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Changing Heaven
Two worlds are intertwined in this hauntingly beautiful story as it moves from Toronto to the English moors and to Venice, Italy. The time frame shifts between present and past, linking the lives of a young Brontë scholar (a woman in the throes of a troubled love affair), a turn-of-the-century female balloonist, and an elusive explorer with the ghost – or the memory – of Emily Brontë. Urquhart reveals something about the act of artistic creation, the ways in which stories enter our lives, and about the cyclical nature of love throughout time. This is a novel of darkness and light, of intense weather and inner calm.From the Hardcover edition.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1990
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About the author
Jane Urquhart
41 books378 followersShe is the author of seven internationally acclaimed novels entitled, The Whirlpool, Changing Heaven, Away, The Underpainter, The Stone Carvers, A Map of Glass, and Sanctuary Line.
The Whirlpool received the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Best Foreign Book Award). Away was winner of the Trillium Book Award and a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Underpainter won the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
The Stone Carvers was a finalist for the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. A Map of Glass was a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book.
She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, and four books of poetry, I Am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace, False Shuffles, The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan, and Some Other Garden. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, Calgary's Bob Edwards Award and the Harbourfront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. In 2005 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Recently, she was named the 2007 Banff Distinguished Writer.
Urquhart has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Toronto, and the University of Guelph.
She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the U.S.A., and Australia.
In 2007 she edited and published The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories, and in 2009 she published a biography of
Lucy Maud Montgomery as part of Penguin’s “Extraordinary Canadians” series.
Urquhart lives in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, and occasionally in Ireland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Urq...
The Whirlpool received the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Best Foreign Book Award). Away was winner of the Trillium Book Award and a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Underpainter won the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
The Stone Carvers was a finalist for the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. A Map of Glass was a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book.
She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, and four books of poetry, I Am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace, False Shuffles, The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan, and Some Other Garden. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, Calgary's Bob Edwards Award and the Harbourfront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. In 2005 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Recently, she was named the 2007 Banff Distinguished Writer.
Urquhart has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Toronto, and the University of Guelph.
She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the U.S.A., and Australia.
In 2007 she edited and published The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories, and in 2009 she published a biography of
Lucy Maud Montgomery as part of Penguin’s “Extraordinary Canadians” series.
Urquhart lives in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, and occasionally in Ireland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Urq...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 11, 2019
I’d describe this first and foremost as a pretentious novel. Sometimes an average writer can write a really good novel simply by knowing her limits and working within them. Jane Urquhart is a very good writer who here is overreaching herself. I found a certain insecurity in the other novel of hers I read; in this one it’s more apparent. There’s a constant strain on her part to add more and more profundity, as if we are in the presence of an oracle.
Essentially this novel takes obsessive or romantic love as its theme. In her other novel I read romantic love was depicted as a liberating transcendental force, not an idea I have much time for. When people read about Sylvia Plath they often get angry at Ted Hughes; I find myself getting frustrated with her. There seems something pathological in her love for him, something wilfully self-harming, as if she’s glad of the excuse he provides. She’s got this prodigious talent and yet she allows a male to be the sole custodian of her self-esteem. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out. Virginia Woolf was wise about romantic love in The Voyage Out; she showed it as being as stifling as it was stimulating. She never bothered addressing the subject in depth again, as if for her it was little more than a colourful sideshow in life. I think the wisest novel ever written about obsessive romantic love is Wuthering Heights.
Which is perhaps why Urquhart drafts Emily Bronte into her novel. Changing Heaven has a dual narrative – on the one hand a straightforward, if heavily freighted, narrative about the obsessive love of a female Emily Bronte fan for a Tintoretto scholar; on the other a dialogue between the ghost of Emily Bronte and a young girl murdered by her lover. The former narrative, though often overstraining with purple prose, contained much to admire; the latter was just daft. Emily Bronte becomes the mouthpiece for the author’s ideas, sermonising and intellectualising in a fashion that could hardly ill suit the ghost of Emily Bronte less. It’s a novel into which Urquhart chucks everything but the kitchen sink. As was the case with A Map of Glass she seems compelled to employ in her narratives every image that bewitches her no matter how unrelated, duplicating or clashing. The connections she subsequently makes feel forced – in this case, the wild weather on Bronte’s moors, Tintoretto’s canvases and Antarctica. It all ends up very hit and miss; at times she can make connections that are exciting; at other times it’s like she’s trying to construct a coherent whole with various pieces of two different jigsaw sets.
