There's a fundamental flaw with the teaching of English literature: tell somebody to read something, and it can't help but be a chore. Wouldn't it make more sense to let English GCSE and A-level students choose whatever they liked — from a reasonably decent list, of course — and take it from there?
All this is by way of introduction to my guilty little secret: a lifelong antipathy to Wuthering Heights. It might be a classic that redefined the concept of literature and all that jazz, but frankly I loathed every page. There wasn't a character in it I wouldn't gladly have strapped to a rocket and fired into the Sun, and as for the excruciating rendering of local dialect... words fail me, just as standardised spelling failed Emily Brontë.
In case anyone's wondering if I feel better for getting all that off my chest, the answer is 'yes, yes I do'. And part of the reason why is because my spirits have been cheered by the house on this page — a house which inspired the book that so tormented me as a 17-year-old A-level student. Sure, every brick bears an imprint of guilt for the horrors it helped spawn via the Brontë Pen of Doom, but that's not to say I can't appreciate why it might have inspired a budding writer.
The house in question is Ponden Hall, a great country house not far from the Brontë's parsonage at Haworth — and now on the market via Strutt & Parker at £1m. In the early 19th century the house kept an extensive library, and the Brontës were regular visitors; many details of the house, particularly the interior, suggest fairly clearly that it was the inspiration for the Lintons' home, Thrushcross Grange. Anne Brontë was just as inspired as Emily, incidentally: Ponden is also the model for the titular house in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Ponden Hall is in the village of Stanbury and is even accessed via a lane with a suitably Gothic name: Scar Top Road. It's huge: there are eight bedrooms, a paddock, four acres of land and a further two-bedroom annexe — ideal for the Nelly who looks after your family, or for use as a potential holiday let to Brontë-mad tourists.
The oldest parts of the hall date to 1541, but most of the house as it stands today goes back to 1634 — and the evidence of its great age is plain to see.
The beams, walls, floors, ceilings, fireplaces and windows are gloriously authentic — and the owners have doubled-down on the effect with some wonderfully inspired furniture choices, especially with the beds. Don't fret about the fact that you'd struggle to find similar pieces yourself: the vendors are apparently happy sell it on via separate negotiation.
The heart of the house is a huge living/dining room, while there's a kitchen/breakfast room across the hallway. There are two bedrooms downstairs and six more upstairs, two of which are en-suite.
The annexe's two rooms are both en-suite and on the ground floor, with an open-plan living space above.
Ponden Hall has been run as a B&B and could just as easily continue as a business or once again become a family home. Either way, lovers of Gothic Romance will be hoping that it inspires another famous book. Future generations of A-level students, of course, may not feel the same way...
Ponden Hall is on the market via Strutt & Parker at £1m — see more details and pictures.
Inside Haworth: The humble parsonage where the Brontë sisters changed literature
Some of our most enduring stories were conceived at Haworth – Jeremy Musson enjoys a literary pilgrimage.
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
Curious Questions: Would Anne Brontë be more famous without her two sisters?
To mark the forgotten Brontë’s 200th birthday, Charlotte Cory looks back at the life and works of this ‘runt of
'Unleashed, mad and dangerous': How Britain's wild, romantic moorland is our 'signature habitat', inspiring everything from Beowulf to The Hound of the Baskervilles
Mark Griffiths examines our ancient fear and fascination with ecologically invaluable moorland, of which we have more than any other
-
Why British designers dream up the most desirable hotelsWhen it comes to hotel design, the Brits do it best, says Giles Kime.
-
The five minute guide to 'The Great Gatsby', a century on from its publication'The Great Gatsby' sold poorly the year it was published, but, in the following century, it went on to become a cornerstone of world literature.
-
Five beautiful homes, from a barn conversion to an island treasure, as seen in Country LifeOur pick of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life in recent days include a wonderful thatched home in Devon and a charming red-brick house with gardens that run down to the water's edge.
-
The finest interiors in Edinburgh? A seven-bedroom townhouse furnished by Robert Kime comes to marketSituated on one of the New Town's grandest terraces, this four-storey property is a collector's dream.
-
A Grade II*-listed country manor with one of the most beautiful drawing rooms in EnglandIf Old Manor Farm in Somerset is good enough for Pevsner, it's good enough for you.
-
An eight-bedroom home in Surrey where an army of robots will look after your lawnsDo not fear the bladed guardians of Monksfield House. They are here to help.
-
A French castle for sale on the banks of the Dordogne? With a swimming pool? Where do we sign?This chateau in Lalinde is nothing short of a historical delight in the south of France. And it comes fully furnished.
-
Sip your morning tea where Churchill once paced, as his former Pimlico home comes up for saleThe five-bedroom flat in Eccleston Square offers ‘historical gravitas and modern comfort’ in a leafy pocket of London.
-
Live a life of Tudor fancy in this five-bedroom London home with links to Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIIIFans of Wolf Hall rejoice, as a rare chance to own a Tudor home inside the M25 comes to market.
-
Murder, intrigue and 'the magic of a bygone era' at this eight-bedroom home set in 25 acres of Devon countrysideUpcott Barton is a family home steeped in history and comes with more than 5,000sq ft of living space.
