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    North and South
    North and South
    North and South
    Ebook627 pages11 hours

    North and South

    By Elizabeth Gaskell

    4.5/5

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    North and South is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in book form in 1855 originally appeared as a twenty-two-part weekly serial from September 1854 through January 1855 in the magazine Household Words, edited by Charles Dickens. The title indicates a major theme of the book: the contrast between the way of life in the industrial north of England and the wealthier south, although it was only under pressure from her publishers that Gaskell changed the title from its original, Margaret Hale.
    The book is a social novel that tries to show the industrial North and its conflicts in the mid-19th century as seen by an outsider, a socially sensitive lady from the South. The heroine of the story, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a Nonconformist minister who moves to the fictional industrial town of Milton after leaving the Church of England. The town is modeled after Manchester, where Gaskell lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister. Gaskell herself worked among the poor and knew at first hand the misery of the industrial areas.
    The change of lifestyle shocks Margaret, who sympathizes deeply with the poverty of the workers and comes into conflict with John Thornton, the owner of a local mill, also a friend of her father. After an encounter with a group of strikers, in which Margaret attempts to protect Thornton from the violence, he proposes to her, telling her that he is in love with her; she rejects his proposal of marriage, mainly because she sees it as if it were out of obligation for what she had done. Later, he sees her with her fugitive brother, whom he mistakes for another suitor, and this creates further unresolved conflict. Margaret, once she believes she has lost his affection, begins to see him in another light, and eventually they are reunited.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBooklassic
    Release dateJun 17, 2015
    ISBN9789635238217
    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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    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      North and South is the story of Northern England during the Industrialization. The book centers around the Hale family--Rev., Margaret, and the Missus. Because Rev. Hale wouldn't agree to support the Book of Common Prayer he was let go from his parish and moves his family north where he takes up teaching. They meet Mr. Thornton, a misunderstood factory owner? Margaret and her family become sympathetic to the factory workers and the union. This is a very bleak book, much like those of Thomas Hardy's . There is the requisite happy ending, but it is not satisfying.There is just something "missing" from this book when compared to Hardy and Trollope who write of the same time period. 521 pages 3 1/2 stars
    • 5/5

      I came to this novel, as is the case for many readers, through the BBC television adaptation, which I watched for the first time earlier this year. While I had not consciously avoided the novel and its adaptation until now, it's probably the case that I have been unconsciously avoiding Victorian fiction for some years, preferring the less ponderous novels of the earlier 19th century (particularly Austen) and the leaner style of 20th century fiction.

      However at the moment I’m in the mood for Victoriana and this novel fits the bill perfectly. There are a lot of words – way more than is needed to simply tell the tale – and the tale itself has its share of sentimentality and melodrama. But I loved every word of the book and every overblown feeling that those words expressed. Having finished it, I will miss the world it took me to and I’m wondering how long it will be before I can visit that world again.

      I listened to the novel in audiobook format, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. As is to be expected, the quality of the narration is superb. Stevenson flawlessly brings each character distinctly to life.

      At the heart of North and South is the relationship between the two main protagonists: proud ex-parson’s daughter Margaret Hale and equally proud mill owner and industrialist John Thornton. They have different backgrounds, different attitudes and different sensibilities. They represent different worlds – she the world of the gentry from the agrarian and intellectual south of England, he the self-made men of the industrial north. They meet, they clash, they misunderstand each other. For the relationship to ultimately be resolved, they have to find a point of balance, a place of harmony, where the prejudices engendered by their differing backgrounds can give way to a new way of thinking and acting. The difficulties in the relationship of Margaret Hale and John Thornton are played out against the turmoil of 19th century England. Gaskell weaves into the novel the differences in attitude between the north and the south of the country, the conflict between capitalists and labour and the shifts in class and gender relations.

