Heathcliff is the romantic anti-hero of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, and the book follows his life from his birth as an orphaned foundling to his death as a tormented man haunted by the ghost of his adoptive sister Catherine.

Laurence Olivier, Ralph Fiennes and former James Bond Timothy Dalton have all played Heathcliff in film versions of the book, published in 1847.

As children, Heathcliff and Catherine are inseparable, but he is treated like an outcast by Catherine's brother Hindley, who sees him as a rival.

When their father dies, Hindley becomes master of the family's estate and forces Heathcliff to work as a servant instead of being a member of the family.

Catherine believes Heathcliff's humble beginnings and lack of money make him beneath her as a potential suitor and she unexpectedly marries her wealthy neighbour, Edgar Linton.

An enraged Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights and returns several years later a rich man, intent on taking revenge on those who wronged him.

He lends money to Hindley, now a drunk and a gambler, that he cannot repay and takes ownership of the farmhouse when Hindley dies.

Heathcliff marries Isabella, Edgar's sister, but treats her badly and she runs away while Catherine dies giving birth to her daughter, Cathy.

He forces his son to marry Catherine's daughter but, after his son's death, Cathy falls in love with Hindley's son Hareton and Heathcliff dies a broken man, tormented by Catherine's ghost.