North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

[muggle not]

My GD requested this book, among other things, for Christmas. :

 

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

 

Have any of you read the book and, if so, what was your opinion of it?

Edited November 27, 2011 by muggle not

[Chrissy]

I read this book about 20 years ago, and although I can remember very little, I do recall enjoying it!

 

Probably a slightly less detailed response on the book than you had hoped you'd get.

 

PS Hello Muggle Not, good to 'see' you!

[muggle not]

Thanks Chrissy - appreciate your response. I also read the review on Amazon and it seems to be an interesting book that my GD would enjoy.

[Easy Reader]

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.

[Katrina1968]

I love this book and have read it several times! I love the village feel to the book. It just puts me in a happy place!

[Kylie]

Is it a cheery book, Katrina? For some reason I had the opposite impression, which I think has has put me off reading it a little.

[Martina92]

I love this book! Mr Thornton is the best! Before reading it I watched the bbc adaptation and I really liked it I fell in love with Richard Armitage

[Peahen]

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. 

[AnGee]

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. 

[Signor Finzione]

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  ).

[cuppycakes]

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 November 12, 2013 by cuppycakes

[vodkafan]

I have this one waiting on my kindle too. Might bump it up.

[chesilbeach]

It's one of the books for the English Counties challenge, so I've downloaded it to my Kindle. Looking forward to reading it.

[cuppycakes]

Hi! When are you all reading North and South for the English Counties challenge?

Edited November 15, 2013 by cuppycakes

[chesilbeach]

I don't think we're planning to read them together, so it'll probably be whenever we all get around to it individually, although some may choose their own book for the county.

[Madeleine]

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 December 14, 2015 by Madeleine

[vodkafan]

Having seen the 4 hour DVD first, (and 3 times since) which is a fantastic piece of TV, I was slightly disappointed with the book, as I wrote somewhere else on another thread.

[KEV67]

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. 

[chesilbeach]

I read it a little while back for the English Counties challenge some of the members here are currently undertaking.  I really enjoyed it - you can read a few more reviews of it in this thread.

[RebeccaM]

This was the first book I read this year and I really enjoyed it. The final line is perfect!