      Some readers may find the novel’s discussion of social issues verging on the preachy, but I didn’t. I found it to be a fascinating glimpse not only into what I presume were Gaskell’s political and social views (although I know relatively little about Gaskell), but also into the attitudes of conservative, thoughtful, people towards the social change occurring at that time. This sense of change – change happening very fast, change that has to be coped with in order for the characters to survive – is a thread running through the novel. Margaret Hale in particular experiences extreme changes in her life and in her attitudes over the time span of the novel. John Thornton also experiences changes in his life circumstances and – crucially - in his attitude towards the relationship between employers and employees. Both characters have to deal with the changes in their lives while remaining true to themselves before they can find that place of harmony where they can be together. The resolution of their relationship symbolises the potential for a resolution of the social conflict which Gaskell so clearly describes.

      Reviewers of North and South occasionally comment on the difference between the final scene in the novel and the final scene in the television adaptation. I like both. There is something particularly romantic about a public kiss on a railway platform shared by characters who might so easily have missed finding each other. It does not concern me at all that a couple in Victorian times would not have kissed each other in public. After all, what is a film kiss other than shorthand for “And they lived happily ever after”?

      However, the novel also ends with a kiss. It’s just that the kiss is not described as one. Mr Thornton shows Margaret some dried roses he has from Helstone and she asks him to give them to her. He says "Very well. Only you must pay me for them!” Margaret then says “How shall I ever tell Aunt Shaw?” but only does so "after some time
 of delicious silence". It doesn’t take much imagination to work out what was happening during that “delicious silence”. A private kiss in a drawing room may not be quite as romantic as a public one on a railway platform, but it’s not too shabby either.