Essentially this novel takes obsessive or romantic love as its theme. In her other novel I read romantic love was depicted as a liberating transcendental force, not an idea I have much time for. When people read about Sylvia Plath they often get angry at Ted Hughes; I find myself getting frustrated with her. There seems something pathological in her love for him, something wilfully self-harming, as if she’s glad of the excuse he provides. She’s got this prodigious talent and yet she allows a male to be the sole custodian of her self-esteem. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out. Virginia Woolf was wise about romantic love in The Voyage Out; she showed it as being as stifling as it was stimulating. She never bothered addressing the subject in depth again, as if for her it was little more than a colourful sideshow in life. I think the wisest novel ever written about obsessive romantic love is Wuthering Heights.
Which is perhaps why Urquhart drafts Emily Bronte into her novel. Changing Heaven has a dual narrative – on the one hand a straightforward, if heavily freighted, narrative about the obsessive love of a female Emily Bronte fan for a Tintoretto scholar; on the other a dialogue between the ghost of Emily Bronte and a young girl murdered by her lover. The former narrative, though often overstraining with purple prose, contained much to admire; the latter was just daft. Emily Bronte becomes the mouthpiece for the author’s ideas, sermonising and intellectualising in a fashion that could hardly ill suit the ghost of Emily Bronte less. It’s a novel into which Urquhart chucks everything but the kitchen sink. As was the case with A Map of Glass she seems compelled to employ in her narratives every image that bewitches her no matter how unrelated, duplicating or clashing. The connections she subsequently makes feel forced – in this case, the wild weather on Bronte’s moors, Tintoretto’s canvases and Antarctica. It all ends up very hit and miss; at times she can make connections that are exciting; at other times it’s like she’s trying to construct a coherent whole with various pieces of two different jigsaw sets.
April 11, 2021
By having churlishly given a mere three stars "Wuthering Heights" I set a low ceiling on my rating for "Changing Heaven" which is a revisitation of Emily Brontë's novel. Despite its many merits, "Changing Heaven" is not nearly as good and I find myself unable to give it any more than two stars.
"Changing Heavens" leaves many readers thinking that Urquhart is playing games with them. In fact, it is difficult to determine who the protagonist is. At times it appears that it might be Catherine the heroine of "Wuthering Heights". At other points, it seems that Emily Brontë who plays a large role in Urquhart's novel could be the protagonist. Ariana who falls to her death from a balloon on Brontë's moor at the beginning of the 20th Century is another candidate. In the final analysis, however, the protagonist is most likely Ann, a women teaching at a liberal arts college at the end of the 20th century and who is possibly the alter ego of Urquhart.
Ann like Urquhart is a middle-class, Ontario Wasp whose father works in the mining industry. Ann is greatly saddened by the fact that her father is seldom at the family home in Toronto because he needs to be present at remote mining and exploration properties in Northern Ontario. Presumably looking for a father figure, Ann falls obsessively in love with a married man who teaches at the same college that she does. Her married lover happy to sleep with her but insists at all times that she is not in love with him.
Ann's problem is very similar to that of Ariana who falls in love with a balloonist who has no interest in her and from life wants only to float in the air. When the balloonist discovers that Ariana is encroaching on his private space he arranges for her to have a fatal accident.
Ann's situation is also similar to that of the heroine of "Wuthering Heights" who is deeply in love with the ill-starred Heathcliff. Finally Ann's dilemma is like that of Emily Brontë who was profoundly attached to her brother Bramwell.
Brontë's advice is to create a fictitious man to fall in love with because it is the least dangerous option and the one most likely to make one happy.
At the end of the novel Ann decides that to let her married lover go. However, as both will continue to teach at the same college, the reader cannot be sure that she will not try to rekindle the relationship at a later date.
"Changing Heaven" is not one of Urquhart's best novels and the morality of her heroine is questionable at best. Nonetheless, but for any of Urquhart's diehard fans who approach it with reasonable expectations, it should be an enjoyable read.
