant in the Bennet’s house and, likewise, this novel takes “Wuthering Heights� and re-tells the story from the pen of Nelly Dean. The book begins with Nelly Dean opening a letter to Mr Lockwood, in which she gradually uncovers the history of her life and of the inhabitants of the house and family that she was linked to from childhood.
“Wuthering Heights� is a favourite novel of mine and the author is careful to retain the feelings and characters as they were written by Emily Bronte. However, allowing her to take the perspective of a minor character gives her a good vantage point to tell the story from a different point of view. We hear of everything from Nelly’s viewpoint and, as her story unfolds, we are gradually introduced to the characters. Nelly’s mother was a nurse to Hindley and she was brought up almost as a sibling to Hindley and Cathy until the arrival of Heathcliff. Her change of status to that of a servant is something that we understand, but she struggles with. In fact, although Nelly is the main character here, there remains the undercurrents of emotional turmoil that readers will associate with “Wuthering Heights.�
I really enjoyed this novel, which retains much of the flavour of the original, but adds a new insight into the story and characters. A great debut novel, by an author who has previously written a non-fiction book; “Reading the Nineteenth Century Novel: Austen to Eliot� which encompassed the Bronte sisters. She has used her research well to re-imagine a literary world beloved by many. However, if you have not read, “Wuthering Heights� before, then this novel will make perfect sense and may even inspire you to read the original.
“Wuthering Heights� is a favourite novel of mine and the author is careful to retain the feelings and characters as they were written by Emily Bronte. However, allowing her to take the perspective of a minor character gives her a good vantage point to tell the story from a different point of view. We hear of everything from Nelly’s viewpoint and, as her story unfolds, we are gradually introduced to the characters. Nelly’s mother was a nurse to Hindley and she was brought up almost as a sibling to Hindley and Cathy until the arrival of Heathcliff. Her change of status to that of a servant is something that we understand, but she struggles with. In fact, although Nelly is the main character here, there remains the undercurrents of emotional turmoil that readers will associate with “Wuthering Heights.�
I really enjoyed this novel, which retains much of the flavour of the original, but adds a new insight into the story and characters. A great debut novel, by an author who has previously written a non-fiction book; “Reading the Nineteenth Century Novel: Austen to Eliot� which encompassed the Bronte sisters. She has used her research well to re-imagine a literary world beloved by many. However, if you have not read, “Wuthering Heights� before, then this novel will make perfect sense and may even inspire you to read the original.
February 21, 2018
Maybe 4.5. A really brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable read. It retells Wuthering Heights, starting from one central premise, which Emily Bronte certainly implies in the book: that Nelly Dean feels towards Hindley nearly as Heathcliff feels towards Cathy. One of the best retellings I have read. Case clearly knows and loves Wuthering Heights, and her interpretations of his gaps and hints are just fascinating.
March 28, 2016
I decided I needed to add more to this review than I originally did because I thought it deserved more than a quick comment. I will still say that yes, I Loved it! This was a back story to the Classic, Wuthering Heights based on servant Nelly Dean's life. I rooted for Nelly because she was a loyal, long-suffering servant who put her dreams and disappointments aside to serve the mostly selfish Earnshaw family and usually got nothing in return. Despite her hardships and let downs she always prevailed and that's why I had hoped for so much more for her. This was a book well wrought in detail and storyline. Recommended.
October 28, 2015
I promised myself that I wouldn’t let this one suck me in, but when I spotted a copy in the library as I was dashing in to renew my books, I found myself drawn like a moth to a flame � or more correctly, like a literary masochist to a book about which she has low expectations. And believe me, my expectations were low. Since the publication of Longbourn, it seems as though every fictional servant from literature is being hauled out from below stairs and forced to sing their song. While Jo Baker managed to expose the cruelty of the class system in Pride and Prejudice through telling the story of the Bennet family servants, Jane Stubbs� Thornfield was lacklustre at best and in the case of Wuthering Heights, I was particularly unsure because � as frequently discussed here � I wouldn’t trust Nelly Dean as far as I could throw her. To my mind she is the true villain of the book and author of all the distress for Earnshaw, Heathcliff and Linton families. She’s the Devil. In my opinion. But not that of Alison Case.
To be fair, Case is a writer who more than knows her stuff � she’s an actual Victorian literature professor, and not even an honorary one. She’s no mere Bronte fan, she’s an actual expert. Also (, and I am fully aware that this may seem patronising and for that I apologise), for an American writer, she captured the Yorkshire cadence of Nelly’s voice flawlessly. Too often I’ve read novels by American writers trying to be British and it does get a bit obvious � either the Americanisms peek through or the writer gets a bit too keen throwing about the ‘bloody hells� in a desperate attempt to sound native.
image
Alison Case
As fictional servants go, Nelly is better situated to create a good story than Mrs Fairfax of Thornfield Hall ever was � it is the testimony of Nelly upon which Wuthering Heights depends and it is all too easy to forget that we only ever see through her eyes and that none of the other characters ever confirm any of the finer details. It is not a surprise to discover via Alison Case’s novel that she has been holding out on us.
