Do you know the answers to these questions?
What fantasy world did Emily and her sisters invent which influenced the writing of the novel?
What does the novel have in common with modern-day soap operas?
How and why does Brontë make Heathcliff so unpleasant and yet so attractive?
How and why was Brontë influenced by Elizabethan dramas called Revenger’s Tragedies?
In what ways is the novel about social status?
This is a detailed guide for anybody either studying or teaching Brontë’s. novel. It is tailored to help students write an excellent piece of coursework on the book, or assist them with studying for an exam. It could also be very useful for a teacher teaching the text in the classroom: it includes a long section which consists of important passages in the book, together with useful literary analysis of these quotations, followed by comprehension questions and discussion points. The guide is possibly more useful than many on the market because it is a) modern in its approach b) encourages a personal response to the text — vital if a candidate is going to get a higher mark in an exam. The guide includes a detailed discussion of the context Brontë’s fiction arose from, and an exploration how we interpret the novel now. It is lively and engaging in its approach and includes a useful summary of the book. It is written by an experienced teacher who understands what needs to be covered in a study guide. It should prove to be an excellent resource for GCSE and A Level students, or anyone studying the book at school or university.
To sum up, this study guide is useful in the following ways:
It is a great resource for students aiming for top grades;
It offers a fantastic stimulus for encouraging students to develop personal responses to the text, which are vital if they are going to achieve at a high level;
It could prove to be a great classroom resource for teachers too; the important sections of the novel are quoted in full here, together with useful discussion points/comprehension questions;
It is written by an experienced teacher who has taught the text in “real” classroom situations and knows what students need to learn.
Please note: this Study Guide contains the same textual commentaries/questions/tasks as the Study Guide Edition (SGE) but not the complete text, which the SGE does.
Francis Gilbert is a Lecturer in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London, teaching on the PGCE Secondary English programme and the MA in Children’s Literature with Professor Michael Rosen. Previously, he worked for a quarter of a century in various English state schools teaching English and Media Studies to 11-18 year olds. He has also moonlighted as a journalist, novelist and social commentator both in the UK and international media. He is the author of ‘Teacher On The Run’, ‘Yob Nation’, ‘Parent Power’, ‘Working The System -- How To Get The Very Best State Education for Your Child’, and a novel about school, ‘The Last Day Of Term’. His first book, ‘I'm A Teacher, Get Me Out Of Here’ was a big hit, becoming a bestseller and being serialised on Radio 4. In his role as an English teacher, he has taught many classic texts over the years and has developed a great many resources to assist readers with understanding, appreciating and responding to them both analytically and creatively. This led him to set up his own small publishing company FGI Publishing (fgipublishing.com) which has published his study guides as well as a number of books by other authors, including Roger Titcombe’s ‘Learning Matters’ and Tim Cadman ‘The Changes’. He is the co-founder, with Melissa Benn and Fiona Millar, of The Local Schools Network, www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk, a blog that celebrates non-selective state schools, and also has his own website, www.francisgilbert.co.uk and a Mumsnet blog, www.talesbehindtheclassroomdoor.co.uk. He has appeared numerous times on radio and TV, including Newsnight, the Today Programme, Woman’s Hour and the Russell Brand Show. In June 2015, he was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing and Education by the University of London.
