Changes

''Wuthering Heights'' is one of the classics which has stood the test of time. At the time of its publication in December 1847 reviews were mixed, not least because of the start stark depictions of mental and physical cruelty and it certainly wasn't in line with how Victorians felt that life should be lived. But the book hung in there and before long it was considered superior to Emily Bronte's sister Charlotte's ''Jane Eyre''. There have been films, adaptations and now - a colouring book. But does the book capture the nature of the landscape and the people who inhabited it a hundred and seventy years ago?

I was pleasantly surprised. One of the first double -page spreads, showing Lockwood arriving Wuthering Heights grasps the nature of the moors, where trees grow sideways, if at all. It's a harsh, punishing landscape and Elisabetta Stoinich has it almost perfectly. I loved the picture of the main door and it's a delight to colour for someone of my limited artistic skills. Since I've been colouring I've learned to dread large expanses of the face as I find it difficult to get the shading correctly, but there are no large faces in this book, which was a relief. There '' are'' plenty of complex designs of the type which can steal an hour for a relatively small area, but somehow you feel so much more relaxed at the end of it.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy [[A Colouring Classic: Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice by Chellie Carroll]]. For more Gothic designs, do have a look at [[Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Colouring Classic by Chellie Carroll|Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Colouring Classic]] by the same artist. We also enjoyed [[Wuthering Hearts by Kay Woodward]].