Wuthering Heights is a romance that has still found an audience 200 years after its publication — the story of prejudice, love, and obsession. As much as the story itself has been analyzed, there is so much we don’t know of the author herself. Frances O’Connor plans to dive into the life of the author in her directorial debut, Emily. The trailer can be viewed below.

Emily will tell the story of the middle Brontë sister, played by Emma Mackey (Sex Education). The film will follow her perspective as she forges the alliance with her two sisters, Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling) and Anne (Amelia Gething), cares for her brother (Fionn Whitehead) and experiences her first love for Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). As she tries to balance caring for her family and her romantic pursuits, the events in her life inspire her to write her beloved novel. Emily will also feature the talents of Adrian Dunbar and Gemma Jones. O’Connor, a big Wuthering Heights fan, sat down with Empire to discuss where her fascination with Emily began.

“I read their books when I was a teenager, and I particularly loved Emily and Wuthering Heights. She’s a fascinating character – she died when she was 30, she was very introverted and private, and we don’t really know much about her. She created this novel, this ferocious piece of literature that’s full of atmosphere and deep dark feeling, so it just makes you think – well, who was she? That was my starting point.”

The Lonely Lives of the Brontës

Emily
Emily

Emily was not the only author in the Brontë family. In truth, both of her sisters were successful in their pursuit of writing! Her little sister, Anne, published Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Meanwhile, the oldest sister, Charlotte, published Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor. There was also their only brother, Branwell, who wrote several works while he was young but struggled in his adult life with multiple addictions. One note that makes the lives of the Brontë sisters so compelling is how the three had to publish their works under false names initially, particularly male names. At the time, it was considered a man’s world to write and publish, so the sisters began submitting their poetry under male pen names.

Starting in 1847, the sisters published their novels under Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Thus, Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and of course Wuthering Heights, first made their way into the world. It wasn’t until 1850, within the new combined edition of Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights, that Charlotte Brontë revealed the real names of herself and her two sisters to the literary world. At this point, both Charlotte and Emily had passed away over a year ago.

According to Brontë historian Juliet Barker, Emily was the sister who wrote for her own satisfaction rather than for fame or fortune. Emily was also the more introverted of the three when not in the company of family, choosing to wander about the moors alone when she needed a break. O’Connor took this tidbit and reportedly utilized it in the film, blending fiction and reality in Emily’s life.

“There are things that are literally in Wuthering Heights, and others that are a little bit more esoteric. There’s the normal world – the domestic world of Haworth where they lived – and then there’s the Wuthering Heights world in the film, and they kind of intermix. We create this sense of reality, and then have the atmosphere of Wuthering Heights on top of that.”

Emily is coming to theaters on October 14th.