"Changing Heavens" leaves many readers thinking that Urquhart is playing games with them. In fact, it is difficult to determine who the protagonist is. At times it appears that it might be Catherine the heroine of "Wuthering Heights". At other points, it seems that Emily Brontë who plays a large role in Urquhart's novel could be the protagonist. Ariana who falls to her death from a balloon on Brontë's moor at the beginning of the 20th Century is another candidate. In the final analysis, however, the protagonist is most likely Ann, a women teaching at a liberal arts college at the end of the 20th century and who is possibly the alter ego of Urquhart.
Ann like Urquhart is a middle-class, Ontario Wasp whose father works in the mining industry. Ann is greatly saddened by the fact that her father is seldom at the family home in Toronto because he needs to be present at remote mining and exploration properties in Northern Ontario. Presumably looking for a father figure, Ann falls obsessively in love with a married man who teaches at the same college that she does. Her married lover happy to sleep with her but insists at all times that she is not in love with him.
Ann's problem is very similar to that of Ariana who falls in love with a balloonist who has no interest in her and from life wants only to float in the air. When the balloonist discovers that Ariana is encroaching on his private space he arranges for her to have a fatal accident.
Ann's situation is also similar to that of the heroine of "Wuthering Heights" who is deeply in love with the ill-starred Heathcliff. Finally Ann's dilemma is like that of Emily Brontë who was profoundly attached to her brother Bramwell.
Brontë's advice is to create a fictitious man to fall in love with because it is the least dangerous option and the one most likely to make one happy.
At the end of the novel Ann decides that to let her married lover go. However, as both will continue to teach at the same college, the reader cannot be sure that she will not try to rekindle the relationship at a later date.
"Changing Heaven" is not one of Urquhart's best novels and the morality of her heroine is questionable at best. Nonetheless, but for any of Urquhart's diehard fans who approach it with reasonable expectations, it should be an enjoyable read.
August 25, 2012
I discovered this book on a sales table at the local bookstore and bought it for the author and the mention of Emily Brontë on the back cover. While I had high expectations for it (Urquhart is one of Canada's finest authors), I was pleasently surprised: the novel not only explores the human experience with beautifully strung prose, but swallowed me up completely to the point of forgetting my surroundings (an unforunate experience while riding a city bus). This is the story of a ballonist and her dominating, broken lover; it is the story of a Brontë scholar and an art historian entering into a love affair; it is a story about ghosts, both literal and metaphorical; a story about stories and the way they grow; about love, lust, and the distance between the two.
While I was completely awed by Urquhart's exploration of love and her ability to create relationships every bit as intense as Heathcliff and Catherine's, I was disappointed by her rather flat portrayal of Emily, Branwell, and their sisters (who feature as characters in this story). That said, I would certainly recommend the novel to any fan of Wuthering Heights and/or the Brontës. I would not, however, suggest that anyone unfamiliar with Emily Brontë's work read it without first reading Wuthering Heights.
While I was completely awed by Urquhart's exploration of love and her ability to create relationships every bit as intense as Heathcliff and Catherine's, I was disappointed by her rather flat portrayal of Emily, Branwell, and their sisters (who feature as characters in this story). That said, I would certainly recommend the novel to any fan of Wuthering Heights and/or the Brontës. I would not, however, suggest that anyone unfamiliar with Emily Brontë's work read it without first reading Wuthering Heights.
November 28, 2017
3.5 stars
I really like Urquhart’s writing style. I feel like this novel is full of interesting, ambitious ideas that don’t completely come together. I think she tried to throw too much in and the too muchness prevented the creation of a cohesive story.
This was a read along and it did generate interesting conversation.
I recommend reading this after reading Wuthering Heights; the fresher Wuthering Heights is in one’s mind the better. I decided to read WU again as a companion read because I read it over 25 years ago.
I am looking forward to reading more by Urquhart. This is an early work and I’ve been told her later works are better.
I really like Urquhart’s writing style. I feel like this novel is full of interesting, ambitious ideas that don’t completely come together. I think she tried to throw too much in and the too muchness prevented the creation of a cohesive story.
