LONDON — A rare first-edition copy of Emily Brontë's novel "Wuthering Heights" is being offered for auction on June 30 in London. The auction includes a copy of Anne Brontë's "Agnes Grey" and marks the first time a copy of "Wuthering Heights" in the publisher's original cloth binding has been auctioned since 1908.

The items are expected to sell for between 400,000 pounds and 600,000 pounds, equivalent to $540,000 and $800,000. Approximately 250 copies of the first edition of "Wuthering Heights" were printed. This particular copy has been held in a private library since shortly after its publication in 1847.

Mark Wiltshire, a books and manuscripts specialist, said, "The vast majority of surviving copies were rebound for collectors or libraries, meaning original cloth examples are now extremely scarce." Both books feature the male pen names the sisters used for publication: Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne. The first edition of "Wuthering Heights" contains typographical errors, including occasional misspellings of the word "heights." The novel was published following the success of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre." A critic in 1848 described the novel as having "vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors."

Wiltshire said, "It has moved beyond literature to become a cultural touchstone." He added, "It remains a work that artists return to again and again because of its emotional force, its atmosphere, and its psychological intensity, ensuring its place not only in literary history but in wider cultural imagination."