      There are times when my reader’s soul craves lean, hard prose, stripped of excess adjectives and adverbs, where the action happens quickly and description is kept to a minimum. There are times when I am happy to wallow in lovely long words, with an abundance of description. This is a book for those times. It lacks the sparkle and wit of an Austen novel. Its language does not have the poetry of Hardy’s descriptions of landscape. But it’s a wonderful experience for a patient reader who wants to travel to a different time and place and is in the mood for an interesting tale, well told.
    • 3/5
      This book is not as much fun as Gaskell's frothy Wives and Daughters. Instead, this is an almost Dickensian look at the problems industrialization in 19th Century Britain (along, of course, with the requisite romance).Nineteen-year-old Margaret Hale happily returns home from London to the idyllic southern village of Helstone after her cousin Edith marries Captain Lennox. She has been living for 10 years in the city with Edith and wealthy Aunt Shaw to learn to be a young lady, and has refused an offer of marriage from the captain's brother, Henry. Her life is turned upside down when her father, the local rector, leaves the Church of England and becomes a dissenter. He moves his wife and daughter to Milton-Northern (where Mr. Bell was born and owns property), an industrial town in Darkshire where workers and mill owners are clashing in the first organised strikes.Margaret finds the Milton dirty, harsh and strange, and is upset by the poverty of the mill workers.. Mr. Hale works as a tutor and one of his pupils is John Thornton, the owner of Marlborough Mills. From the outset, Margaret and Thornton are at odds with each other; she sees him as coarse and unfeeling, and he sees her as haughty. However, of course as the book progresses, they become attracted to each other.In the 18 months she spends in Milton Margaret learns to appreciate both the city and its hard-working people, especially Nicholas Higgins (a union representative) and his daughter Bessy, whom she befriends. Bessy is ill with byssinosis from inhaling cotton dust, which eventually kills her. At the same time, Margaret's mother is becoming sicker, and a workers' strike is brewing and teh mill owners import strike-breaking workers in from Ireland. The descriptions of the plight of the workers, the 'violence of the strike & the military's efforts to put the strike down are worthy of any of Dickens' novels.Unfortunately, then we are submitted to a ridiculous sub-plot of Margaret's older brother who has been living in exile in Spain because he is wanted for participating in a naval mutiny. He sneaks back into England to be at his mother's death bed, is confronted by someone who knows his crime at the railroad station and kills him. It takes the last third of the book to settle all the problems with this errant sibling before we can get to the requisite happy ending.
    • 4/5
      The book is both a romance and an investigation of the conflicts between industrialist and labor brought on by the Industrial Revolution. Despite the bit of a pollyanna nature to its resolution, its characters engendered empathy and made the book entertaining to read.
    • 4/5
      Margaret Hale, daughter of a country curate driven by a struggle of conscience into giving up his living and moving to a Northern manufacturing town where he takes on work as a tutor, features as the unusual heroine of this novel that combines aspects of a typical Victorian romance with a critique of the labor system of nineteenth century England. The story follows Margaret as she returns home from living with her well-to-do relatives only to learn of her father’s decision to relocate, a decision that has far-reaching consequences for all members of the family.Margaret is an atypical heroine in that, while she does take on all of the womanly duties expected of middle-class daughters at that time, she also comments, at least to herself, on how fatiguing they are, and the reader gets a distinct sense of the frequent unfairness of her position. In other such novels, the heroines are more likely to submit to these duties without a murmur, if they’re “good” characters, or complain unceasingly, if they’re “bad” characters. Margaret’s private weariness is much more believable and sympathetic, allowing the reader to understand her actions more clearly than is often the case. She also has her failings, some of which are very real, which is also less common in Victorian romances. All in all, she’s more real, and more alive, than your usual maidenly, pure, and unearthly Victorian protagonist.This is not to say that she doesn’t indulge in some preposterously moralistic speeches, because she most definitely does. Some of her little declarations regarding God and truth made me roll my eyes. Still, considering the era in which this was written, I allow for a certain amount of slack in such matters.For anyone who has read Austen, much will be familiar in this book. In some ways, the romance aspect of the book is very reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice, but with less dancing. Other parts, however, reminded me more of a less romanticized version of Dickens’s Hard Times, which I only recently read. The working class in this book is not kept belowstairs; in fact, at least one working class character is even invited in to tea with the old curate, a plot device that readers of Victorian class novels will notice with surprise. There were numerous discussions of why workers strike, what the living conditions of the working class were really like, and what kind of people the workers were. In that sense, this could also be called a social consciousness novel, as the reader is made to understand that these are subjects that the author has thought about often, and believes the reader should think upon as well.As a random novel, North and South succeeds as a reasonably interesting (if highly predictable) romance, and an interesting look at British class interactions during the nineteenth century. The strength of the novel, however, is that it combines those two usually (at that time) distinct areas, and does so in a way that doesn’t usually feel contrived. All too often the working classes and their problems are used only as a set piece against which the “important” (ie monied) characters act out their parts. Here, however, those working characters play an integral part in the action and are ultimately acknowledged as real people by at least some of the wealthier characters.Just as Austen’s books are interesting for their insights regarding the society that she inhabited, so too is this book worth reading for its insights into class relations during this era. Unfortunately, Gaskell’s skills as a writer, although solid, are not at Austens’ level, making this somewhat less enjoyable from a purely aesthetic standpoint. If it weren’t for the class observations so nicely intertwined with the romance and family analysis, this would be a fine if unremarkable book. The way that the plot is developed, however, makes this an excellent book for anyone interested in getting a less idealized version of what life might have been like for a middle-class woman in early nineteenth century England.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite reads of the new year! I really enjoyed the love story between Margaret and Mr. Thorton but also enjoyed reading about the industrialization of northern England.
    • 5/5
      Brilliantly strong characters and strong social commentary. I admit that watching the BBC adaptation of it book has significantly contributed to my increased enjoyment, appreciation and love for the book the 2nd time around. (Having Richard Armitage's Mr. Thornton in mind...mmmm...)I'm continually amazed at Elizabeth Gaskell's realistic and deep portrayal of each main character. Even though I love them, each character has flaws which force me to pause and reflect that, despite those flaws, I still love, respect, or at least empathize with them.Aside from Margaret and Mr. Thornton, I'm particularly struck with Mrs. Thornton, in her fierce love for her son and her strength of character. What a mother! (And what a mother-in-law she would make!!) I must say that Mrs. Gaskell is now one of my favourite authors, on par with Jane Austen!
    • 5/5
      Despite my love of 'the classics' I'm ashamed to admit that until this I had never picked up anything by Elizabeth Gaskell. Now I have I can only regret not doing it sooner. To have this book in my life is an honour and I honour I intend to revisit many many times.

      Set in industrial England, this is ultimately a novel about conflict and rebellion. It is brimming with religious and social commentary that holds to this day.

