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    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)
    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)
    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)
    Ebook663 pages15 hours

    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)

    By Elizabeth Gaskell

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    Set in the fictional industrial town of Milton in the North of England, “North and South” is Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1855 novel that contrasts the different ways of life in the two respective regions of England. In the North the emerging industrialized society is sharply contrasted with the aging gentry of the agrarian based South. The plot of “North and South” centers around the main character Margaret Hale, the daughter of a non-conformist minister who moves his family to an industrial town in the North after a split from the Church of England. Here the impact of the industrial revolution can be fully seen as tensions between workers and employers over poor working conditions and the growing divide between the rich industrialists and poor factory workers escalate into violent conflict. Originally serialized between September 1854 and January 1855 in Charles Dickens’s “Household Words”, “North and South” was one of the first and most important social novels to address the changes brought about by the industrial revolution in England. This edition includes an introduction by Adolphus William Ward and a biographical afterword.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateNov 17, 2015
    ISBN9781420951790
    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)
    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 North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward)

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    • 5/5
      After having watched and re-watched (and re-watched and re-watched and...) the BBC adaptation of North and South, it was only right that I should read the novel. Mind you, it was something I meant to do since the first time I saw it, oh so many years ago. And after a North and South marathon with a friend (until the wee hours of the morning), the book reading was my next step.So, it was with a solid knowledge of the story and clear favourites among the characters (Oh, Mr. Thornton...) that I started. One of the things that I first noticed was the language and the portrayal of Margaret, the main character of this book. I quite liked Margaret in the series, but on my first acquaintance with her in book form I found her a bit petty and snobbish. I knew she would change, but it did shock me. But petty and snobbish as she was, and much due to the amazing writing of Elizabeth Gaskell, I didn't see her as a thing of the past, she was not simply a character of a book, and outdated at that. In a few pages Margaret was a real person, and wouldn't be at all out of place in our days. And the same could be said about the writing. Not old fashioned at all, and together with the characterization of Margaret, I could forget this was set in the 19th century.Enter Mr. Thornton, who in the series is beautifully portrayed by Richard Armitage and I thought couldn't get any better. Well, I was wrong. For, something that is less common in the books that are written nowadays, in North and South we can see both actions and feelings (and thoughts) of all the characters, not just the central one. John Thornton, who to Margaret is a stiff, unfeeling master of the North (and in trade *shock, gasp*), when shown to us in the company of his family and friends proves to be an intelligent, honest and fair man, even if he is set in his ways. Really, the man has his faults, like everyone else, but all in all, he a fine man.Amidst the struggle of a factoring town, of poor conditions to workers, whom Margaret befriends and helps, and the heavy hand (and sometimes sneaky) of the masters, of talks of strikes and a lot of death (seriously, Mrs. Gaskell, was there need for so many?) there is a love story between these two. Not without its bumps (it couldn't be that simple, now, could it?), but it was fun to follow it, even if at times it broke my heart (poor, poor, Mr. Thornton).But back to the struggles of the poor. Even if in the case of the Higgins, Margaret's working friends, I prefer their TV counterparts (especially Bessie, who isn't so fervours in her religion on screen), I liked that part of the story. It was a look into the past, of the hardships of those who had to work in conditions that would undoubtedly kill them, and how the priorities of life were different from those of Margaret, for instance.There are, of course, a couple things on this book that I wish that would be different. First, towards the end, when Margaret leaves Milton, much of what happens there stops being told, and I kept wishing to know how those left behind fared. And second, the ending. Oh, it is a very good ending, that made me laugh. But could I please have another chapter? Just a tiny little one? Please? Because I want more!Summarizing (or not really): a very good book, a classic no doubt. I loved the writing (so much that I could only follow this book with another one of Mrs. Gaskell), and the story. Read this book, and watch the series. Both totally worth it.Also at Spoilers and Nuts
    • 4/5
      Victorian women's oppression is pretty harsh, and I was reminded of that just by the "conflict" between Margaret and Mr. Thornton. This is a good social novel, though. I mean, Germinal is far better, but if you like Victorian romance (which I think I don't, really) mixed in with your working class issues, it's pretty good. I guess I also didn't love the Christianity stuff either - Austen and Eliot, by comparison, tend not to talk about religion so much. But I really appreciate the depiction of class conflict and class differences in this book.
    • 3/5
