Sourland:
Wuthering Heights, New Jersey
by Mary D’Amore
Sourland answers the question, “What if the same personalities and circumstances occurred in our society?”
It is a retelling of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, which is considered one of the greatest Victorian Gothic novels in the English canon. Sourland moves the setting to 200 years later and 5,000 miles away, taking place between 1971 through 2002 on the Sourland Mountain of New Jersey.
Analogous in every detail, this novel experiments with the relevance of pathologies and societal mindsets, then and now.
Names, times, locales, behaviors and reactions are altered for Hadley, Caroline, Jared, Belle, William, Dorman, Tzvetelina, and Joe; but their circumstances, events, personalities, and emotions are preserved.
21st Century American English has been chosen to translate every word and transform meaning and message for the contemporary reader—critical for the story line, scene descriptions, and character and historical empathy.
The rich history and lore of the Sourland Mountain dates back to the Revolutionary War, and further to when it was Lenni Lenape land. Interwoven into Sourland are references to these histories and hauntings, making it a satisfying substitute for Emily’s moors.
117,000 words
Querying
Presenting “Knitting Betty’s Rock: The Revolutionary War on the Sourland Mountain” to the Princeton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Speaking about the Sourland Mountain area and lore as written about in Sourland: Wuthering Heights, New Jersey by invitation of the local DAR.
© 2024 Mary D’Amore, All Rights Reserved