North and South
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4.3 • 8 Ratings
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Publisher Description
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.
-- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Customer Reviews
North and South
An enduring story of life, love, family and friendships during the rise of the industrial age. Gaskell writes from a well rounded point of view of the struggles and changing times during the 1800's. Margaret's father left his priesthood with the church after years of a quiet happy life in the south to move Margaret & her mother to Milton where they have no connections & no one they are connected with would want to visit. Why have they moved, why has he left the church is the unspoken question their new neighbors whisper about. Struggling to find a place for herself in this new strange town she befriends a young girl from the mill, hoping to offer baskets of charity as she did before when living as the pastors daughter. Margaret's attempts at bridging the gap between workers & their masters is misunderstood by both workers & masters.
John Thornton finds that his life is turned upside down by Margaret's beauty and outspokenness but even more by her kindness shown to others that are beneath her station. Why does she show kindness to others but can not be civil to him?
This should be on anyone's must read list.