While the modern reader of Wuthering Heights may wonder why on earth a man would write hundreds of pages recording the story that his housekeeper told him when he was bored one day, Case is much clearer that the ‘letter� will never be sent. Mr Lockwood is Nelly’s Mr Lockheart, Mr Knockwood � she needs to tell someone the secrets she has guarded all her life. It is a clever structure in many ways, since this there is no need to retread the old ground � the events of Wuthering Heights are referred to but never analysed in detail. Case acknowledges that Nelly is at least partly culpable by having her admit that she made mistakes and that she left some windows that should have been closed and closed some windows that ought to have been shut. Still, Case has sympathy for Nelly and she clearly feels that she has been more sinned against than sinning.
Literary theorists have postulated down the years that Nelly was in love with Hindley; she cried when he died, she had played with him as a child, she had sorrowed over his downfall. My own opinion was that she seemed more into Edgar Linton but Case weaves a story around Nelly and Hindley which takes in elements of Yorkshire folklore and country tradition to create a surprisingly beguiling narrative. While the components of Nelly’s true story may appear at one remove to be predicatable, Case sidesteps the trap of cliché by pointing out that although the tale may be as old as the hills, it does not make it any less painful.
My main source of distrust for Nelly Dean comes from the fact that I just do not buy her love for Hareton � Hindley perhaps, but the fact that Hareton failed to remember her makes her whole story seem very unlikely. I remember who were the major players of my life when I was four years old (Mummy, the grandparents, childminder #5 etc) and when one of them dropped out of the circuit (my mother’s boyfriend from the early 1990s), I asked questions about where he’d gone for years. Hareton may have been uneducated but he wasn’t stupid. But that is perhaps a natural plothole in Wuthering Heights born from the fact that Emily Bronte never had (or indeed took any interest in) children. She was no Anne Bronte (Arthur Huntingdon in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is adorable) and Emily’s characterisation of the young lacks any real depth.
A plothole that was more the fault of this book though came through the Big Reveal which for me failed to convince. We never really understand what exactly possessed Mr Earnshaw to pick an orphaned child from the streets of Liverpool and bring him home. Furthermore, as Nelly Dean’s own mother points out, why on earth had he gone all that way in the first place? There were other places he could have gone to do business which were far closer. It is a loose thread which niggles and threatens to make the whole story fray.
Still, the story which Case has constructed is compelling on its own merits. I certainly learnt more about breast-feeding than I ever had before � what indeed would one do for a baby whose mother had died and who failed to thrive on cow’s milk? It raises interesting questions about the foundlings of Victorian fiction, of which there are many. There are moments of contrivance, such as the character of Bodkin, long-term local doctor; he is very lovely but is rather a deus ex machina.
Despite this though, I actually enjoyed Case’s story � this book was a far better read than I was expecting. I liked the way that Case look the legend of the farmer who mistreated the brownie, which then called down the darkest desires of his heart; for a down-trodden servant who then watches as all close to her meets miserable ends, would it not make one wonder if one’s ill-wishing had unleashed something terrible?
I hope that Case writes another novel, she is obviously extremely talented. Still, I do hope that she steers away from spin-offs and that her next offering is her own complete creation. The problem with building on the ideas of others is that you then have to fight to make your own perspective credible. This was a well-written book but I felt that I read it standing on the sidelines while giving its heroine the stink-eye. Come on Nelly, convince me you’re not evil. Perhaps Case’s main achievement is that she very nearly did. But not quite. Because Nelly Dean is the Devil.
For my full review:
To be fair, Case is a writer who more than knows her stuff � she’s an actual Victorian literature professor, and not even an honorary one. She’s no mere Bronte fan, she’s an actual expert. Also (, and I am fully aware that this may seem patronising and for that I apologise), for an American writer, she captured the Yorkshire cadence of Nelly’s voice flawlessly. Too often I’ve read novels by American writers trying to be British and it does get a bit obvious � either the Americanisms peek through or the writer gets a bit too keen throwing about the ‘bloody hells� in a desperate attempt to sound native.
image
Alison Case
As fictional servants go, Nelly is better situated to create a good story than Mrs Fairfax of Thornfield Hall ever was � it is the testimony of Nelly upon which Wuthering Heights depends and it is all too easy to forget that we only ever see through her eyes and that none of the other characters ever confirm any of the finer details. It is not a surprise to discover via Alison Case’s novel that she has been holding out on us.
While the modern reader of Wuthering Heights may wonder why on earth a man would write hundreds of pages recording the story that his housekeeper told him when he was bored one day, Case is much clearer that the ‘letter� will never be sent. Mr Lockwood is Nelly’s Mr Lockheart, Mr Knockwood � she needs to tell someone the secrets she has guarded all her life. It is a clever structure in many ways, since this there is no need to retread the old ground � the events of Wuthering Heights are referred to but never analysed in detail. Case acknowledges that Nelly is at least partly culpable by having her admit that she made mistakes and that she left some windows that should have been closed and closed some windows that ought to have been shut. Still, Case has sympathy for Nelly and she clearly feels that she has been more sinned against than sinning.
Literary theorists have postulated down the years that Nelly was in love with Hindley; she cried when he died, she had played with him as a child, she had sorrowed over his downfall. My own opinion was that she seemed more into Edgar Linton but Case weaves a story around Nelly and Hindley which takes in elements of Yorkshire folklore and country tradition to create a surprisingly beguiling narrative. While the components of Nelly’s true story may appear at one remove to be predicatable, Case sidesteps the trap of cliché by pointing out that although the tale may be as old as the hills, it does not make it any less painful.