      North and South was first published in 1854. As was common in those times, it was serialized in a magazine. The title refers to the contrast between the north of England, which is very industrial, and the wealthier, and more agricultural, south. Cultural differences and classism are seen through the eyes and experiences of the main character, Margaret Hale. As a young woman of 19, Margaret is transplanted to the north when her clergyman father decides to leave the church and pursue other employment. Margaret is accustomed to a life of relative leisure, and is thrust into an industrial town where textile mills drive the local economy.In the north Margaret comes in direct contact with poorer, lower classes -- who are typically laborers in the mills. She gains an understanding of working conditions and resulting health issues. She seems to move seamlessly between classes, simultaneously befriending a local laborer and his family, and a wealthy mill owner named John Thornton. Gaskell portrays the lower classes as hard-working, honest folk and the upper classes as haughty and insensitive. Towards the end of the novel Margaret finds herself again in the south, and it is clear her life in the north has changed her world view. She does not enjoy the parties and leisurely pace; in fact, she feels guilty about having these privileges when there are so many who struggle to meet basic needs.While North and South is an effective portrayal of Victorian England and class differences, the pace was a bit slow and the plot, predictable. While there is a romantic thread to the story, I did not care enough about the characters to be pulling for a happy ending. Sometimes when reading classics, I find it helpful to consult other sources to better understand the themes. But even that didn't help me much; in the end this book left me a bit flat.
    • 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!
    • 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 heroine must move from her happy, rural parsonage home to an industrial city when her father, the parson, resigns his post due to doctrinal doubts. The novel then examines the intersections of class and religion and the relationships of labor and ownership. The novel includes an interesting plot and well-drawn characters. The questions of economics and theology that are raised are complex and interesting, I think even for a modern audience.
    • 5/5
      Great book, even better adaptation!
    • 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!
    • 4/5
      Margaret Hale's formative years have been spent as a companion to her wealthier cousin, Edith, in London's Harley Street. After Edith's wedding, Margaret returns to her parents' home in Helstone, where her father is the vicar. Very soon Rev. Hale has a crisis of conscience that drives him to give up his living and move the family to the industrial city of Milton, where he will work as a tutor. His most devoted student is manufacturer John Thornton, who, despite Margaret's haughty treatment of him and her disdain for the North and its capitalism, falls deeply in love with Margaret. Margaret's initial impressions of the North and its industry are gradually softened as she gets to know individuals like the working-class Bessie Higgins and her father, Nicholas.I had a hard time warming up to Margaret as a character. Her class consciousness and prejudices rubbed me the wrong way. It was infuriating that she was able to persuade so many of the other characters to do things against their better judgment. Why would reasonably intelligent adults allow themselves to be guided by an idealistic but ignorant teenager? Mr. Bell saved the book for me. His sharp wit brought a welcome breath of fresh air to an otherwise stuffy novel.
    • 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
      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
    • 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
      After watching the recent BBC adaptation, I knew I just had to read the book! There is a strong thread of integrity in the book. Mr Hale must stand by his convictions and leave the church, Mr Thornton is his own kind of Master, self made, but not willing to comprimise family or the livelyhood of his workers, Mrs Thornton is the strong matriach who will stand by her son through good times and bad, and Margaret believes that her integrity is blemished by a misunderstanding with Mr Thornton. There is also a knock against unlearned assumptions. When first arriving in Milton, Margaret has certain views about the North, which are changed as she gets to know some of the people, but these assumptions remain concreted in her Aunt Shaw and cousin Edith who destain the place and the people. Mr Bell's humerous dialogue is a treat!
    • 5/5
      Think Pride and Prejudice is as good as it gets? Think you can't dream up a better romantic hero than Mr. Darcy? Wrong!Immediately read this, and understand why I would prefer Mr. Thornton over cranky Mr. Darcy any day of the week. He is a gentleman through and through, and his never-ceasing kindnesses toward Margaret should be enough to make anyone fall in love with his character.Also, being able to picture him as Richard Armitage (as in the BBC production of this story) doesn't hurt.Austen is better at the witty social commentary, I'll give her that. But, to replace that, Gaskell adds in a dash of Charles Dickens in her portrayal of the battle between the mill owners and the working class. It adds a real depth and interest to the story.Mr. Thornton is a manager of a mill, and even though Margaret Hale is involved with his family socially, she becomes close to the working family of Nicholas Higgins. She sees both sides of the ongoing struggle and eventual strike, and her views change quite a bit as she matures and the book progresses. For that matter, so do Mr. Thornton's.When you pick up this book, you will quickly become wrapped up in the story. The class struggles will engage you just as quickly as the Margaret/Thornton interactions. Although many people disagree with me that it beats Pride & Prejudice, there is still something for everyone to be found in the plot!
    • 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.
    • 5/5
      Beneath Gaskell's social, moral and industrial blathering, beats the heart of a powerful romance; or at least, beat the hearts of two of the most romantic characters I have encountered in a while. Margaret Hale is at first arrogant and patronising, but matures into a wilful, noble heroine who must bear an almost gothic period of mourning in an incredibly brief time. Arriving from the indolent, gentle South, after her rather pathetic father suffers a crisis of confidence, Margaret immediately forms a prejudice against the hectic and polluted 'North', with its 'dark satanic mills', and professes an active hatred for the scruffy, uncouth plebs who dwell there. The fact that she is merely the daughter of 'gentleman' without means doesn't seem to alter her perspective. As one character says, 'she seems to have a notion of giving herself airs; I can't think why'.But Margaret is young, and sheltered from reality, and the daughter of a delicate lady who married beneath her 'station'; if it is possible to endure the first few chapters in the mellow Hampshire village of 'Helstone', the reward comes when Margaret is toppled