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Timeline

This page shows a timeline of the major events in the novel (with the occasional external historical event) and the approximate ages of the characters at the time. The accuracy of the dates varies with some, such as Cathy Linton's birth, narrowed down to a specific time and date, while others are little more accurate than a season in a year.

Details about defining the dates can be found on the Almanack page.

Bold text = dates that we can be sure or pretty confident of;
Other text = dates inferred from other details

Year Date Characters Story External Ages
1757
 June Hindley Earnshaw born
 
    
 
 August Ellen Dean born
 
    
1760
    
 
 George III becomes king  
1762
 January
 
   Hindley 4
1764
 July Heathcliff born
 
   Hindley 7; Ellen 6; Edgar nearly 2
1765
 May Catherine Earnshaw born
 
   Hindley nearly 8; Ellen 7; Heathcliff 11m
  October Isabella Linton born
 
   Edgar 3
1771
 August Mr Earnshaw brings Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights
Ch4
   Hindley 14; Ellen nearly 14; Heathcliff 7; Catherine 6; Joseph 41
1773
 May Mrs Earnshaw dies
Ch4
   Hindley 15; Ellen 15; Heathcliff 8; Catherine 7
16 Dec  
 
 Boston Tea Party  
1774
 October Hindley is sent off to college
Ch5
   Hindley 17; Heathcliff 10; Catherine 9
1776
    
 
 American Declaration of Independence  
1777
 October Mr Earnshaw dies
Ch5
   Hindley 20; Ellen 20; Heathcliff 13; Catherine 12
October Hindley returns to Wuthering Heights with Frances
Ch6
   Frances 17
November Catherine stays at Thrushcross Grange
Ch7
   Hindley 20; Ellen 20; Edgar 15; Heathcliff 13; Catherine 12; Isabella 12
 
 Christmas Eve Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights
Ch7
    
1778
 June Hareton Earnshaw is born
Ch8
   Hindley 20; Frances 18; Heathcliff 13; Catherine 13
  October Frances dies
Ch8
   Hindley 21; Frances 18;
1780 August Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights
Ch9
   Hindley 23; Ellen 22; Heathcliff 16; Catherine 15
  August Mr and Mrs Linton die Ch10   Edgar 18; Isabella 14
1783 March Catherine marries Edgar
Ch10
   Edgar 21; Catherine 17
  August Cathy is conceived     Edgar 21; Catherine 17
  September Heathcliff returns
Ch10
   Edgar 21; Heathcliff 19; Catherine 18; Isabella almost 18
1784 January Heathcliff clashes with Edgar
Ch11
   Edgar 21; Heathcliff 19; Catherine 18
  February Heathcliff marries Isabella
Ch12
   Heathcliff 19; Isabella 18
  March Heathcliff and Isabella return      
  20 March Catherine dies giving birth to Cathy
Ch16
   Edgar 22; Heathcliff 19; Catherine 18
  September Linton Heathcliff is born
Ch17
   Isabella 18
  September Hindley dies
Ch17
   Hindley 27; Joseph 54
1789       Start of French Revolution  
1796       First smallpox inoculations  
1797 July Cathy meets Hareton at Wuthering Heights
Ch18
   Hareton 19; Cathy 13
  July Isabella dies Ch17   Heathcliff 32; Isabella 31; Linton 12
  July Linton is taken to Thrushcross Grange and then Wuthering Heights
Ch19
   Linton 12
1800 20 March Cathy meets Heathcliff and Linton
Ch21
   Heathcliff 35; Hareton 21; Cathy 16; Linton 15
1801 August Cathy marries Linton
Ch27
   Hareton 23; Cathy 17; Linton 16
  August Edgar dies  
Ch28
   Edgar 39
  September Linton dies
 
   Cathy 17; Linton 17
  November Mr Lockwood visits Wuthering Heights
Ch1
   Heathcliff 37; Hareton 23; Cathy 17; Ellen 44; Joseph 71
1802 January Mr Lockwood returns to London
 Ch31
    
  April Heathcliff dies
Ch34 
   Heathcliff 37; Hareton 23; Cathy 18
  September Mr Lockwood returns to Thrushcross Grange
 Ch32
   Hareton 24; Cathy 18
1803 1 January Cathy marries Hareton
 
   Hareton 24; Cathy 18
1805    
 
 Battle of Trafalgar  
1807       Slave trade abolished  

A full, day-by-date timeline of the story is available as the Wuthering Heights Almanack, using dates estimated from the novel.

rule

*C P Sanger was probably the first to construct a timeline in his The Structure of Wuthering Heights. It can be seen on this page . Many of the dates above can be pinpointed quite accurately but some have some uncertainty, usually by a few months one way or the other. In most cases, events cannot be pinned down to a specific month or day, just a season or period (eg. before September). In constructing my timeline, it was necessary to decide on a particular day and month but these are not to be taken as absolute.

  

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