Emily Brontë used the pen name Ellis Bell when Wuthering Heights was first published. The novel appeared in 1847 under a deliberately masculine-sounding pseudonym, helping Brontë and her sisters publish their work while shielding their private identities from the prejudices often directed at women authors.
The three Brontë sisters adopted related names: Charlotte became Currer Bell, Emily became Ellis Bell, and Anne became Acton Bell. Their poetry collection, Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, appeared in 1846. Wuthering Heights was published by Thomas Cautley Newby alongside Anne’s Agnes Grey, with the authors initially identified only by their Bell names.
The novel is Emily Brontë’s only completed novel. Set among the Yorkshire moors, it follows the destructive relationships surrounding Heathcliff, Catherine Earnshaw, and the families of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Emily’s identity became more widely known after her death; later editions identified her by name. Currer Bell belonged to Charlotte, while Acton Bell belonged to Anne, making those two tempting but incorrect alternatives.