      Gaskell's prose are just sublime. Her writing is thoughtful and in parts, simply beautiful. Her characters feel very real and very modern. John Thornton is quite probably one of the best literary heroes ever created and

      If you pick only one book from my read list to read, I urge you to make it this one. North & South has easily taken it's place in my top 3 reads of all time. Shame on me for not finding it sooner.

    • 5/5
      It is not an overreaction coming from Richard Armitage appreciation. This book is really good. I would have said, it was even better than the BBC series and a by far a better writer than Jane Austen and Brontes'. As much as I love classical adaptations, I actually abhor their books.

      As far as I concern with Gaskell's, this book is like Huxley of her century. Because of the industrialized (read: capitalism) nature of her world, North and South is more than a bit prophetic and mirrored our generation than her woman writer's predecessors. The concerns with Margaret Hale toward the situation in Milton and the contrast with the south is very real and still relevant in most developing country. From the fight of factory owners in maintaining their trade with their workers, the perceptions between the gentler Hales towards the Milton's society, to -curiously- Gaskell's comprehension on religion, the occupational hazard brought down from working in such factories and the business world. I hardly see any fillers with this book which I long associate with classical books.

      It is such a disappointment that I never found out about the book before I saw the BBC's North and South. I thought the realism would outweigh the characterization that I often see these Victorian authors. Pleasantly surprised that Gaskell managed to balance character-driven and plot-driven storylines that made this book less deary to read. In fact, its very fast paced.

      Written in variate point of views, mostly Margaret, somehow the novel is rich and broke through the conventions of time. I can't quite buy in that Austen's Elizabeth Bennet was considered as a modern woman (who became a tech-savvy nanny in 'Lost in Austen') while Margaret Hale went out of radar for her being quite spunky, opinionated and independent woman alone with her parents and insufferable maid in Manchester Milton where I think everyone think badly of her. She's probably more modern than anyone in that century. If she were to live in this time, she would be a politician.

      If I were to read this novel just for Mr Thornton, I rest my case. Mr Thornton is more perfect and more humane than emotionally-castrated Mr Darcy or Mr Rochester. From Gaskell's narrating by giving a view on understanding Thornton as a character, he is more complex as a person with feelings of love and compassion and even stubbornness that both shared by Miss Hale. Half of the novel retained his unrequited love and jealousy while the rest was his desperation and hopelessness in the prospect of losing what he had built on and thus disappointing his mother. He learn his mistakes and try to be a good person under his staidly manner. Through the end of the novel, we see the changes in him as a character which complements to Margaret's who had suffered multiple experiences of having her family snatched away from her and both character matured and found each other by the time the novel end. Thus completing the romance part of the story.

      Emotionally-driven book set in an age where modernity began to emerge (and subtly feminist) and provide consistent realistic backdrop where we could find everywhere in our modern culture. Being in constant wariness over the plight of industrial revolution over the harsh truth of agriculture life. Refreshingly different from Austen-like copycats, the book is a very deserving read for all who are tired by the pretentious romance that was associated in that time.