My main source of distrust for Nelly Dean comes from the fact that I just do not buy her love for Hareton � Hindley perhaps, but the fact that Hareton failed to remember her makes her whole story seem very unlikely. I remember who were the major players of my life when I was four years old (Mummy, the grandparents, childminder #5 etc) and when one of them dropped out of the circuit (my mother’s boyfriend from the early 1990s), I asked questions about where he’d gone for years. Hareton may have been uneducated but he wasn’t stupid. But that is perhaps a natural plothole in Wuthering Heights born from the fact that Emily Bronte never had (or indeed took any interest in) children. She was no Anne Bronte (Arthur Huntingdon in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is adorable) and Emily’s characterisation of the young lacks any real depth.
A plothole that was more the fault of this book though came through the Big Reveal which for me failed to convince. We never really understand what exactly possessed Mr Earnshaw to pick an orphaned child from the streets of Liverpool and bring him home. Furthermore, as Nelly Dean’s own mother points out, why on earth had he gone all that way in the first place? There were other places he could have gone to do business which were far closer. It is a loose thread which niggles and threatens to make the whole story fray.
Still, the story which Case has constructed is compelling on its own merits. I certainly learnt more about breast-feeding than I ever had before � what indeed would one do for a baby whose mother had died and who failed to thrive on cow’s milk? It raises interesting questions about the foundlings of Victorian fiction, of which there are many. There are moments of contrivance, such as the character of Bodkin, long-term local doctor; he is very lovely but is rather a deus ex machina.
Despite this though, I actually enjoyed Case’s story � this book was a far better read than I was expecting. I liked the way that Case look the legend of the farmer who mistreated the brownie, which then called down the darkest desires of his heart; for a down-trodden servant who then watches as all close to her meets miserable ends, would it not make one wonder if one’s ill-wishing had unleashed something terrible?
I hope that Case writes another novel, she is obviously extremely talented. Still, I do hope that she steers away from spin-offs and that her next offering is her own complete creation. The problem with building on the ideas of others is that you then have to fight to make your own perspective credible. This was a well-written book but I felt that I read it standing on the sidelines while giving its heroine the stink-eye. Come on Nelly, convince me you’re not evil. Perhaps Case’s main achievement is that she very nearly did. But not quite. Because Nelly Dean is the Devil.
For my full review:
January 27, 2016
Just... quite dull.
Critics are saying this is a realistic addition to the Bronte tale because of Case's style - slow, detailed, old-fashioned - and I quite agree. And yet, I don't think it actually adds much at all. The author has broadened the story to contain even more details, especially about Hindley and Nelly, but it feels unneeded and unexciting. It doesn't go to all the new places I'd hoped for.
Critics are saying this is a realistic addition to the Bronte tale because of Case's style - slow, detailed, old-fashioned - and I quite agree. And yet, I don't think it actually adds much at all. The author has broadened the story to contain even more details, especially about Hindley and Nelly, but it feels unneeded and unexciting. It doesn't go to all the new places I'd hoped for.
May 24, 2015
Cant rate this book high enough. As Wuthering Heights is my all time favourite book it had a lot to live up too but it passed with flying colours. Beautifully written and heart rending . This is how I will think of Nelly Dean on rereading Wuthering Heights.It places a new perspective on all the characters and makes you understand the way they behaved.Wonderful. Any one who loves Wuthering Heights should definitely read this book.
December 4, 2020
3.5 - rounded down to 3 for ŷ...
The author's knowledge of Wuthering heights is undeniable. Her love for this novel is undeniable. How she weaves Nelly's story through the gaps of the original story is really well done and believable. The story is enjoyable. There are some parts where my heart went out to Nelly.
But.
The breast feeding part left me perplex. Yes, I know, magic, even placebo magic in a story where everything started with a ghost on the land, it makes sense. I couldn't buy it. Legends, yes, ghosts, why not, but magical breast feeding ? No. It sounds like rational, down to earth Nelly magic : almost boring magic.
Everything falls into place at the end, which means that there are important facts explained just at the end. Yes, I know, twists and turns happen often at the end of novels. This one was so slow paced to me that the ending became too much, too quickly.
I liked the idea of those two characters who get together at the end being just friends. It was original, I liked it, a male-female friendship. Yes, I know, it makes sense that these two should end up together and comfort each other, yet I liked them being just friends.
But mostly, I should have known better before I picked this book. This is Nelly Dean's story, practical, efficient, rational Nelly, so it's only natural that the story should be different from the original Wuthering heights. As Nelly says in one chapter, those characters are falcons, they fly or react to flying in different ways, Nelly is the hen that walks on the floor : she's not like them. I can't say I ever loved those characters, but what attracted me was their madness, their unrationality, their unpracticality, their passion. As I said, my heart went out to Nelly sometimes, the trials she had to go through (her relationship with her mother is wonderfully written) but I never really loved her or admired her, even if she deserves to be loved and admired. She lacks the Brontë fire for me.
You don't have to agree with me, others readers have appreciated it much more than I did, but I liked reading this book, admired the work, yet I didn't feel any passion for it and I won't read it again.