This was a read along and it did generate interesting conversation.
I recommend reading this after reading Wuthering Heights; the fresher Wuthering Heights is in one’s mind the better. I decided to read WU again as a companion read because I read it over 25 years ago.
I am looking forward to reading more by Urquhart. This is an early work and I’ve been told her later works are better.
January 10, 2009
I am still mulling it over in my mind. I am enchanted with the character of the wind and the setting on the moors. The interweaving of the stories, of past and present was a wonderful unfolding. I guess the reason I didn't rate the book higher is that I never fully was able to get behind any of the 4 main characters: Arianna/Polly, Emily, Anne or Arthur (though I did like the solid comfortableness of John). The foreword starting "she wants to write a book about the wind, about the weather" captivated me. Such a crucial character in this book thus far and in WH. I took a break from reading today to refresh myself on Tintoretto. I had forgotten "the drawing of Michelangelo and the color ot Titian" that he inscribed on his studio wall.
The internet is a wonderful thing to allow me to visit the art gallery from home! Not quite as fulfilling as a real journey, but helped to awaken memories of those paintings I have seen of his.
But the writing and the telling- ah...that was a treat.
I am also contemplating the title. An interesting choice, considering in Urquhart's view, Arianna and Emily could be any time, any place they chose...or was it how perceptions change with knowledge ( which again could apply to both the earthly and ghostly characters). Or was it the changability of the settings- I'm thinking here of the moors... Feel free to chime back in on this folks, you previous readers. I'd like to hear your views.
The internet is a wonderful thing to allow me to visit the art gallery from home! Not quite as fulfilling as a real journey, but helped to awaken memories of those paintings I have seen of his.
But the writing and the telling- ah...that was a treat.
I am also contemplating the title. An interesting choice, considering in Urquhart's view, Arianna and Emily could be any time, any place they chose...or was it how perceptions change with knowledge ( which again could apply to both the earthly and ghostly characters). Or was it the changability of the settings- I'm thinking here of the moors... Feel free to chime back in on this folks, you previous readers. I'd like to hear your views.
October 14, 2018
Lovely descriptive writing style and a very unusual plot. This novel is about obsession: obsession with a lover, obsession with weather, obsession with Tintoretto, obsession with absence - all played out on a background of the story of Cathy and Heathcliff. The ghost of Emily Bronte is a main character in the novel. I found the obsessive love of Ann for Arthur and Arianna for Jeremy to be too much.
November 3, 2012
Parallel stories linking a turn of the century female balloonist, the ghost of Emily Bronte and a present day Bronte scholar. Both tales felt like a sensual roller coaster ride that left me breathless and wanting more.
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November 23, 2024This is a book dominated by the ghost of Emily Brontë. It is often quite good, and I did enjoy the way in which the separate narrative streams which have been maintained for the majority of the novel find a way to reach unity in the final pages.
April 3, 2025
I’ve heard good things about Urquhart’s books but haven’t read any until now, and even though I have her first book I decided to start with her second 😅
I really enjoyed “Changing Heaven”! Urquhart’s writing style drew me into the story and I loved the concept of the ghost of Emily Bronte as a character. I finished it quite quickly because I wanted to see what happened next! I’m certainly going to keep an eye out for her other works at future book sales!
I really enjoyed “Changing Heaven”! Urquhart’s writing style drew me into the story and I loved the concept of the ghost of Emily Bronte as a character. I finished it quite quickly because I wanted to see what happened next! I’m certainly going to keep an eye out for her other works at future book sales!
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May 4, 2022Most books written by Canadian female writers who put an emphasis on form and style (Sheila Watson, Elizabeth hay, etc.) Usually get frumped on by Goodreads reviews. It's not my favorite style in the whole world, but Urquhart has an original talent with such a layered storytelling that is unparalleled in the canlit scene. This novel fits within the scope of what is considered "higher" literary approaches, and it also speaks to the heart of the reader. I can only read her books once though, if I tried a second read I'd likely be obliged to read them a dozen times to mesh out the complexities and contrasting themes and all them other high faluting ideas.
