‘Wuthering Heights’ Is Weird. Emily Brontë Was Even Weirder

The Brontës had a habit of scribbling text—symbols and poems in tiny handwriting—in the margins of a book or on ripped scraps, as new paper was expensive. “They collaborated on stories, turned them into plays and acted them out, then wrote them down,” says the Brontë scholar. Admittedly, Lutz is “team Emily,” but also recognizes the siblings’ collective greatness. “Collaboration, plus some tension and competitiveness, is a big part of their brilliance,” she says.