The author's knowledge of Wuthering heights is undeniable. Her love for this novel is undeniable. How she weaves Nelly's story through the gaps of the original story is really well done and believable. The story is enjoyable. There are some parts where my heart went out to Nelly.
But.
The breast feeding part left me perplex. Yes, I know, magic, even placebo magic in a story where everything started with a ghost on the land, it makes sense. I couldn't buy it. Legends, yes, ghosts, why not, but magical breast feeding ? No. It sounds like rational, down to earth Nelly magic : almost boring magic.
Everything falls into place at the end, which means that there are important facts explained just at the end. Yes, I know, twists and turns happen often at the end of novels. This one was so slow paced to me that the ending became too much, too quickly.
I liked the idea of those two characters who get together at the end being just friends. It was original, I liked it, a male-female friendship. Yes, I know, it makes sense that these two should end up together and comfort each other, yet I liked them being just friends.
But mostly, I should have known better before I picked this book. This is Nelly Dean's story, practical, efficient, rational Nelly, so it's only natural that the story should be different from the original Wuthering heights. As Nelly says in one chapter, those characters are falcons, they fly or react to flying in different ways, Nelly is the hen that walks on the floor : she's not like them. I can't say I ever loved those characters, but what attracted me was their madness, their unrationality, their unpracticality, their passion. As I said, my heart went out to Nelly sometimes, the trials she had to go through (her relationship with her mother is wonderfully written) but I never really loved her or admired her, even if she deserves to be loved and admired. She lacks the Brontë fire for me.
You don't have to agree with me, others readers have appreciated it much more than I did, but I liked reading this book, admired the work, yet I didn't feel any passion for it and I won't read it again.
Shelved as 'unfinished'
August 16, 2016I read the first 6 chapters, but wasn't finding it interesting. I don't feel it would stand alone successfully as a novel, and is only of interest to me because of its connections with .
The only prequel/sequel by a different author from the main book, that I have found successful is .
The only prequel/sequel by a different author from the main book, that I have found successful is .
November 14, 2023
I read this as a book club book. Just as well as, like many classics, I needed to get to page 100 before it started to interest me. Then I really liked it. Good storytelling plus written in similar fashion to Wuthering Heights. She is a Victorian specialist so that’s why I expect she did this so well.
May 21, 2016
It's well written and reads like a 19th century novel and the author's detailed historical knowledge comes through. But I found it a bit of a slog and it could be pretty dry at times. It's worth reading to give you a bit of sympathy for Hindley who is easy to hate in Wuthering Heights and does a good job of making you look at the novel from a different perspective.
But it doesn't have the wild nature or passion of Wuthering Heights so was easy to put down, had to force myself to get through it. The most interesting bit was actually the references to folklore, superstition and the fairytale Nelly's mother tells her near the beginning.
Overall well written but not a page turner.
But it doesn't have the wild nature or passion of Wuthering Heights so was easy to put down, had to force myself to get through it. The most interesting bit was actually the references to folklore, superstition and the fairytale Nelly's mother tells her near the beginning.
Overall well written but not a page turner.
October 14, 2015
A re-telling of the events of Wuthering Heights from the point of view of the family servant, Nelly Dean. Nelly also tells the story in Wuthering Heights, but as the story comes from Lockwood’s sighting of Cathy’s ghost, the original focuses on Cathy and her strange and terrible relationship with Heathcliff. In Nelly Dean, the focus is square and plainly on Nelly herself, and told by means of a letter to Mr Lockwood, which works nicely in its context (which I can’t tell for fear of spoiling). By these means, Alison Case brings an interesting, tangential view of the family and their deeply tangled, dysfunctional relationships. The perspective of the story is entirely different, being centred on Nelly’s obsession with Hindley Earnshaw, pivoting the focus away from Cathy and Heathcliffe, who are ill-focused, peripheral characters for much of the book. It’s a refreshing take and an interesting viewpoint that completely changes the emphasis of the story.
It’s a big book � 474 pages - but extremely readable (much more so than Wuthering Heights) and cleverly done. Anyone who has read the original can see all the points at which the story crosses, but the telling from Nelly’s - far more earthy and practical - perspective gives the well-known story a whole new spectrum of colours and emotions. I found it a surprisingly compelling read considering it branches from the original narrative so much, with tremendous detail about domestic life � dairying, sewing, shopping, cleaning, cooking a stew on an open range, conventional mid-Victorian medicine and the herbs of the wise women, the time it took to travel everywhere and etc. Alison Case has done her research, but it doesn’t show in anything other than these frequent excursions into Nelly’s daily life. There are no info-dumps or long, dreary discourses; most of these side-trips are engagingly told and Alison Case gifts Nelly with a strong, believable voice that makes the thing spin by smoothly. I can’t describe it as a page turner � it wasn’t a novel I rushed to read at the end of the day; this is a re-telling of a very well known story, perhaps one of the best known in English literature, so there are few surprises. It is a quietly good tale, absorbing and engaging, that draws the reader into this lost world of 1850’s Haworth (a place and landscape I know very well as it is my own native landscape; Haworth is just 30 miles from where I live). Considering that the author is American, I found some of the local rhythms of speech well done (though some were awful; two characters 'sounded' more like Geordies to me). A few Americanisms creep in here and there and they did leap out at me, but they are fairly minor and few and easy to pass over and some readers won’t notice them at all.
