Inklings Book Club Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi & Alison Oliver: Wuthering Heights
Feb 13, 2026
Margot Robbie, Oscar-nominated actress playing Catherine Earnshaw, and Alison Oliver, known for Conversations with Friends, who plays Isabella Linton, join to discuss the film adaptation. They talk about portraying complex, often cruel characters. They explore the film’s visuals, Charlie XCX soundtrack, audience reactions, and how the adaptation centers Emily Brontë’s gothic themes.
16:16
Obsessive Love Drives The Story
- Wuthering Heights' core is the destructive magnetism between Cathy and Heathcliff across social divides.
- Emerald Fennell's 2026 retelling amplifies that first-part obsession into a vivid, anachronistic fever dream.
Isabella's Transformative Arc
- Alison Oliver described Isabella Linton as childlike, romantic, sometimes petulant and on a clear transformation arc.
- She said Emerald's script intensified Isabella and gave her room for playful exploration as an actor.
Playing Cathy’s Dramatic Contradictions
- Margot Robbie enjoyed playing Catherine's
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Intro
00:00 • 20sec
Overview of Wuthering Heights and Fennell's Adaptation
00:20 • 5min
Meeting the Cast and Their Roles
05:02 • 21sec
Isabella Linton's Journey
05:23 • 1min
Catherine Earnshaw's Flawed Charm
06:44 • 41sec
Portraying Heathcliff's Enigma
07:25 • 23sec
Film's Visuals, Music, and Audience Reaction
07:48 • 1min
Books to Re-read for First-Time Wonder
09:12 • 2min
Recommended Required Reading
11:09 • 1min
Personalized Book Picks for the Cast
12:10 • 1min
Premiere Anecdotes and Cast Kindness
13:30 • 2min
Centering the Book in Adaptation Discussion
15:16 • 30sec
Outro
15:45 • 1sec
#18
• Mentioned in 409 episodes
The Body Keeps the Score
Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk
In this book, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma reshapes both the body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust.
He explores various treatments, including neurofeedback, meditation, sports, drama, and yoga, which activate the brain’s natural neuroplasticity to aid in recovery.
The book emphasizes the power of relationships in both causing and healing trauma and offers hope through descriptions of novel approaches to treatment.
It is based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists in the field.
#18799
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Hopscotch
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar's "Hopscotch" is a groundbreaking novel known for its experimental structure and nonlinear narrative.
The reader is given the freedom to choose their own path through the story, creating a unique and personalized reading experience.
The novel explores themes of identity, reality, and the nature of storytelling itself.
Cortázar's writing is characterized by its playful use of language and its surreal imagery.
"Hopscotch" is a challenging but rewarding read, offering a unique and unforgettable journey into the world of the imagination.
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The Heart's Invisible Furies
Jordi Cussà Balaguer
John Boyne
#8482
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The Executioner's Song
Norman Mailer
The Executioner's Song is a Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime novel by Norman Mailer.
The book meticulously reconstructs the events leading up to Gary Gilmore's crimes, his trial, and his ultimate execution by firing squad in Utah in 1977.
It delves into themes of crime, punishment, and the American justice system through a blend of journalism and literary narrative.
The novel details Gilmore's troubled life, his relationships, particularly with Nicole Baker, and the legal battles surrounding his case.
Mailer's work raises questions about rehabilitation, retribution, and the ethics of capital punishment, and it examines the impact of media on high-profile criminal cases.
#1420
• Mentioned in 29 episodes
Women who run with the wolves
Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
ANTONIA MENINI PAGES
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Maria Antonia Menini
María Antonia Menini Pagès
In 'Women Who Run With the Wolves,' Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés uses rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of the Wild Woman archetype.
The book draws heavily on folk tales and mythology from around the world to explore themes of female self-awareness, the forces that stand in the way of this awareness, and the necessary growth cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
Estés guides the reader through various stories and commentaries to retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman, emphasizing her natural affiliation with the wolf and highlighting the importance of intuition, resilience, and adaptability in reclaiming one's instinctual self.
#26740
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
What We See When We Read
A Phenomenology: With Illustrations
Peter Mendelsund
#35
• Mentioned in 283 episodes
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Written in epistolary form, the novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious scientist who, driven by Enlightenment-era ideas of progress and science, creates a living being from dead body parts.
However, upon seeing the creature come to life, Frankenstein is horrified and abandons it.
The creature, shunned by society due to its appearance, seeks revenge against its creator, leading to a series of tragic events.
The novel explores themes of guilt, loss, and the emotional and moral consequences of scientific hubris, blending elements of Gothic and Romantic literature.
#45280
On Animals
Susan Orlean
#588
• Mentioned in 54 episodes
The sun also rises
Ernest Hemingway
Originally published in 1926, 'The Sun Also Rises' is Ernest Hemingway’s first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.
The novel follows a group of young American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid-1920s, capturing the moods, feelings, and attitudes of the cynical and disillusioned Lost Generation.
The story centers around Jake Barnes, a World War I veteran and journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain.
The novel portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions, reflecting the existential disillusionment characteristic of the Lost Generation.
#179
• Mentioned in 123 episodes
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
Published in 1847, 'Wuthering Heights' is a novel that tells the story of the tumultuous relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and the foundling Heathcliff, whom her father brings home to Wuthering Heights.
The narrative, framed by the visitor Lockwood and the housekeeper Nelly Dean, explores themes of love, revenge, and the cyclical nature of life.
Heathcliff's bitter vengeance against those who wronged him drives the plot, which spans generations and delves into the dark, passionate, and often destructive aspects of human nature.
The novel is renowned for its dramatic and poetic presentation, its unique structure, and its vivid depiction of the Yorkshire moors as a reflection of the characters' inner lives.
When I asked Inklings members what book we should read for February, you guys voted overwhelmingly for Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontè’s gothic masterpiece. Set amongst the backdrop of the sprawling Yorkshire Moors, in the first part of the novel Bronte details the all consuming, toxic, passionate, obsessive, and destructive relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Heathcliff is a real enigma and a social outcast – he is adopted from Liverpool and brought up alongside Cathy. But, when Catherine chooses a wealthier man to marry – Edgar Linton – Heathcliff embarks on a bitter quest for vengeance. The second part of the novel details the way he inflicts pain and suffering on the next generation too. The novel explores this magnetism between Cathy and Heathcliff, two people who just cannot resist each other’s pull. There’s revenge, discussions of social class, and the dark – even defensive – side of human nature when the ego is bruised and feelings are hurt. Today we’re joined by Oscar-nominated actors Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, as well as Alison Oliver, who play Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, and Isabella Linton in the new retelling, “Wuthering Heights”.
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