When and English gentleman named Lockwood takes up residence at the country home of Thrushcross Grange, he finds himself drawn into the lives of the Earnshaw and Linton families, shaped through two generations by the unrealized love between Catherine Earnshaw and the adopted commoner Heathcliffe. Upon its release, Wuthering Heights was often criticized for its vivid depictions of human cruelty and imperfection, but it has come to be recognized as a monumental work of English literature.