Of course, it is not (and never could be) Wuthering Heights. It’s a comfortable, smooth and easy read; a diverting accompaniment to the original, but it stands alone too. If you haven’t read Emily Bronte’s masterpiece, you can still enjoy Nelly Dean. Who knows, it might even inspire some who haven’t read it yet to give the (rather more daunting) Wuthering Heights a read.
It’s a big book � 474 pages - but extremely readable (much more so than Wuthering Heights) and cleverly done. Anyone who has read the original can see all the points at which the story crosses, but the telling from Nelly’s - far more earthy and practical - perspective gives the well-known story a whole new spectrum of colours and emotions. I found it a surprisingly compelling read considering it branches from the original narrative so much, with tremendous detail about domestic life � dairying, sewing, shopping, cleaning, cooking a stew on an open range, conventional mid-Victorian medicine and the herbs of the wise women, the time it took to travel everywhere and etc. Alison Case has done her research, but it doesn’t show in anything other than these frequent excursions into Nelly’s daily life. There are no info-dumps or long, dreary discourses; most of these side-trips are engagingly told and Alison Case gifts Nelly with a strong, believable voice that makes the thing spin by smoothly. I can’t describe it as a page turner � it wasn’t a novel I rushed to read at the end of the day; this is a re-telling of a very well known story, perhaps one of the best known in English literature, so there are few surprises. It is a quietly good tale, absorbing and engaging, that draws the reader into this lost world of 1850’s Haworth (a place and landscape I know very well as it is my own native landscape; Haworth is just 30 miles from where I live). Considering that the author is American, I found some of the local rhythms of speech well done (though some were awful; two characters 'sounded' more like Geordies to me). A few Americanisms creep in here and there and they did leap out at me, but they are fairly minor and few and easy to pass over and some readers won’t notice them at all.
Of course, it is not (and never could be) Wuthering Heights. It’s a comfortable, smooth and easy read; a diverting accompaniment to the original, but it stands alone too. If you haven’t read Emily Bronte’s masterpiece, you can still enjoy Nelly Dean. Who knows, it might even inspire some who haven’t read it yet to give the (rather more daunting) Wuthering Heights a read.
October 26, 2015
In her first novel, Alison Case has drawn on her teachings of Wuthering Heights to create a story to sits alongside that classic, making Nelly Dean, the housekeeper, her first person narrator and the principal character of her story throughout. I admit I am wary of the rewriting, reinterpreting or whatever the approach may be towards a new book based, in whichever fashion, upon a true, beloved classic. I love Wuthering Heights, the Brontës, Haworth and everything to do with them so I was at once very tempted to try this novel, and yet very hesitant in case it didn't work or compliment the original. In the end I gave in and gave it a try.
Overall, I've enjoyed reading Nelly Dean and at times felt very engrossed in the story. It has felt at once like a familiar story and and a quite new one, because whilst some elements are so familiar to any reader of Wuthering Heights, Alison Case has elaborated on and imagined much more about Nelly's own life and given us a much more detailed portrait of her character, in particular she delves closely into Nelly's closeness to Hindley. On a couple of occasions I felt the writing became a little overly descriptive, and I would have liked it perhaps to have drawn back more to the original story maybe, so it is not a five star read for me, but as I say, I did enjoy and like it overall and enjoyed very much becoming immersed in Nelly's world and in sharing her perspective on life at Wuthering Heights over the years, the joys and sadnesses that she endures, the dedication she shows to the Earnshaws. It makes for a compelling companion novel to the original classic.
One thing this novel has done, which I think is a great thing, is it has made me really, really want to re-visit and re-read Wuthering Heights at the next opportunity! I really like the brooding, atmospheric and desolate cover design.
Overall, I've enjoyed reading Nelly Dean and at times felt very engrossed in the story. It has felt at once like a familiar story and and a quite new one, because whilst some elements are so familiar to any reader of Wuthering Heights, Alison Case has elaborated on and imagined much more about Nelly's own life and given us a much more detailed portrait of her character, in particular she delves closely into Nelly's closeness to Hindley. On a couple of occasions I felt the writing became a little overly descriptive, and I would have liked it perhaps to have drawn back more to the original story maybe, so it is not a five star read for me, but as I say, I did enjoy and like it overall and enjoyed very much becoming immersed in Nelly's world and in sharing her perspective on life at Wuthering Heights over the years, the joys and sadnesses that she endures, the dedication she shows to the Earnshaws. It makes for a compelling companion novel to the original classic.
One thing this novel has done, which I think is a great thing, is it has made me really, really want to re-visit and re-read Wuthering Heights at the next opportunity! I really like the brooding, atmospheric and desolate cover design.