      Needlessly, a better alternative read than a paragraph in SPM's History on industrial revolution.
    • 4/5
      Like her contemporary Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell wanted to expose the human consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Where Dickens sought “to take the rooftops off” in Dombey and Son to show the disease and suffering caused by the relentless pursuit of the capitalist enterprise, in North and South, Gaskell focused on the response of one individual when confronted by poverty and suffering. The result is a blend of genres – a combination of Bildungsroman with Victorian industrial novel.Gaskell’s protagonist Margaret Hale is jolted out of her pastoral background when her vicar father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience and moves the family north to the mill town of Milton (a psuedonym for Manchester). Margaret’s physical journey to this new region brings about an awakening about the poverty and suffering experienced by the mill workers. Her preconceived ideas about industry and trade, born from her experience of Southern ways, are gradually relinquished as she deepens her friendship with some of the worker families.She begins with an acute sense of class divisions and distaste of anyone involved in commerce.I don’t like shoppy people. I think we are far better off knowing only cottagers and labourers and people without pretence….. I like all people whose occupations have to do with land…But through her growing friendship with the vocal workers’ leader Nicholas Higgins and his gentle daughter Bessy, her sense of class is destabilised. Instead of the socially superior attitude with which she arrives at Milton, she begins to align herself with the workers, to challenge mill owner John Thornton about their conditions and to transgress the accepted boundaries of her class by speaking the language of the working class. Rebuked by her mother she retorts:If I live in a factory town, I must speak factory language when I want it..Her transgression is complete when she intervenes in a violent scene where she intervenes in a violent scene between John Thornton and a mass of striking workers. In using her body to shield him she steps out of the conventional private and domestic sphere for women, turning herself into an object for public scrutiny.It’s in the stormy relationship with Thornton, a self made man, that the book shows Gaskell’s concept of how individual feeling fused with social concern can become an agent for change. Margaret refuses to accept his explanations of the relationship between owners and workers which dehumanises the latter by the reductive term “hands”. Under Margaret’s influence and the collapse of his business Thornton learns to treat his workers as individuals and to adopt a more paternalistic attitude towards their welfare.Their exchanges are at times somewhat tedious (Dickens himself was very uneasy with some of the discussions), as are some conversations with Bessy Higgins as she lies dying from consumption and contemplates the afterlife. I found the use of dialect hard to digest also.But those are minor points of criticism and don’t distract from my feeling that this was an engaging book.
    • 4/5
      When her father has a crisis of faith and leaves his position as a parish priest in the lush community of Helstone in southern England, Margaret Hale finds herself transplanted to the strangely foreign community of Milton in northern England. In this bustling, industrial town, Margaret encounters the rough and striving John Thornton, a local mill owner, with whom she regularly clashes. In Milton, Margaret develops a greater awareness of the social injustices between the owners of industry and their workers and also discovers that there may be more to her relationship with Mr. Thornton than either of them ever expected.Gaskell's novel is a fascinating combination of Victorian romance and a contemporary exploration of the social upheavals that came along with the Industrial Revolution. Margaret and Mr. Thornton are both well-drawn characters each with a realistic combination of virtues and flaws. Watching their clashes and growing realization of their feelings is a delight. Interspersed is a narrative exploring the conflict, so associated with the Industrial Revolution, between the labourers and their employers. While Gaskell's views are unlikely to gibe with modern sensibilities, in Nicholas Higgins she creates a character that moves beyond caricature of the lower class and imbues him with emotion, intelligence, and ultimately makes him a sympathetic figure. A great read whether the politics, the romance, or both are of most interest.
    • 4/5
      Classics are always good and so was this. The female protagonist Margret Hales was the one I liked the most she was strong, stubborn and yet sensitive. I had already seen the BBC TV adaptation of it and it was as good as this book.
    • 4/5
      A fun classic, a la 'Jane Austen' style - Margaret Hale, the heroine, can't help herself from falling in love with a man that she originally despises. One item that made this book a bit more interesting was all of the discussion of Northern England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Unlike some of my recent selections from the classic shelf, no woman threw herself in front of a train or swallowed poison - definitely made this one a fun summer read!
    • 5/5
      Why has it taken me so long to read an Elizabeth Gaskell novel? North and South is an excellent book with well-drawn characters, themes of class and religion, and a love story, too. I was initially reminded of Jane Austen (always a favorite), but as the novel progressed these themes were explored on a broader, more worldly scale. Also, although Gaskell was writing only several decades later than Austen, I was surprised to find her language much more accessible.

      This was a combination read/listen for me. Juliet Stevenson's narration was nothing short of perfection.
      Very highly recommended
      4.5/5 stars
    • 3/5
      Being a classic I had high hopes for this one, but was dissapointed that I really couldnt get too excited for the heroine or the storyline. It was intriguing seeing the differences between classes and the dialouge between the labor union and the employers. Overall I am glad I read it but would be hard to pick it up soon for a second read.
    • 3/5
      Being a classic I had high hopes for this one, but was dissapointed that I really couldnt get too excited for the heroine or the storyline. It was intriguing seeing the differences between classes and the dialouge between the labor union and the employers. Overall I am glad I read it but would be hard to pick it up soon for a second read.
    • 4/5
      After a very disappointing start, the story picked up & I found the second half of the book very good. The main character, Margaret Hale, slowly becomes more sympathetic (although never completely free from the airs that are so disagreeable). The description of life in a mill town compared to farming communities in the south was interesting, and I enjoyed watching Margaret shedding her preconceived notions as she eventually got to know the people of the town - both laborers and mill owners.