June 2, 2007
What a disappointment! Generally I love Jane Urquhart's books, but this just didn't really capture my interest. A neat concept as the story is told by two ghosts, but the central theme is "Wuthering Heights", which I thought was kind of lame. Maybe if I had re-read it before this one, I would have connected with the book more.
March 7, 2019
I just could not get into this overreaching, overly romantic, overly dripping with yearning love lost work.
Although inspired to read it due to the Bronte references and Yorkshire setting I just could not relate on any level!
I truly believe that this author's talent lies more in poetry than novel writing.
Although inspired to read it due to the Bronte references and Yorkshire setting I just could not relate on any level!
I truly believe that this author's talent lies more in poetry than novel writing.
March 25, 2018
Urquhart is a fine writer. It’s an easy to read book. That said, the characters are all morons and it’s really hard to do anything other than to roll your eyes whenever Ann is pissed that she’ll never meet someone like Heathcliff. Why the fuck would you want to?! Heathcliff is a monster!
August 11, 2021
Changing Heaven is a difficult novel to review. Much of the narrative is told in poetic metaphor, and the images are deep and multi-layered. Some may think that the style is pretentious or artsy; some may be impressed by the intricacy of the structure. I personally hovered between the two attitudes, and every time I concluded that it was too pretentious, Urquhart spun me around into admiration.
The story alternates between two main characters: Ann is a contemporary writer doing research on weather as it relates to Wuthering Heights; Arianna is an early 20th century balloonist. They are both involved in difficult love affairs where, in each case, the man dominates by his rejecting behaviour. Early in the novel, Arianna dies in a balloon accident, becomes a ghost, and makes friends with the the ghost of Emily Bronte. The interweaving stories echo and reflect back on each other. The obsessive love of Heathcliff and Catherine from Wuthering Heights is mirrored in Ann and Arianna's story. (Parts of Ann's story is almost a comic parody of Heathcliff's obsessive behaviour). I think this novel would take many readings to be able to make a fair assessment of its quality. I loved it, was frustrated by it, was contemptuous of the characters' self-involvement until I recognized the extent to which it was commentary on Wuthering Heights (a book I did not like). I argue with myself about this book, and will do so for some time to come, which is probably the ultimate compliment to the author's work.
The story alternates between two main characters: Ann is a contemporary writer doing research on weather as it relates to Wuthering Heights; Arianna is an early 20th century balloonist. They are both involved in difficult love affairs where, in each case, the man dominates by his rejecting behaviour. Early in the novel, Arianna dies in a balloon accident, becomes a ghost, and makes friends with the the ghost of Emily Bronte. The interweaving stories echo and reflect back on each other. The obsessive love of Heathcliff and Catherine from Wuthering Heights is mirrored in Ann and Arianna's story. (Parts of Ann's story is almost a comic parody of Heathcliff's obsessive behaviour). I think this novel would take many readings to be able to make a fair assessment of its quality. I loved it, was frustrated by it, was contemptuous of the characters' self-involvement until I recognized the extent to which it was commentary on Wuthering Heights (a book I did not like). I argue with myself about this book, and will do so for some time to come, which is probably the ultimate compliment to the author's work.
November 26, 2024
Fifty Shades of Brontë. Unintentionally funny, and perversely entertaining. Two parallel stories. In a Victorian era London sweatshop,
Polly is literally swept off her feet by an arrogant, domineering, controlling (and probably married) creepy Balloonist, is rebranded by said Svengali as “Arianna”and becomes an expert balloonist herself, but very early in the novel plunges to her death in a bizarre aerial stunt that takes place over the Yorkshire moors. Polly/Arianna becomes a ghost and is doomed to spend eternity haunting across the moors with the ghost of Emily Brontë by her side. The two of them engage in a lot of intense conversations about wind. Jump to modern era Toronto where Wuthering Heights obsessed Anne grows up to be a Brontë scholar at the University of Toronto and is swept off her feet by Tintoretto obsessed Arthur, a fellow professor, who also happens to be arrogant, domineering, controlling and very married. Right off the bat they engage in a doomed love affair where Arthur immediately declares “I am not in love with you, but I want you.” And Anne is all like “that’s cool, because…wind.”
I’m doing it an injustice here, I know, but it’s all bit too operatic for my liking, actually this has the makings of being a really good opera.