February 7, 2017
I started reading this book back in November and the fact that I’ve only just finished it but have read over a dozen other books in the meantime, tells you I didn’t find it as compelling as I hoped or the author deserves given the obvious craft put into it. The book expands on the narration by Nelly Dean, the housekeeper at Wuthering Heights, in Emily Bronte’s original book and introduces imagined back stories for some of the characters, notably Hindley, Hareton and Nelly . However, although it magnifies some aspects of Wuthering Heights (in some instances, quite exhaustively) it glosses over large parts of others, in particular the core relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy and the tragic events that surround them. For this reason, I don’t really see it as a standalone novel for a reader who is unfamiliar with Wuthering Heights. For example, Alison Case devotes a substantial section to Nelly’s attempts to care for the infant Hareton that are encapsulated in a few sentences in the original book. But on the other hand, leaps forward at points so that key events from Wuthering Heights are merely alluded to. So I found myself on the one hand thinking, “I know all this from Wuthering Heights� and on the other thinking, “Wait a minute, we’ve skipped several years here- what happened to so-and-so�. Plus, occasionally thinking, “Whoa, I bet Emily Bronte never had that in mind!�. Having said all this, the author has created a really authentic period voice for all her characters and if it wasn’t that Emily Bronte’s masterpiece is a persistent and relentless echo, this would be a really successful piece of historical fiction. But...it has made me determined to go back and re-read Wuthering Heights!
February 10, 2018
The author does a great job here of taking the character of Nelly Dean from the original and capturing her voice and tone perfectly. I think the plot she imagines here is so plausible that is makes for an interesting companion to the original novel. It was kind of a slow read for me, but enjoyable.
June 15, 2018
Slow start but a lovely ending. Without giving any plot points away, I will say I liked how it picked up and elaborated on certain subtexts of Wuthering Heights.
March 28, 2018
What a messss 😂😭
February 20, 2017
Wuthering Heights is one of my all-time favorite novels. I even wrote a 50-page paper on it in college. I was always drawn in by the elaborately odd and somewhat evil characters, and if you set any story on the English moors - I'm a fan (here's looking at you The Secret Garden).
I debated whether to rate this one 3 or 4 stars. The first half of the book actually managed to irritate me, and I cannot fully explain why. After Nelly Dean hooks up with Hindley, I got more invested in her story because I genuinely felt terrible for her. I liked that Nelly Dean got a chance to tell her side of the story, and I think Alison Case pays good tribute to our favorite servant girl. I felt like a cheeseball when I rejoiced at the ending. Nelly and Bodkin were the best relationship in the whole damn story, and I so enjoyed the happy finale.
I debated whether to rate this one 3 or 4 stars. The first half of the book actually managed to irritate me, and I cannot fully explain why. After Nelly Dean hooks up with Hindley, I got more invested in her story because I genuinely felt terrible for her. I liked that Nelly Dean got a chance to tell her side of the story, and I think Alison Case pays good tribute to our favorite servant girl. I felt like a cheeseball when I rejoiced at the ending. Nelly and Bodkin were the best relationship in the whole damn story, and I so enjoyed the happy finale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2022
This book went from a slow burn to an all consuming fire that demanded I didn't put it down. I needed to know more of this story and what became of Cathy, Heathcliffe, Hindley and especially Nelly. Got a few shocks too. Great book
July 15, 2021
It has been a long time since I read Wuthering Heights (probably 45 years) but I enjoyed this so much it has Inspired me to read Wuthering Heights again.
March 30, 2019
Nelly Dean by Alison Case
Billed as a return to Wuthering Heights, Nelly Dean is the story of WH from the point of view of the servant who partially narrated the story. In it, Nelly has written her story down addressed to Mr Lockwood without sending it.
I think the most important thing about this is whether it adds to the story of WH, and out of the #backstairs books I’ve read, I think this one adds the most to the story. Nelly is a fully imagined character who sheds a great deal of light on Mr Earnshaw and particularly on Hareton who she has a really close, motherly relationship with. She also has a relationship with Hindley and sheds light on the way that he degenerates due to alcohol. The book doesn't go into a great detail about Heathcliffe and Cathy's relationship, but I don't think it needs to. However, it brings in all the themes of the moors, doomed love and the supernatural in anyway.
Aside from the WH characters, the author also brings Bodkin, the son of the family doctor who is a friend and advisor to Nelly. He brings in a welcome outside perspective to a story that can seem insular with its settings of the home and the Moor. The story can be heartbreaking at times, especially when Nelly is seperated from Hareton but her relationship with Bodkin often lightens the book without taking away the tragedy of the situation.
Billed as a return to Wuthering Heights, Nelly Dean is the story of WH from the point of view of the servant who partially narrated the story. In it, Nelly has written her story down addressed to Mr Lockwood without sending it.
I think the most important thing about this is whether it adds to the story of WH, and out of the #backstairs books I’ve read, I think this one adds the most to the story. Nelly is a fully imagined character who sheds a great deal of light on Mr Earnshaw and particularly on Hareton who she has a really close, motherly relationship with. She also has a relationship with Hindley and sheds light on the way that he degenerates due to alcohol. The book doesn't go into a great detail about Heathcliffe and Cathy's relationship, but I don't think it needs to. However, it brings in all the themes of the moors, doomed love and the supernatural in anyway.
Aside from the WH characters, the author also brings Bodkin, the son of the family doctor who is a friend and advisor to Nelly. He brings in a welcome outside perspective to a story that can seem insular with its settings of the home and the Moor. The story can be heartbreaking at times, especially when Nelly is seperated from Hareton but her relationship with Bodkin often lightens the book without taking away the tragedy of the situation.
January 13, 2020
When you love a classic as much as you do Wuthering Heights, it’s hard to not want MORE when it’s offered! Like a moth to the flame, Nelly Dean caught my attention and I couldn’t look away even knowing very well that it could completely alter the way I enjoyed the original, brilliant novel by Emily Brontë.