      At first I disliked Margaret and her mother, but as the story proceeded I began to see that her snobbery and pretensions were more a result of her upbringing rather than intrinsic to her character. In that sense, she is a deeper character than many I like better. However, the fact remains that this novel will not become a fixture in my library and I am not sure that I would have finished if I hadn't been also listening to the audiobook narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
    • 5/5
      In Gaskell’s novel, Margaret Hale is uprooted from the home she loves after her father leaves the Church following a crisis of conscience. Upon settling in Milton, she becomes acquainted with industry and poverty in a way she never anticipated. Self-made man, John Thornton is at the heart of Milton and as time goes on, Margaret and John develop tenuous relationship that masks an unexpected deeper attraction.Elizabeth Gaskell has penned an amazing story with an original and heroic heroine in Margaret Hale.
    • 2/5
      By all accounts Elizabeth Gaskell's "North and South" should have been right up my alley. I adore Victorian-era fiction, especially if it features young heroines wrestling with dire circumstances and tangled love stories. This book has all of that, but frankly, I found it rather dull.Gaskell's heroine, Margaret Hale, goes from London society to an industrial town named Milton as her father leaves the priesthood and takes up teaching instead. The book focuses a lot on the industrial revolution-- the needs of the working class versus the needs of the factory owners as a company goes on strike.I found saintly Margaret somewhat annoying -- her reactions to events often range too odd and contrived for me and the love story really never came together for me. Overall, I found this novel pretty disappointing.
    • 4/5
      This book was a relief after Defoe's Moll Flanders. For a book I had to read for class and didn't pick for myself, I liked it a lot. It helped that the religious ideology was one I could more readily get on with -- given that Moll Flanders is profoundly Calvinist, while Gaskell was a Unitarian, which shows in one line which stuck out for me: "Margaret the Churchwoman, her father the Dissenter, Higgins the Infidel, knelt down together. It did them no harm."

      As a story, I enjoyed it. It reminded me rather of Charlotte Bronte -- perhaps not surprisingly, as that's one of my favourite books from the 1800s, and written by a woman in a man's world at around the same time. On the other hand, it's quite different. It doesn't seem to go anywhere much, and despite the climax being the coming together of two characters at last, the focus is far from being romance. It's a social novel, which I suppose leads into the more analytical stuff.

      The big focus of the novel is binary opposites: North vs. South, the rich and respectable vs. the poor, etc. That comes through in all kinds of ways: dialect is an obvious one, but also less obviously the way they speak -- Margaret, for example, and Mr Hale, speak much more at length than the Thorntons. Character is another: there are several characters who are clearly meant to be exact opposites, such as Mrs Hale and Mrs Thornton, and Mrs Hale and Bessy Higgins.

      It's quite interesting to read, and to see how far Elizabeth Gaskell went with it, and how she worked around the prejudices of her readers. I think I'd be interested to the see the BBC adaptation of the book.
    • 5/5
      Pride & Prejudice with a social conscience. Enjoy! I did & am now off to track down more Gaskell titles to devour
    • 4/5
      Reading this was sort of like discovering another Jane Austen, but Gaskell is more political. In this novel, first published in 1855, the heroine, Margaret Hale, must move from the rural south of England to the Industrial north. There, she is exposed to the tension between owners and workers, as she meets and befriends people on both sides of this divide. There is a strike, and it is clear that Gaskell is not much in favor of this tactic. But she doesn’t shrink from the novelist’s task of understanding what drives each of her characters.

      I also enjoyed the love story at the heart of this novel. It’s a bit like Pride and Prejudice, with Margaret Hale first sitting in judgment of those who are involved in trade. Then the situation is reversed, when the hero learns something that appears to sully Margaret’s reputation.