from her self-styled pedestal, by circumstance and familial bonds, and grows almost beyond recognition from a shallow, snobbish girl into a humble, generous, if shattered, woman. I went from feeling irritation to admiration, and finally finding Margaret - as is Mrs Gaskell's intention, no doubt - worthy of Mr Thornton's love.Which leads me onto a hero who, in strength, pride, passion and sheer devotion, is more than a match for any Rochester or Darcy. John Thornton. I fell so much in love with the self-made master from 'Milton' (or Manchester) that the chapter where he visits the ailing Mrs Hale with a gift of fresh fruit, soon after Margaret's rejection of his heartfelt proposal, almost had me snivelling on the bus to work! He is absolutely fascinating, almost 'two chaps in one body', as Higgins describes him - the strong, silent millowner facing striking workers with grim determination, but also the loving son, who pulled himself and his family up after the suicide of his father, to make a name and a fortune for himself, yet who isn't too proud to seek a cultured polish to his lacking education and deal with the 'common man' as an equal. The charged dialogue - and silent gestures - between Mr Thornton and Margaret are far more erotic than any love scene (and these two only manage one kiss in the whole book!) John Thornton is now one of my favourite literary heroes, but it's because of his love for Margaret - from their first proper meeting, when he watches with rapt attention how she fidgets with a loose bracelet, to the brave, almost painful moment when he declares how he feels. These two are drawn, and belong, together, which is the true mark of soulmates in fiction.The only failing I found with this novel is the ending - for me, the climax is to be found early on in chapter 24, after which the tension slowly dissipates among grand speeches and prolonged misunderstandings. Although I could appreciate Margaret's love for her brother, and the gloomy landscape Mrs Gaskell paints of 'Darkshire' (or Lancashire), all that really holds this story together is the attraction of opposites between Margaret and John. I enjoyed reading every scene with him, and found Margaret an inspiring Victorian heroine (once she grew up), but the thrill was in the chase. I was gripped through every chapter, abandoning another book to concentrate on this story, and savouring both historical fact and dramatic device - only to disappointed by the standard 'reversal of fortune' in the final pages. Why must a strong hero be brought down before the heroine is permitted to return his love? Wouldn't the union of two equal partners, in status and personality, be more exciting than the powerful woman stooping to raise up her man? I can understand why Gaskell and other female authors might have been tempted to redress certain social inequalities of the Victorian era in their writing, but John Thornton deserves more than the same old treatment. The long-awaited resolution between John and Margaret makes me wish that someone would write a sequel, however lacking, for this novel, but their playful words also seem rushed. Mrs Gaskell was apparently under pressure to complete her story, and I share what must have been her frustration at the result.Engrossing, educational, evocative; witty in places (especially droll Mr Bell), and bitter in parts, 'North and South' is a novel of changing moods and times. Recommended.
    • 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.
    • 3/5
      Doesn't deserve its classic status. Plodding for the first three quarters, long and superficial discussions on capital vs labour, Victorian melodrama and morality (without the characterisation or otherworldliness of Jane Eyre, for example). Even by Victorian standards, the wasting sicknesses, tragic deaths and agonising over propriety are overdone. A cpouple of moments from the last pages made me laugh out loud: "glowing with beautiful shame" and "Don't mock my own deep feeling of unworthiness [with your own!]". The denouement did absorb me, but after 450 pages of investment maybe that's not surprising! There are flourishes of insight too; Mr Bell - and the desperately needed wit and humour he injects - could have been introduced earlier and played a larger role.
    • 5/5
      Holy mackerel, this is good. I expected it to be Austen-ish (and I do love Pride and Prejudice), but if P&P is cotton candy, this is... some other delicious, yet way more nutrient-dense food. Gaskell takes us out of the drawing room and into the streets. Set in the industrial north of England, she gives us strikes, riots, poverty, wealth (new and old), economic debates, religious debates, and some surprisingly modern-feeling observations about psychology. And still, a fully characterized hero and heroine in Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale. Mr. Thornton, especially. He may have displaced Mr. Darcy at the top of my List of Dreamy Fictional Men. Highly, highly recommended. 
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed except for the abrupt ending.
    • 4/5
      Liked it--didn't love itThe only things I knew about Elizabeth Gaskell was that she was Charlotte Bronte's close friend (she even laid Charlotte out to be buried) and that she was one of the few women Victorian novelist who had what might be called a "normal" life. It ws a refreshing change to get away from Home Counties drama , but I can't help comparing Gaskell to George Eliot--which is unfair of me, I know. Nobody else is George Eliot, either. Margaret was a great snotty heroine, and I loved John Thorton's mother. (No spoiler here--wow--is Margaret going to have problems later!) but John himself wasn't that interesting. The details about life in the mills were more fascinating than the hero. This is a problem, no? My biggest complaints--way too many deaths even for a novel of this era and the minor characters had an irritating habit of ruminating about Margaret. I can't stand it when an author is so heavy handed in telling the reader what to think. Still a worthy read. I look forward to the mini-series.This was the first book I read on an e-reader--courtesy of "Beam it Down" and my iouch--it did take a while to adjust to the automatic scroll but then I enjoyed reading one-handed.
    • 2/5
      I’m sitting here making an undecided facial expression and smacking my lips somewhat like after I do make when I’ve eaten something that doesn’t taste bad exactly, but it’s certainly nothing I would try again and I feel like my tongue has been coated unpleasantly so that I get to continue to taste it until I brush my teeth. Yeah, that’s how I feel about this book.