Polly is literally swept off her feet by an arrogant, domineering, controlling (and probably married) creepy Balloonist, is rebranded by said Svengali as “Arianna”and becomes an expert balloonist herself, but very early in the novel plunges to her death in a bizarre aerial stunt that takes place over the Yorkshire moors. Polly/Arianna becomes a ghost and is doomed to spend eternity haunting across the moors with the ghost of Emily Brontë by her side. The two of them engage in a lot of intense conversations about wind. Jump to modern era Toronto where Wuthering Heights obsessed Anne grows up to be a Brontë scholar at the University of Toronto and is swept off her feet by Tintoretto obsessed Arthur, a fellow professor, who also happens to be arrogant, domineering, controlling and very married. Right off the bat they engage in a doomed love affair where Arthur immediately declares “I am not in love with you, but I want you.” And Anne is all like “that’s cool, because…wind.”
I’m doing it an injustice here, I know, but it’s all bit too operatic for my liking, actually this has the makings of being a really good opera.
April 10, 2022
This is as much fable or myth-making as it is a novel. The centerpiece is the novel Wuthering Heights for its author (whose ghost figures as a major player in the story), for its setting (the moors of Yorkshire), and for its impact as a guiding narrative for one of the other two major female players in this tale. The novel becomes more metaphysical as it approaches the end, and while I cannot say it totally succeeds from a reader's standpoint (I found myself as puzzled as I was entertained or challenged throughout much of the narrative), it is a daring bit of storytelling, and as an exercise in the power great stories hold over identity and even the way the very Earth, skies, weather, and wind are illuminated for and by us by them, I'm not sure the book has very many peers.
November 25, 2024
(3.5 stars) After reading the first two chapters, I thought I was going to hate it because it sounded very pretentious and included somewhat weird descriptions of women (Arianna skinny queen lol). As I continued on, though, I was more and more impressed by the detail and strangeness of the plot and setting. There was still an air of pretension for sure but I think the pacing and atmosphere-building let me enjoy this more than I imagined I would. Contrary to others’ opinions, I quite liked that there wasn’t a singular protagonist and all of the main characters were sort of left in this middle-ground area of importance.
May 29, 2025
Not unpleasant, I enjoyed the change in style from the more spartan prose used in Sanctuary Line and Stone Carvers. However, that sparse poetic storytelling is Urquhart's bread and butter. The central theme of being windblown was well-matched by Urquhart's prose being.... also windblown. Unfortunately it made following the plot very hard. For the whimsical only!! The old cranks like me can stick to meat and potatoes- boiled!
May 15, 2017
Just too literary for me right now, although I am a fervent fan of everything else Jane Urquhart has written.
I'll put it back on the shelf for when I'm retired and can simply surrender to the experience from page 1 to page 258.
I'll put it back on the shelf for when I'm retired and can simply surrender to the experience from page 1 to page 258.
March 23, 2019
Very good for reading on miserable, rainy, windy days. It almost makes me want Wurthering Heights. I read this book as a “blind date with a book” and I quite liked it. I plan to read more of Jane Urquhart’s work.
January 27, 2021
Such exquisite storytelling. Two women, Ann and Arianna are the focus of the book. Living decades apart, influenced by the stormy weather and passions of the Yorkshire moors both women struggle with troubled love affairs.
This is the kind of book you want to read more than once.
This is the kind of book you want to read more than once.
September 20, 2022
Very strong writing; gorgeous detail; complex and convincing characters. I suspect I picked up this book at the wrong time - it's just a bit multilayered for my lazy summer mood. Will probably read it again though, to see what I may have missed.
October 24, 2022
I love this writer’s other novels but somehow this book didn’t really work for me. I’m even a bit of a Brontë fan, and the three women characters were interesting and unique, but the story drifted and wandered like the metaphorical wind and didn’t hold my interest for much of the time.
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September 24, 2019What’s the genre of this book?
March 7, 2022
This was my least favourite of the 4 I have just read, but I loved how she wove Wuthering Heights through the whole story.
June 27, 2025
Might well be an exceptionally good example of fan fiction, but unreadable for me. DNF halfway.
