The story of Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights unfolds over the course of three decades, starting in 1771. It is told by Mr. Lockwood’s housekeeper in 1801, and the last events of the novel take place in the year 1802.
Detailed answer:
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë. It was published in 1847 and is considered a masterpiece of English literature. Composed in the Victorian era and Influenced by Romanticism and gothic literature, it exhibits many traits of the epoch. The novel tells the story of two families. The Earnshaws, who live at Wuthering Heights, and the Lintons, who live at Thrushcross Grange nearby. It is a story of romantic love and revenge whose plot unfolds over the course of several generations.
The narration begins in 1801, when the new tenant, Mr. Lockwood, arrives at Thruschcross Grange. He is intrigued by the family of Earnshows who inhabits the neighboring Wuthering Heights. Later, Mr. Lockwood encourages his housekeeper to tell him their story. The tale of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshows begins thirty years earlier, in 1771. Mr. Earnshaw brings a young orphan Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights. In 1773, Mr. Earnshaw dies. His son Hindley becomes a new master of the estate.
The next events unfold over the next three decades. The deaths of Edgar and Linton being the most recent events prior to the arrival of Mr. Lockwood to Thruschcross Grange. The housekeeper finishes her story, and Mr. Lockwood, being tired of the moors, moves away. He returns eight months later, in September 1802, and learns that Heathcliff died in April 1802, bringing peace to Wuthering Heights.