      In fairness, I should disclose that I went into this reading adventure with some fairly high expectations because so many Jane Austen fans recommended her so whole heartedly. In fact, they were well nigh as intrigued with Ms. Gaskell’s characterizations as they were with Ms. Austen’s. It has stellar ratings on Goodreads. And I feel beyond let down.

      A word about Ms. Gaskell: I was told she was a contemporary of Austen, perhaps on the later end of Austen’s writings. She is not. Elizabeth Gaskell was actually a contemporary of Dickens and contributed many short stories to a circular that Dickens published. And there’s the rub. I hate Dickens. I do. Just. Simply. Hate. Dickens. She also wrote a biography of Charlotte Bronte. I hate Bronte. Either one. Simply. Hate. Bronte. It’s all so dismal and dreary. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good “humanity sucks and should be wiped out” story as much as the next person, but I’ve always felt that Dickens-esque novels were too heavy-handed and ended up focusing on part of a story that I never found that interesting.

      North and South was long: 400 some-odd small print, larger pages. It was extra hefty on description and meticulously written dialogue with Northern Englanders accent. I actually almost gave up on it out of sheer boredom at around 40 pages. As it was the only book I had with me on the train to and from work, I kept reading another 5 or so pages, and to its credit, it did become more interesting. But for a book that is about social class divisions and the struggles within each group to understand the lot of the other, it was decisively shallow. I felt like many of the “key” scenes were simply too contrived. There is no reason for Mr. Thornton, the male protagonist, to fall head over heals with Miss Hale, the female protagonist. They meet and instantly dislike one another, but, in my opinion, Glaskell is never able to convince me why their feelings change for one another. The author’s contrivance to move Mr. Thornton’s heart is really only a moment where Miss Hale (bravely but mostly stupidly) puts her body between Mr. Thornton and a bunch of rioters to protect him. Really? Hunh? At some point she throws herself at him still to “protect” him and the author has Thornton reflecting much on the feel of her against him. So his hatred for her “superior” ways all vanish in a cloud of smoke over a little lust? Isn’t there a town harlot for that?

      Much later, of course only after making Miss Hale an heiress, and conveniently, an heiress over the very property upon which Mr. Thornton works and lives, Miss Hale realizes that he is all that is good in a man. I’m not certain why this change of heart because the author never tells us. It is true that Mr. Thornton does make great personal strides as a human being learning to understand the plight of others. But that she should decide she loves him on that alone seems, well, wholly unconvincing.

