AN AUTHOR who has inspired French teenage girls to read Wuthering Heights could be getting an invitation to explore the world of the Gothic novel at the Brontë shrine in Haworth.
The popularity of the Emily Brontë classic tale of wild passion on the Yorkshire moors is a by-product of the vampire novels of American author Stephanie Meyer.
She makes references to the book in her novel Eclipse and the upshot is that French 13 to 16-year-olds — her biggest readership — are wanting to know more about the work of the Haworth sisters.
And the link is by no means far-fetched, says Brontë Parsonage Museum director Andrew McCarthy.
“Heathcliff is actually referred to as a vampire in the book and Wuthering Heights is itself a very gothic novel,” he said.
“The Brontës were influenced by the Gothic and their work has gone on to influence others like Stephanie Meyer.
“We have been considering inviting a panel to explore the Gothic influence on the Brontës and more modern influences and Stephanie Meyer seems an ideal candidate to invite.
“It’s fantastic that her work has led to this interest from French teenagers.
“It links to our work in developing the contemporary arts programme in which we explore how the Brontës have influenced and continue to influence modern writers.”
Sales in France of Wuthering Heights — Les Hauts de Hurlevent – were up by 50 per cent last year.
And in the first two months of this year more copies have been sold than in the whole of last year, said the French publisher of the book, Le Livre de Poche.
In Britain, however, there has been no such trend.
According to Penguin, Wuthering Heights is so much part of British culture that it is not such a discovery for Meyer’s readers.
Stephanie Meyer is 35, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a mother of three. Her first novel, Twilight, about a girl who falls for a vampire, has now developed into a series of three books. Twilight has recently been made into a movie.
Among the books she says have influenced her are Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
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