      One thing that hadn’t changed since Austen was writing: Margaret Hale has very little power to move her love affair forward. In order to preserve their dignity, women had to be passive in the face of love. In this situation, the Fates have a field day, throwing the lovers far apart before finally bringing them together.

    • 4/5
      I actually did I reverse on this one, which is unusual for me--I read the book *after* seeing the movie on PBS. I loved the movie, and as a result was somewhat disappointed when things were slightly different in the book (dialogue, mostly--though it did go both ways and I also wished some from the book had made it to the movie)...perhaps if I'd read the book first I'd give it five stars and the movie four, as that is how it usually goes with me. However, I did really enjoy both, and look forward to reading more my Gaskell in the future.
    • 5/5
      I had relatively low expectations for this book, as I'd attempted to watch the BBC special before and found it pretty dull. But the the book itself (actually the audiobook) was a very different experience. While I found myself feeling a bit impatient with the heroine and perhaps sympathising a bit more with Mrs. Thornton than the author probably intended, the characters and their stories were so finely drawn that I fell right into this book. I was continuously impatient to know what would happen next, even though the outcome of the story (typical romance in its plot) was a given. Juliet Stevenson gives an excellent performance in reading the story. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      I was compelled to read this novel after seeing the excellent miniseries, and I loved the book even more. Pretty much every scene with John Thornton set my heart aflutter in some way or other--he is an irresistible character. The only thing I didn't like very much was the chapter epigraphs.
    • 4/5
      This is not the Civil War North and South that most people are familiar with. This is North and South of England. I like Gaskell's books because they include romance and social commentary. Is the plight of the factory worker similar to that of the poor farmer in the country? Do the mill master's have a duty to take care of their workers or is paying them sufficient? And as in Pride and Prejudice, will Mr. Thornton ever get together with Margaret? In truth this book is basically Pride and Prejudiced rehashed except for a little more depth of character for the two main players. There is a BBC mini-series of this book which is also amazing.
    • 4/5
      This started slowly, but gained pace as the story progressed, as the characters gained depth. I loved the contrast between rich and poor that Gaskell describes so well. Margaret was a strong character, and was far from shallow, unlike some of her relations, and I liked the way she changed as a person over the course of the book. It reminded me a little of Pride and Prejudice and I loved the ending, even though I could see it coming!
    • 4/5
      North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, was written as a serial and published in a magazine Household Words published by Charles Dickens. It was published as a book in 1855. The story is about Margaret Hale, the second child and daughter of a Vicar and mother of a respectable London family. Margaret has spent most of her childhood years in her aunt's home living as sisters with her cousin Edith. At nineteen, Margaret is returning to her own family and her cousin is marrying. The story contrasts life in the industrial and agricultural parts of England. It also explores industrial strife, unions, class conflicts, religious doubts and family relationships. Overall, the story is a romance.
      I enjoyed the story, it was not hard to read. I liked the look at union activity verses the rights of owners and how economics played into the picture of the industrial strife. I also liked this quote, "It is the first changes among familiar things that make such a mystery of time to the young, afterwards we lose the sense of the mysterious. I take changes in all I see as a matter of course. The instability of all human things is familiar to me, to you it is new and oppressive." The story is over all a romance with all working out in the end. I rather wished Margaret would have been more independent but she probably was for the times in which the story was set.
    • 5/5
      Rochester is manipulative, Knightley's a nag, Heathcliff's a brute, and Darcy an occasional snob. But Thorton? Let's review his amiable qualities, shall we? A self made man who takes care of his family, refuses to risk his worker's paychecks, lies on Margaret's behalf even after she's callously rejected him and is humble enough to accept assistance from a woman. The plot in a nutshell: During the English Industrial Revolution, middle class Margaret moves to the harsh northern town of Milton. There, she meets Mr. Thorton, a mill owner with ideas about the world that initially clash with her own. Given that it was written 150 years ago, you'll need to be in the right frame of mind to wade through some social commentary and slightly archaic language, but the wonderful character development and the first class romance are worth it.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic. Huge Elizabeth Gaskell fan. As an immigrant to the UK, it gave me a lot of insight into the socio-cultural-political history of England. Also a thread of feminism throughout.

    Book preview

    North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

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