      I actually had to re-read the last couple of chapters to make sure that I didn’t miss anything because one moment they are without any contact for a few years and the next he sees her in London and kisses her. I was convinced that my book must have been missing a few pages, but no, it just ended quickly. And that is one of my greatest pet peeves: rambling on and on and freaking on only to end the story without properly tying up your loose ends or making the tying up believable. I feel betrayed as a reader who invested my time to slog through your unnecessary detail.

      The long and the short of it is that I ought to have stopped 40 pages in when I originally thought to give up. Why do people like this story? Two thumbs down.
    • 4/5
      When Margaret Hale moves with her father from the comfort of the south of England to the industrial north, she is at first repulsed by what she sees; and then when she discovers the conditions under which the workers are forced to live, she is outraged. But this throws her into direct conflict with the powerful young mill-owner, John Thornton. Using personal passions to explore deep social divisions, North and South is a great romance – and one of Elizabeth Gaskell’s finest works. Summary Naxox Audiobooks.I listened to both the abridged (read by Jenny Agutter) and unabridged (read by Clare Wille) versions of the novel over the course of several weeks. The abridged version lacks the complexity of the complete story; I don't recommend it.The BBC mini-series of the novel starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe was by and large faithful to the content and intent of the original piece and led me to seek out the novel. NORTH AND SOUTH was an important work for northern England, for the new age of the "tradesman" and "merchant" class, and for the importance of the commercial activity it fostered.Hard to believe NORTH AND SOUTH was published in 1855, a mere six years after JANE EYRE. The political and philosophical concepts it describes seem decades more modern than Ms Bronte's gothic, and let's face it, rather self-centred, tale. I contrast the two famous authors, because (if you read my blog you'll know this) a connection between the two already exists in their friendship with each other and in that Mrs. Gaskell was Charlotte Bronte's first official biographer. Even compared to Dickens, NORTH AND SOUTH seems less freighted with sentimentality, caricature and Victorian morality.I believe the romance in Ms Gaskell's story could be read as an Industrial Revolution translation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I particularly enjoyed the way Mrs. Gaskell contrasts the mores of Mr. and Mrs. Hale with the younger couple, Margaret Hale and John Thornton, who prove themselves open to the social upheaval of their times.9 out of 10 Highly recommended to readers of fine English literature, political and historical fiction.
    • 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
      This is an excellent novel. I try not to read too much about a book before I read it because I want to be surprised by everything. So, if you're like me and reading this I'll tell you this: Just read it. Don't expect action packed and mysterious. If you enjoy a nice leisurely stroll through a story of love developing out of nowhere, a girl growing up and changing, then you'll enjoy this.
    • 4/5
      Probably the only other book where I enjoyed the film version more than I did the actual novel. I liked this novel much more than I liked “Practical Magic” (see above), and I think the reason I liked the mini-series produced of this book so much more than the book itself is because there are so many things that can be read into a look and a glance and you can’t see that in the novel -- especially a novel where the story is told in a kind of first person omniscient, not first person directly, but it only follows one person’s view at a time, in a way, so you don’t really get that intensity in Mr. Thornton’s expression on the page even though it’s described adequately enough. I do like that the mini-series stuck to the book very faithfully (with only a few understandable distinctions), but all the main aspects of the book was there in the mini-series. The one change that they made that I wish had been in the book was with the character of Bessie. She was a much stronger character in the mini-series, I thought.
    • 5/5
      A very satisfying novel. The heroine's father is an English vicar who gives up his living because of religious doubts and moves his family north to a fictionalized version of Manchester at the time of the industrial revolution. The relationship between the heroine and a prosperous mill owner reminded me of Pride and Prejudice.
    • 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.
    • 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
    • 5/5