My husband bought this for me for Christmas with his fingers tightly crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻.
Someone very wise told me “the best writers are those who know best what NOT to write�. And this is the perfect example. Alison Case adds so much depth and interest to the original storyline scarcely touching the original characters or important details that we’ve come to hold dear to our hearts. At no point does she try to rewrite history but more so try to fill in the gaps. I appreciated her handling the novel with white gloves.
All I can say is... you think you might know what this story is about but it is nothing like I could have imagined.
Thank you so much, Alison Case, for one helluva visit back to one of my favorite novels, Wuthering Heights.
My husband bought this for me for Christmas with his fingers tightly crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻.
Someone very wise told me “the best writers are those who know best what NOT to write�. And this is the perfect example. Alison Case adds so much depth and interest to the original storyline scarcely touching the original characters or important details that we’ve come to hold dear to our hearts. At no point does she try to rewrite history but more so try to fill in the gaps. I appreciated her handling the novel with white gloves.
All I can say is... you think you might know what this story is about but it is nothing like I could have imagined.
Thank you so much, Alison Case, for one helluva visit back to one of my favorite novels, Wuthering Heights.
January 23, 2021
Case's companion to Bronte's classic was thoughtful and well-researched, with accurate character representations from the original. I admit I hadn't previously considered Nelly Dean's home/family life, and seeing what, in this imagination, leads her to stay with the troubled Earnshaw and Linton families, despite all she must endure, gave great insight into a fictionalized yet authentic-feeling case of the life in service on English estates of the nineteenth century.
August 2, 2018
Tedious is the best word to describe this book. It was too long, and too full of unnecessary detail. And the "twist" at the end was ridiculous.
August 10, 2018
3.5 stars. An interesting read, but...tedious.
May 25, 2019
Very moving take on the original.
January 25, 2019
Totally plausible and totally absorbing read. Fits in so well as a companion to Wuthering Heights - brilliantly seamless.
February 18, 2023
Super good! A great companion piece to Wuthering Heights that allows you to get to know some of the unsung characters from the original work. I'm surprised it's not a more popular book.
February 14, 2016
4.5 of 5 stars
If you want the short and sweet version of this review then I will start by saying that I loved this book. I read a number of the classics during my younger years and most of them hold a fond place in my heart. The Bronte sisters are no exception to this although my favourite book from the Bronte’s is Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. That being said Wuthering Heights is a great story and so I was very excited to pick up a copy of Nelly Dean and see what a new perspective could bring to the story.
Unsurprisingly the story is told by Nelly and whilst a number of the key points from the original novel make an appearance here this is a new and original story that focuses on some of the other characters and perhaps gives more enlightenment to the reader as to their actions and motivations in Wuthering Heights.
Firstly, I will say that I think although this is a great companion novel I don’t think it is necessary to have read WH before picking this up. Obviously I enjoyed those points in the story where I made the connection to the original book but even without that I think this would make a good read.
I really enjoyed the style of writing and found Nelly to be a captivating narrator. I’m not going to elaborate on her story here as it would spoil the read for others but hers is definitely a tale full of secrets and family skeletons in cupboards. It’s a tale of woe in many respects but in spite of this Nelly manages to show that the lives of those at the Heights wasn’t all doom and gloom. Nelly’s story isn’t the dark and brooding tale of Cathy and Heathcliff but instead looks more into her own upbringing and explores the close friendship that she shared with Hindley. You can’t help coming away from this feeling a little sad about missed opportunities and wondering about how different people’s lives would be if those around them didn’t keep such secrets within their hearts that eventually lead to bitterness and anger. But, in spite of a certain sense of remorse the story has a really positive ending and I think Nelly succeeds in demonstrating that there were moments of love and laughter at the heights before things took a turn for the worse.
Nelly is a fascinating character to read about. I have to admit I was puzzled by her sometimes and wondered why she just didn’t take off. She certainly seemed to have other options available to her yet she remained loyal to the Earnshaws even after her status changed from childhood friend to servant. At the end of the day Nelly harboured her own secret desires and whether those may make her a little more unreliable in some respects of the story is perhaps why this holds such fascination. We see a different side to Hindley, a child who seems to have been wronged in more ways than one and whose only friend seemed to be Nelly. Nelly and Hindley both shared the same unexplained harshness from their fathers and this seemed to give them a greater understanding and natural affinity towards each other.
In terms of criticisms � I don’t really have anything to be honest. I think there was maybe a little spell during the first few weeks after Nelly took up the responsibility for looking after Hareton that did become a little bit bogged down in the whole ‘feeding of a newborn baby� issue but this was only a minor quibble and I have to admit I was fascinated by the resolution.
On the whole I was totally enamoured with this book. The pages just flew by, I loved the style of writing and I really enjoyed spending time once again upon the moors. Like I said, this doesn’t have the haunting and darkly brooding atmosphere of WH but it is nonetheless a captivating story of love, loyalty and family secrets.
I received a copy of this courtesy of the publishers through Edelweiss for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
If you want the short and sweet version of this review then I will start by saying that I loved this book. I read a number of the classics during my younger years and most of them hold a fond place in my heart. The Bronte sisters are no exception to this although my favourite book from the Bronte’s is Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. That being said Wuthering Heights is a great story and so I was very excited to pick up a copy of Nelly Dean and see what a new perspective could bring to the story.
