First-Edition 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Agnes Grey' Scheduled for Christie’s Auction
Christie’s will offer a rare 1847 first edition of Emily Brontë’s novel in its original cloth binding on June 30, 2026, alongside Anne Brontë’s 'Agnes Grey.' The combined lot is estimated at 400,000 to 600,000 pounds.
Abc NewsChristie’s in London will auction a first-edition copy of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” in the publisher’s original cloth binding on June 30, 2026. The volume has not appeared at auction since 1908 and has remained in a private library since shortly after its 1847 publication. Approximately 250 copies of the first edition were printed.
A first-edition copy of Anne Brontë’s “Agnes Grey” is being sold with it. The combined lot carries an estimate of 400,000 to 600,000 pounds, or $540,000 to $800,000. Both volumes bear the male pen names the sisters used: Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne.
Christie’s announced the sale on Monday, June 15, 2026. Books and manuscripts specialist Mark Wiltshire said the vast majority of surviving copies were rebound, making original cloth examples extremely scarce. ” Wiltshire called the novel a “cultural touchstone,” though an 1848 critic had described it as containing “vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.
He cited Kate Bush’s 1978 song “Wuthering Heights” and noted that the novel’s “emotional force, its atmosphere, and its psychological intensity” keep artists returning to it. Emerald Fennell directed a recent film adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
