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The twentieth century has seen many texts published as sequels to the original Brontë novels. How do we decide whether these texts are valid to the Brontë canon? Three modern-day sequels are interrogated for their period authenticity of language; for their adherence to Victorian practices, mores and traditions; for anachronisms; and for consistency between the original characters and their representations in the sequels. Of paramount importance is whether the sequel affects our reading of the original novel. The sequels examined are Lin Haire-Sargeant's The Story of Heathcliff's Journey Back to Wuthering Heights (1992.), Jeffrey Caine's Heathcliff (1977), and Anna L'Estrange's The Return to Wuthering Heights (1977). The following article treats the final title; the first and second titles have been treated in articles published in preceding issues of Brontë Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twentieth century has seen many texts published as sequels to the original Brontë novels. How do we decide whether these texts are valid to the Brontë canon? Three modern-day sequels are interrogated for their period authenticity of language; for their adherence to Victorian practices, mores and traditions; for anachronisms; and for consistency between the original characters and their representations in the sequels. Of paramount importance is whether the sequel affects our reading of the original novel. The sequels examined are Lin Haire-Sargeant's The Story of Heathcliff's Journey Back to Wuthering Heights (1992), Jeffrey Caine's Heathcliff (1977), and Anna L'Estrange's Return to Wuthering Heights (1977). The following article treats the first of these titles. The second and third titles will be treated in subsequent articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]