1910 Rare Book - Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey by Emily and Anne Brontë
Author: Emily Brontë; Anne Brontë.
Title: Wuthering Heights; Agnes Grey.
Publisher: London, The Gresham Publishing Company, n.d. (1910).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 × 5.5 inches.
Pages: xxi-438 pages.
Binding: Attractive and near fine binding, finely rebound in full maroon calf spine over marbled boards. Smooth spine with black morocco title labels, gilt lettering, and gilt ruled bands. Boards with cream, blue, and ochre marbled paper. Endpapers renewed (hinges fine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt. A solid, elegant binding.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or toning on the last page - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with nine full-page illustrations, including a frontispiece depicting the Brontë group after a painting by Branwell Brontë, as well as photographic and illustrative plates related to the Brontë family and places associated with their lives.
Estimate: (USD 250–300).
The book: This handsome volume brings together two of the most enduring novels of English literature: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. Originally issued separately in the mid-19th century under the masculine pseudonyms Ellis and Acton Bell, these works are here united in a finely rebound edition that reflects both literary gravitas and bibliophilic care.
The present copy, issued by The Gresham Publishing Company, includes nine full-page illustrations and contextual material relating to the Brontë family. Particularly striking is the frontispiece showing the Brontë siblings, based on Branwell Brontë’s well-known group portrait, as well as illustrations of significant places tied to their lives, including Thornton, their birthplace.
The elegant modern binding enhances the reading experience while preserving the integrity of the text, making this an appealing copy both for collectors and for readers wishing to engage deeply with the Brontës’ world.
The authors: Emily Brontë (1818–1848) is best remembered for Wuthering Heights, a novel of extraordinary intensity and originality that challenged Victorian conventions through its raw emotional power, complex narrative structure, and unflinching exploration of obsession, nature, and isolation. Though her literary career was brief, her single novel secured her place as one of the most influential figures in English literature.
Anne Brontë (1820–1849), long undervalued, is now recognized as a bold and perceptive novelist whose works confront social injustice, women’s independence, and moral responsibility. Agnes Grey, drawing on her own experience as a governess, offers a restrained yet incisive critique of class and gender roles in Victorian England.