Wuthering Heights Film Ignites Tourism Boom in Brontë Village
A fresh wave of "Brontëmania" has swept through the historic home of the literary sisters, following the release of a new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, a global hub for enthusiasts, reports a "mind-blowing" and "surreal" response to Emerald Fennell’s take on Emily Brontë's classic novel.
Unprecedented Visitor Surge
The film, released on 13 February and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi with a soundtrack by Charlie XCX, has driven a significant influx of tourists to the village. Mia Ferullo, the museum’s digital engagement officer, described this surge as the most recent in a long line of renewed fascinations with the lives and works of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë. With discussions now circulating about an international television adaptation of Jane Eyre, starring Aimee Lou Wood, Ms Ferullo sees no sign of the literary fervour abating.
"I’ve never seen so many people talk about Emily Brontë and Wuthering Heights," she said. "It’s been quite mind-blowing – really, very surreal. We talk about the Brontës every day and everyone else is kind of joining in on this conversation, and it is everywhere. So many people are picking up the book for the first time and discovering the Brontës for the first time. It does feel like a very big, special, special moment."
Historical Roots of Brontë Pilgrimages
Ms Ferullo has been giving talks over the last two weeks at the museum on Brontëmania, the literary pilgrimages to the sisters’ home in Haworth which began in the late 19th century – even when the sisters’ father, the Reverend Patrick Brontë, who outlived them, was still living in the building. She explained that people from as far as America were coming to Haworth to try and see the place where Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre and lived.
"So it kind of started really early on, before the museum was actually at the parsonage," she said. "Even when Patrick was still living there, people would come, and he would take out Charlotte’s signature from letters and stuff to give to people as souvenirs. People would go into the church to look at the marriage register book where Charlotte had written in. So, there was a lot of interest. And, I think that’s partly why the church decided to sell the parsonage, because people were getting bothered too much by tourists."
Connection to Place and Authentic Experience
Fellow literary great Virginia Woolf visited the house in 1904 and remarked on how understanding where the books were written added to readers’ appreciation of the works. Ms Ferullo said the influx of new visitors is partly down to the long-standing phenomenon of people wanting to see where literary and movie works are created. Few writers are as rooted to a specific place as the Brontës are with Haworth and its surrounding moors, she noted.
"People come to the house because they want to learn about the Brontës’ lives but, actually, it’s the moors surrounding them that make people feel as if they’re stepping into the novels themselves. I don’t think they would have written things like Wuthering Heights without living in this area."
Film as an Entry Point to Literature
Ms Ferullo highlighted that the film has prompted many people to buy the book, with the museum selling numerous copies of Wuthering Heights in its shop. However, she believes visitors also seek a more authentic experience by visiting the actual place where the novel was written.
"But I think, as well, people want to feel like they’re getting a bit closer. And, it’s more of an authentic experience of visiting the actual place where everything started, where this novel was written. There’s definitely a lot of people who love the books, and that is what’s motivated them to visit. A lot of people read them when they’re teenagers, and kind of grow up with them. But we do have people who are just visiting Haworth for a day out, and the museum’s here, and they visit and, hopefully, learn more."
She added that the film serves as an entry point into the Brontës’ world, starting conversations and allowing the museum to engage with new audiences. The recently released Wuthering Heights movie is just the latest in a long line of adaptations of the 1847 novel. One of the current exhibitions at the parsonage charts many of these, from the first film in 1920 through to interpretations from Mexico and Japan, showcasing the enduring global appeal of the Brontë sisters' works.
