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    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage: "The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it."
    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage: "The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it."
    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage: "The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it."
    Ebook160 pages2 hours

    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage: "The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it."

    By Elizabeth Gaskell

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novella The Moorland Cottage takes place in a modest cottage near the town of Combehurst where Mrs. Browne lives with her two children, Edward and Maggie, along with their servant, Nancy. In her description of their daily life, Gaskell mainly insists on showing how the mother unfairly favors the boy over the girl. While she overtly spoils Edward, she keeps on treating Maggie in a very harsh way, never showing her any motherly love or tenderness. Gaskell also shows how Maggie is pushed to accept this inequality in the family and how she even starts to justify it and explain it. Near the Brownes’ cottage lives the Bruxton family in a big and luxurious house. Mr. Bruxton and his good-hearted wife behave in a very humane way with their neighbors. They equally have a son and a niece, Frank and Erminia, who attempt to befriend Edward and Maggie. Yet, the Bruxtons soon discover the huge difference in character and behavior between the brother and the sister. While falling in love with Maggie’s goodness and light personality, they are struck by Edward’s rudeness and selfishness. Nonetheless, with time, the two families get closer and their life and future become connected. As the two families’ children grow older, the readers see the impact of their childhood education on their adult personality. Maggie’s interaction with the Bruxtons makes her look at things in a different way and see the faults in her brother’s and mother’s characters.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA Word To The Wise
    Release dateSep 24, 2013
    ISBN9781780006123
    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage: "The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it."
    Author

    Elizabeth Gaskell

    Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) was a British novelist and short-story writer. Her works were Victorian social histories across many strata of society. Her most famous works include Mary Barton, Cranford, North and South, and Wives and Daughters.

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    Reviews for Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage

    3.5/5

    38 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This novella was first published in 1850. The story is set over a period of about 12 years.It features two families, one of which lives in Moorland Cottage. The household consists of a widow, her young son and daughter, and an old servant. The late husband/father used to be friends with the more wealthy Mr Buxton, who lives with his invalid wife, his son, and his niece. Because of the former friendship with the widow's late husband, Mr Buxton occasionally visits the poorer family and invites them to his house.The widow is one of these superficial prude-types, who dotes over her son, while her daughter can do nothing right. As a result, the son grows evermore selfish whilst the daughter strives to be her best, despite receiving no praise from her mother, and being treated like a servant by her brother. Luckily the Buxton family can see things as they really are.At times I felt a little bored by long-winded descriptions, but in the main I found this to be a well-plotted piece that displays Mrs Gaskell's talents at creating believable characters.
    • 4/5
      In Gaskell’s classic novel, she has created a family with complicated family dynamics which she expertly weaves around the mores and social problems faced by all Victorian women while emphasizing their strength and grace.Beautifully written.
    • 4/5
      The Browne siblings could not be more different: sweet, mild mannered Maggie and rough, self-centered Ned. How are their lives affected when they are introduced to the Buxton family, a well-to-do country family?The widow Mrs. Browne has high hopes for her son, yet cuts her daughter at every turn. Mr. Buxton takes an interest in Ned's schooling, while his son Frank and niece Erminia sympathizes for Maggie's ill treatment at the hands of her family. How far will Maggie go to keep peace in the family?For anyone who has watched 'Return to Cranford' this short story by Gaskell was inter-woven into the story line (with a few alterations of course). As a fan of Elizabeth Gaskell's work, I can say it is no North and South or Mary Barton, it still has tragedy and intrigue but on a much lighter level. I do reccomend it as a great quick and easy read!
    • 4/5
      Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell is a short novella that was first published around 1850 after her first novel Mary Barton but before one of her more famous novels Cranford. It centers on Maggie Browne, her brother Edward, and their mother who live at the novella's title Moorland Cottage. Mr. Browne died when the children were very young and Mrs. Browne has spent most of the rest of her time neglecting Maggie and catering to her Edward, allowing him all of life's pleasures and ambitions. Maggie obediently stands by and watches her mother spoil Edward and never complains when she is ordered around or criticized for every little thing she does wrong. Maggie's fortune changes when a friend of her father's Mr. Buxton visits the family and invites them to come and spend the day at his home. Maggie becomes a favorite to his sick wife and only son Frank and spends a day a week in their company. Mrs. Buxton teaches Maggie a lot about self-sacrificing, and as Maggie grows she becomes a beautiful, pious young woman and she must learn to find her voice if she is to overcome some of the obstacles that come into her way. For the most part I really enjoyed this novella. I love the way that Mrs. Gaskell writes and I have enjoyed all of the previous books of hers that I have read. She is one of my favorite authors. I think she has such a way with words and expressing simple thoughts and ideas, she can make the most mundane circumstances sound charming and poetic. This novella has all of the things that I love so much about her work. Also, for a novella the pace is never hurried and I never felt as if the story was skipping over major events to save time. On the other hand, I don't think this is one of her strongest works. The story is at time too sentimental and I found that some of the characters were a little flat or too perfect. Maggie is so virtuous and never does anything wrong or complain about her lot in life. She feels horribly about the way her mother treats her but she doesn't moan about it. It seems a bit too much for a young girl to accept her life like that. Edward is so bad that at times he seems so flat and hardly ever shows any remorse for his actions. Also I see a lot of similarities in the relationships between Maggie and Frank and the relationship between Roger and Molly in Wives and Daughters but I think that by the time Mrs. Gaskell went to write Wives and Daughters she expanded so much on Roger and Molly and perfected this relationship perfectly. Also I see a lot of similarities in the relationships between Maggie and Frank and the relationship between Roger and Molly in Wives and Daughters but I think that by the time Mrs. Gaskell went to write Wives and Daughters she expanded so much on Roger and Molly and perfected this relationship perfectly. This novella is an excellent way to introduce Mrs. Gaskell’s writings and see how well her writing develops when reading some of her later novels.
    • 4/5
      A short 1850 novel by the author of one of my favorites, North and South. This is the simple story of the Browne and Buxton families. The widowed Mrs. Browne is having trouble making ends meet, and she places her hopes on her son Edward, who eventually decides to become a lawyer. It's very sad to see how she prefers the selfish Edward to her devoted daughter Maggie, who can do no right in her mother's eyes. Mrs. Browne cultivates a connection with the Buxton's, a wealthy landowner and his widowed sister-in-law. The novel is as much about class and social ambition as it is about dysfunctional family dynamics. Nowhere near as good as Gaskell's longer novels, but a fast and engaging read.

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    Elizabeth Gaskell - The Moorland Cottage - Elizabeth Gaskell

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