Unsurprisingly the story is told by Nelly and whilst a number of the key points from the original novel make an appearance here this is a new and original story that focuses on some of the other characters and perhaps gives more enlightenment to the reader as to their actions and motivations in Wuthering Heights.
Firstly, I will say that I think although this is a great companion novel I don’t think it is necessary to have read WH before picking this up. Obviously I enjoyed those points in the story where I made the connection to the original book but even without that I think this would make a good read.
I really enjoyed the style of writing and found Nelly to be a captivating narrator. I’m not going to elaborate on her story here as it would spoil the read for others but hers is definitely a tale full of secrets and family skeletons in cupboards. It’s a tale of woe in many respects but in spite of this Nelly manages to show that the lives of those at the Heights wasn’t all doom and gloom. Nelly’s story isn’t the dark and brooding tale of Cathy and Heathcliff but instead looks more into her own upbringing and explores the close friendship that she shared with Hindley. You can’t help coming away from this feeling a little sad about missed opportunities and wondering about how different people’s lives would be if those around them didn’t keep such secrets within their hearts that eventually lead to bitterness and anger. But, in spite of a certain sense of remorse the story has a really positive ending and I think Nelly succeeds in demonstrating that there were moments of love and laughter at the heights before things took a turn for the worse.
Nelly is a fascinating character to read about. I have to admit I was puzzled by her sometimes and wondered why she just didn’t take off. She certainly seemed to have other options available to her yet she remained loyal to the Earnshaws even after her status changed from childhood friend to servant. At the end of the day Nelly harboured her own secret desires and whether those may make her a little more unreliable in some respects of the story is perhaps why this holds such fascination. We see a different side to Hindley, a child who seems to have been wronged in more ways than one and whose only friend seemed to be Nelly. Nelly and Hindley both shared the same unexplained harshness from their fathers and this seemed to give them a greater understanding and natural affinity towards each other.
In terms of criticisms � I don’t really have anything to be honest. I think there was maybe a little spell during the first few weeks after Nelly took up the responsibility for looking after Hareton that did become a little bit bogged down in the whole ‘feeding of a newborn baby� issue but this was only a minor quibble and I have to admit I was fascinated by the resolution.
On the whole I was totally enamoured with this book. The pages just flew by, I loved the style of writing and I really enjoyed spending time once again upon the moors. Like I said, this doesn’t have the haunting and darkly brooding atmosphere of WH but it is nonetheless a captivating story of love, loyalty and family secrets.
I received a copy of this courtesy of the publishers through Edelweiss for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
November 20, 2015
Let me begin by stating that whilst I am of course familiar with the story I have never actually read the book, Wuthering Heights, of which this is an re-imagining, an 'off-spring' or a companion read if you will, in which the author tells the story from the point of view of the maid, Nelly Dean.
So, can it be appreciated by someone who has never read Wuthering Heights?
Well, whilst I certainly didn't feel like my understanding or enjoyment of the story was in any way impaired by my not having read the original several of my friends (who have read and love Wuthering Heights) assure me that I would have got more out of Nelly Dean if I had in fact read Emily Bronte's take on events. But then again ...
Never having read the original it could be argued that I came to this novel with no preconceived ideas though I'm beginning to doubt this as expecting something more Gothic, more broody and atmospheric I was left rather disappointed.
But I digress.
Written as what is best explained as a letter (never a favourite format of mine) to Mr Lockwood which she knows she will never send, the Nelly Dean of the title relives her story. And at 471 pages what a 'letter' it is.
Over long, plodding, at times overly descriptive and that's without all the breastfeeding which the author writes about with such, well, gusto despite the fact that I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have featured much (if at all) in actual Victorian writing.
Then there were the characters. Perhaps a novel deliberately meandering the better to get to know them. For myself try as I might I simply couldn't connect with any of them though I did come close with a few of the secondary ones.
As for the big question .... having read this would I want to read Wuthering Heights as my friends assured me I would? In short, no.
Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.
So, can it be appreciated by someone who has never read Wuthering Heights?
Well, whilst I certainly didn't feel like my understanding or enjoyment of the story was in any way impaired by my not having read the original several of my friends (who have read and love Wuthering Heights) assure me that I would have got more out of Nelly Dean if I had in fact read Emily Bronte's take on events. But then again ...
Never having read the original it could be argued that I came to this novel with no preconceived ideas though I'm beginning to doubt this as expecting something more Gothic, more broody and atmospheric I was left rather disappointed.
But I digress.
Written as what is best explained as a letter (never a favourite format of mine) to Mr Lockwood which she knows she will never send, the Nelly Dean of the title relives her story. And at 471 pages what a 'letter' it is.
Over long, plodding, at times overly descriptive and that's without all the breastfeeding which the author writes about with such, well, gusto despite the fact that I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have featured much (if at all) in actual Victorian writing.
Then there were the characters. Perhaps a novel deliberately meandering the better to get to know them. For myself try as I might I simply couldn't connect with any of them though I did come close with a few of the secondary ones.
As for the big question .... having read this would I want to read Wuthering Heights as my friends assured me I would? In short, no.
Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.
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