This book is a welcome contribution as a thorough, theologically informed treatment of Emily Brontë’s literary work ... It is clearly and accessibly written, thoroughly pursued ... and offers many perceptive insights into this writer’s richly inventive and contextually aware response to religious traditions and problems.

English Studies

Marsden provides new readings of elements in Emily Brontë’s work that have baffled scholars and readers: his readings of “No coward Soul” and <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, for example, provide a coherent analysis of seemingly irreconcilable elements of her work and thought. Marsden’s is not a dogmatic reading – such a reading would run counter to Brontë’s thought -- but a perceptive reading based on Christian epistemology, hermeneutics, and ontology. Marsden accounts for the religious elements in Brontë’s work even as he gives full recognition to her “somewhat heterodox” or even “heretical” stance toward Christianity.

Micael M. Clarke, Associate Professor of English, Loyola University, Chicago, USA.

Marsden (Univ. of Liverpool, UK) examines Wuthering Heights and selected poems in order to engage Emily Brontë's religious position. Many biographies and critical studies--e.g., Lucasta Miller's The Brontë Myth ( 2001)--have tried to clarify Brontë's spiritual beliefs. Marsden's volume relies heavily on modern critical discourse and the support of extensive notes; there are chapter notes and an extensive bibliography. This is a book for Brontë specialists with an interest in Victorian religion. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.

- S. A. Parker, Hiram College