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North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell


muggle not

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My GCSE english teacher suggested this to me, 19 years ago, and I have had it sitting on my self in readiness for almost as long I have no idea why I haven't just read it as I do plan to someday. I watched the bbc adaptaion some years back and really enjoyed that. - perhaps I will add it to next years challenge.

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It is one of my favourite books by Gaskell and was a very progressive work of its age as it raised questions such as the progression of industry and also the dissenting voices within established religion/church of the day.  The central love story though is quite a bit reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice meets Jane Eyre, so you can see external influences at play and will enjoy it if you like either of those novels.  The book is also a must for Dicken's fans was originally printed as a serialisation in his Household Words and thus was edited a great deal by him, so you also can detect the voice of the editor a great deal within the social history context of the novel. 

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  • 6 months later...

I just read the book a few weeks ago with one of my best friends, and I really love it! Margaret is an amazing character, and I enjoyed the author's style. I'm even surprised, because I've never heard of Elizabeth Gaskell in class (I study English and English Literature), because she is extremely talented, and this novel is simply fantastic. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had to read a bit of Mrs Gaskell for my degree, and although I'm not generally a huge fan of Victorian lit (apart from Dickens) I really enjoyed her work. North and South is my favourite Gaskell novel, mainly because of the how the character of Thornton changes as he spends more time with Margaret. Also, it's set in Manchester, which is a refreshing change from the streets of London. 

 

If you enjoyed North and South, try Mary Barton - another Gaskell novel set "up Narth". (Tip: if you do decide to read it, be prepared to Google some of the dialect words. Clemmin' = starving :P ).

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Signor! I just got the North and South book for Kindle! I can't wait to read it! I saw the BBC adaptation and absolutely loved it. Have you seen it? I think Mr. Thorton has to be one of my favorite literary men in all of English fiction. His relationship with Margaret was so romantic. Though I do think that Margaret was just as stubborn as Mr. Thorton and I think that it was just as much about Mr. Thorton changing as it was for Margaret.

Edited by cuppycakes
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  • 2 years later...

Bumping this topic as I finished this book last night, overall I loved it, I agree with other posters that it's fascinating to see how both Margaret and John Thornton change, Margaret finally finding her feet although she was pretty outspoken when pushed.  I loved how she helped protect Thornton during the riot, she seemed so put upon but when really needed she wasn't afraid to put herself in possible danger, I did think that her father, though he was a lovely man, did take advantage of her a bit, even given the constraints of the time.  The book seemed surprisingly modern at times eg with the mill-workers protesting at cheaper foreign (from Ireland!) labour being brought in, and even the writing seemed more up to date than in some Victorian novels I've read, however I did struggle a bit with the local dialect, luckily my copy had a reference section to explain various words (such as "clemming" listed above).  It did remind me a bit of Pride and Prejudice, a sort of grittier version I suppose, and Thornton is a bit like Darcy, although he's a self-made man and, I think, much more hands on in business than Darcy, but the initial relationship between the two main characters is quite similar to P & P. 

 

My other gripe, and I notice other reviewers have brought this up, is the ending, which is very abrupt and almost more of a business deal (as did often happen then of course).  I saw the TV series (I have it on DVD as well) and think that the ending in that was much better, albeit more romantic!  But a great book overall, and I loved the two main characters, who I think are very well-matched.

Edited by Madeleine
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  • 1 year later...

I thought it was very interesting. It was a state of the nation novel. It is sometimes called an industrial novel or a factory novel and there are not very many of those. It was a love story too, but that wasn't the bit that interested me. 

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