      A socialist tract, a paean to capitalism, a Victorian love story, a bildungsroman, or a realist portrayal of life in mid nineteenth century industrial England. This very wonderful novel is all of these things; what it is not is a novel about the divide between the North and the South, but this title was suggested by Charles Dickens whose own novel Hard Times had just been published. Hard Times a novel also concerned with working conditions was not one of Dickens's greatest achievements and lacked the breadth of vision that Mrs Gaskell achieved with North and South.Mrs Gaskell's original title was Margaret Hale and her novel charts Margaret's course from a well born but impoverished parson's daughter to an heiress and part owner of a large textile mill. The novel opens with Margaret staying with her wealthy cousins in London, but after her cousins marriage she rejoins her parent at Helstone a hamlet in the New Forest. She loves the gentle country life, but the family faces a major change when her father must give up his parish over religious scruples and opts to move to Milton (Manchester) the centre of the cotton industry, where he will eek out a living as a tutor. The family find Milton noisy, ugly, dirty and crowded but Margaret is determined to make the best of it for her parents sake. She makes friends with the Higgens family: mill workers and trade unionists while her father becomes a tutor to Mr Thornton a mill owner and captain of industry. Mr Thornton falls in love with Margaret but she is repelled by his hard commercialism and rejects his marriage proposal. The novel charts the bildungsroman of both Margaret and Mr Thornton which must happen before they can reach any kind of accommodation.The reader of course recognises their suitability and similarity and the outcome to their possible relationship is only revealed on the last page of the novel. Here is Mr Thornton's view of Margaret when he first sees her in some rented rooms:"but now that he saw Margaret, with her superb ways of moving and looking, he began to feel ashamed of having imagined that it would do very well for the Hales.....Margaret could not help her looks, but the short curled upper lip the round, massive upturned chin, the manner of carrying her head; her movements full of soft feminine defiance always gave strangers the impression of haughtiness"And this is Margaret's view of Mr Thornton when she sees him at dinner talking to his colleague Mill Owners:"some dispute arose, which was warmly contested, it was referred to Mr Thornton who had hardly spoken before, but who now gave an opinion, the grounds of which were so clearly stated that even the opponents yielded. Margaret's attention was called to her host; his whole manner as master of the house, as entertainer of his friends was so straightforward, simple and modest as to be thoroughly dignified. Margaret thought she had never seen him to so much advantage".Margaret's friendship with the Higgens family which has allowed her to see the suffering of the mill workers at first hand has driven a wedge between her and Thornton:"Margaret's whole soul rose up against him while he reasoned in this way as if commerce were everything and humanity nothing"The battle between commerce and humanity, capital and labour is fought out in the factories and mills of Milton and the rhetoric used then is just as relevant as it was in the 1980's when Britain's industry was reshaped under Thatcher's government. Mrs Gaskell guides the reader to a more humanitarian view; the fight between the masters and the men could be ameliorated if only they would take note of what each was saying. Both their livelihoods depend on the success of the industry and if they could find ways of working together then surely it would be to everyone's benefit. This is skillfully reflected in the battle of wills between Margaret and Mr Thornton whose own love story is brilliantly woven into the fabric of the events on the industrial battle ground.The struggle between the masters and the men is a titanic struggle for power and the hard headed Thornton sets himself against Higgens who becomes a sort of working class hero. Gaskell refuses to take sides as she ensures that both viewpoints are given equal weight. Higgens and Thornton are both proud men but are also honorable men and it is through Margaret's friendship with both of them that at last a dialogue can begin. Mrs Gaskell has Higgens speak in the local dialect which highlights the differences between him and the mill owners but also between him and the Hales family. It is superbly done.Milton is brought to vibrant life through Margaret's eyes and becomes almost another character in the novel. The smoke and the grime, the rough streets the workers pouring out of the factories at certain times of the day catching Margaret unawares and always ready with some witty comment about the way she looks. Mr Thornton's house is situated opposite his mill inside the factory gates, a large courtyard and a flight of steps is all that separates him from his work. Margaret and her family are horrified by the noise and the industry when they first visit. Change is the motif that runs throughout this novel. The vibrant trade capital of Milton is constantly changing and at a rapid pace. To succeed in their ventures then the attitudes of the mill owners must change as must the trade unionists. Margaret must adapt to her new situation and Mr Thonton must change his way of thinking if he wants to win Margaret. The people who cannot change must make way and there are plenty of deaths, most of which have repercussions for Margaret. Both her parents die, Bessy Higgens finally succumbs to her terminal illness contracted whilst working in the mills. Mr Bell the Oxford friend of Mr Hale must also depart as his refuge in academia does not fit him for the new commercial world. Margaret's strength of character enables her to deal with all that life throws at her and although she bends she does not break and her experiences in Milton only serve to make her stronger. Mrs Gaskell's achievement in bringing off this novel should be admired by every reader. The avoidance of sentimentality, her refusal to take sides, her realistic portrayal of industrial conflict and the brilliant characters that people her book all add up to a wonderful reading experience.

    Book preview

    North and South (with an Introduction by Adolphus William Ward) - Elizabeth Gaskell

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