Wuthering Heights takes place roughly between the early 1770s and late 1802 on the Yorkshire moors in northern England.

Core timeline

  • The main backstory of Heathcliff and Catherine begins in the 1770s.
  • Most of their tragic love story unfolds through the 1780s and 1790s.
  • The “present-day” frame narrative with Mr. Lockwood is set in 1801–1802, when he rents Thrushcross Grange and hears Nelly Dean’s account.

Quick context

  • The novel’s action starts when Mr. Earnshaw brings the foundling Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights around 1771.
  • Key later events include Catherine’s death in 1784 and Heathcliff’s death in 1802, with the younger generation’s story ending just after that.
  • All of this unfolds in an isolated rural setting: two neighboring houses (Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange) on the wild Yorkshire moors, far from any large town.

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