The Moorland Cottage Paperback – March 26, 2009

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is perhaps best known for "Cranford." I enjoyed that book with its quaint tales of the fictional town, and I loved the British mini-series as well. So I decided to try another Gaskell work, "The Moorland Cottage." This novella tells of a brother and sister, Andrew and Maggie Browne. The siblings recently lost their father, who apparently was a saintly man much beloved by their neighbors. Their mother, unfortunately, is a bit of a harridan. She strongly favors Andrew and makes Maggie slave away for his benefit. A nearby nobleman, Mr. Buxton, who was friends with Mr. Brown, attempts to help out the family by having them frequently as guests to his mansion. The children befriend Mr. Buxton's son, Frank, and niece, Erminia. Well, Maggie befriends them; Frank and Erminia quickly see Edward for what he is - pompous and self-important. Over the years, Maggie also becomes close to the sickly Mrs. Buxton, who acts as a mentor to the ignored, mousey child."The Moorland Cottage" heads in fairly obvious directions and the writing lacks some subtlety; in particular, the repetitive scenes demonstrating Mrs. Browne's preference for her son were a bit over-done. Nevertheless, Gaskell writes with genuine emotion and plucks a few heartstrings along the way. I found myself often relating to the characters and finding much truth in the story. Gaskell's writing is even funny in places, and she lands a few social commentary jabs, such as, "[Maggie] had never before ventured into the world, and did not know how common and universal is the custom of picking to pieces those with whom we have just been associating." Although not a classic, this novella is enjoyable and likely to appeal to fans of Jane Austen and similar authors.This review is for the Kindle version, which is a public domain book. The text is generally fine, although I easily found at least a dozen typos. In particular, the word "if" is substituted for "it" on numerous occasions. Also, the paragraph breaks are often wrong, with extra breaks added throughout the book. These errors don't, however, interfere greatly with reading this novella.

This is a bittersweet story that describes the plight of women in the days before Womens' Sufferage. I'm glad I read it on the Kindle because the writer used words that are not commonly used today. It was great to be able to tap on the word and see the definition. As the younger sister with an older brother, I could relate to the favoritism the mother had for her son. Luckily, for me, it wasn't that extreme as it was in the story. The story does drag on a bit and then it rushes to the end quite abruptly. The end was gratifying as it had a happily ever after epilogue. If your budget is tight, this is a good book for you, a decent read for not a lot of dough.

although the going is Gaskellian slow and also characteristically morbid and unilateral -- the heroine can't be caught doing anything which is not absolutely self-sacrificing and good, still the story was brilliantly told and on lines decently logical and credible -- until towards the end and unexpectedly the character who has been one too many for a happy resolution of the drama, is done with in quite a shameful way -- being no writer myself I would still not resort to such a simpleminded twist. But again, I may be entirely missing the whole point of finding true enjoyment of a particular sort in revisiting this excellent writer.

This is a sweet agrarian England tale of an under-appreciated sister and an adored rogue of a brother, told slowly and satisfyingly. It feels a lot like a pastoral Trollope piece. The sheer nobility of a couple of the characters makes one better for knowing them. The ending is surprisingly fast-paced. If you want a slow, sweet, quality read, this is a good one.

I suppose this could be described as a moral tale. Each character was either all good or all bad, but it was a nice light read with a satisfying ending. As you would expect with Elizabeth Gaskell, the writing is old-fashioned and takes a little time to get used to, but I enjoyed reading it.

The characters make this book. Maggie is the main character and it is nice to see her grow and change in a difficult environment.It is easy to read,

I was an English major in college, and have spent the last 50 years trying to read some of the English and other classics that are out there...quite an undertaking. Gaskell is a fine writer and although this might not be her best work, it is certainly worth reading, and I'm glad I did.

Good English tske

Short and sweet, almost gothic. The author is very black and white in the way she portrays the characters; the heroine is pure as the driven while the villain is the blackest of scoundrels who gets his comeuppance in dramatic (but not very credible) fashion. If you take it at the level it's written then it's enjoyable and well worth reading if youjre a Gaskell fan. But it doesn't have any of the subtlety and character colour of Cranford or even Wives and Daughters.

Gaskell is such a good storyteller and it's fascinating to read her minor works after beginning with a classic like Mary Barton, where she had really honed her craft. Her descriptions are wonderful, but there are real problems with the pacing.I find the treatment of Maggie believable given the way 'heroic' women behave in other novels of the mid 19th century. Women were admired for being martyrs and accepting self-sacrifice for the noble end of supporting their menfolk. It is irritating from a modern perspective but doesn't intrude on the enjoyment of the work. The ending, though, is rushed and unsatisfying.

The items I have ordered have all been extremely good and just what I wanted. Thank you.

I am just getting to know Elizabeth Gaskell and enjoying the stories, though of course they are stories of their time, and the style is quite amusing by modern fashions. Nevertheless delightful and easy reading.

As always, brilliant insight into the lives and emotions of her characters by Elizabeth Haskell, coupled with an intriguing plot. Unfortunately, her work is spoilt in this version by numerous typing errors that we're irritating and caused confusion.