North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of North and South with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, a realist novel which examines the stark contrasts between the social classes of Victorian England. It centres on the young protagonist Margaret Hale, who reluctantly moves to the northern industrial town of Milton and is shocked by the conditions there. In particular, she soon clashes with the mill-owner Mr Thornton, as she finds his treatment of the working-class individuals in his employ to be utterly lacking in compassion. Over the course of the novel, Margaret and Mr Thornton constantly challenge each other’s beliefs and morals, personifying the new divide between north and south that had developed in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Elizabeth Gaskell was one of the most significant writers of the Victorian era, and was a frequent contributor to Charles Dickens’ magazine Household Words, in which North and South was serialised between 1854 and 1855.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: May 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808015417

Book preview

ENGLISH NOVELIST, BIOGRAPHER AND SHORT STORY WRITER

Born in London in 1810.

Died near Alton, Hampshire in 1865.

Notable works:

Mary Barton (1848), novel

Cranford (1851-1853), novel

The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857), biography

Widely considered one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian period, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is most often remembered as a realist whose writing focused on the social issues of her time, including the plight of the poor and the problems rife in the industrial North of England. North and South and Mary Barton, two of her most notable works, both centre on these themes.

Born to Unitarian minister William Stevenson and his wife Elizabeth Holland, Gaskell spent her early years in London before moving in with her maternal aunt in Cheshire. Later, she married William Gaskell and settled in the industrial city of Manchester, an experience which informed much of her later writing. She produced her first novel, Mary Barton, in 1848, and the book caught the eye of Charles Dickens (English writer, 1812-1870). As a result, the writer invited Gaskell to contribute to his magazine, Household Words, in which North and South was later published. Gaskell was also a close friend of the English writer Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), whose biography she wrote after Brontë’s death.

AN INDUSTRIAL VICTORIAN NOVEL

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Gaskell, E. (1994) North and South. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited.

1stedition: 1854-1855 (serialised)

Themes: industrial England, social class, North vs. South, poverty, Victorian society, personal and public life  

North and South was published in Charles Dickens’ magazine Household Words, appearing in 20 parts between