December 16, 2017
Changing Heaven by Jane Urquhart is a kind of homage to Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The title of the book comes from a Bronte passage:
“How still, how happy! Those are words
That once would scarce agree together;
I loved the plashing of the surge,
The changing heaven, the breezy weather”
I’m not gonna lie, I don’t really like this book anymore than I like Wuthering Heights. None of the characters are likable and the story doesn’t quite come together for me. Some good ideas, maybe too many ideas. Urquhart hart’s writing is artistic and I like the story weaving together the past and present. But I don’t like the obsessive love story. It’s too heavy, like anvil on my chest heavy. Urquhart writes of the sea, the sky, the clouds and hot air balloons but that doesn’t lighten it up one bit.
I don’t really recommend this particular Urquhart but I do recommend Jane Urquhart. I absolutely loved The Underpainter and plan to finish Away next.
“How still, how happy! Those are words
That once would scarce agree together;
I loved the plashing of the surge,
The changing heaven, the breezy weather”
I’m not gonna lie, I don’t really like this book anymore than I like Wuthering Heights. None of the characters are likable and the story doesn’t quite come together for me. Some good ideas, maybe too many ideas. Urquhart hart’s writing is artistic and I like the story weaving together the past and present. But I don’t like the obsessive love story. It’s too heavy, like anvil on my chest heavy. Urquhart writes of the sea, the sky, the clouds and hot air balloons but that doesn’t lighten it up one bit.
I don’t really recommend this particular Urquhart but I do recommend Jane Urquhart. I absolutely loved The Underpainter and plan to finish Away next.
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March 2, 2017This book is a mess from start to finish. In fact, one of the worst books I have ever read. I only finished it because it was a book club choice. Amateurish attempt at parallel plotting, infuriating characters and the most aggregious- an insult to Emily and Charlotte Bronte. No stars!
August 20, 2012
For book two of my Canadian Book Reading Challenge, I decided to read Changing Heaven by Jane Urquhart. I read The Stone Carvers and The Underpainter a number of years ago and was ready to read more by this lyrical writer.
I came into the story blind to anything about it and I’d hate to spoil its charm by giving too much away here. Basically, this book tells the stories of many characters related in some way or another to Emily Brontë. The story is told through several narrators, which I personally enjoy.
Changing Heaven is beautiful, whimsical and poetic. It is “a book about the wind, about the weather.” How sweet is that? I wish I could write like this! It is captivatingly Canadian with its dedication to weather and descriptions of landscape. It is lovely and enchanting.
As in The Stone Carvers and The Underpainter, Changing Heaven focuses on art and the artist. Urquhart writes of painting with depth and understanding. I can only deduce that her marriage to artist, Tony Urquhart, is cause for much inspiration!
I’d love to discuss this book with someone who has read it. So much beauty and sadness to dissect.
I came into the story blind to anything about it and I’d hate to spoil its charm by giving too much away here. Basically, this book tells the stories of many characters related in some way or another to Emily Brontë. The story is told through several narrators, which I personally enjoy.
Changing Heaven is beautiful, whimsical and poetic. It is “a book about the wind, about the weather.” How sweet is that? I wish I could write like this! It is captivatingly Canadian with its dedication to weather and descriptions of landscape. It is lovely and enchanting.
As in The Stone Carvers and The Underpainter, Changing Heaven focuses on art and the artist. Urquhart writes of painting with depth and understanding. I can only deduce that her marriage to artist, Tony Urquhart, is cause for much inspiration!
I’d love to discuss this book with someone who has read it. So much beauty and sadness to dissect.
August 13, 2014
I found this book more interesting as I got into it. At first it was somewhat confusing with three main characters - the ghost of Emily Bronte, a female balloonist from early in the 20th century, and a modern-day Bronte scholar. The fourth main character is surprising - the wind. It is unceasing and intrudes into all of the plot events. I thought that was a unique feature of this book, and very appropriate for the Emily Bronte - Yorkshire connection. The stories of the three women became clearer as the novel progressed and their connections (aside from the obvious ones) became clearer. Urquhart's writing is beautiful with more similarity to poetry than prose. For this reason, the book presents as quite "literate", not for all readers. If you appreciate very good writing and want to think about what you are reading, this novel will appeal to you.
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