North and South (Penguin Classics)

After reading all the works of Austen and the Brönte sisters, I turn to Elizabeth Gaskell. Years ago I watched the BBC mini-series “North and South” and while I enjoyed it, I remembered it as being very tragic and dreary.I’m glad that I was determined to read the actual novel. I found it absorbing and beautiful. I loved the struggles and resolutions abundant in this rich story. Thornton and Higgins, Lennox, Hale, and Bell were all strong characters. Even Frederick, Boucher, and Leonards added vital parts to the whole. The female characters were equally strong: Dixon, Mrs. Thornton, Bessy Higgins, and the minor ones, Mary, Edith, Mrs. Shaw, and Mrs. Hale.Clashes between social classes, internal religious reconciliations, and the classic romantic misunderstandings twined together to make this amazing classic.

"North and South" is a well written novel by iconic Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell. It is her third novel. It is of medium length, and, allowing for the fact that Victorian Literature is not the same as modern conversational American English, is mostly highly readable. I liked the novel very much.I have only read one other major novel by Elizabeth Gaskell prior to this one. It is her first novel, "Mary Barton". I liked this novel much more. Both of these novels are stories about different social and economic classes in Victorian England. Both novels include episodes of economic strife and extreme hardship among the urban poor. Both involve the examples of the rich being indifferent at times and virtuous at other times.I was ambivalent about "Mary Barton". There were times that I felt it was preachy and unrealistic. Sort of Charles Dickens without the wry humor and dimension of entertainment. Having now read this novel I am concerned that I was unfair in my assessment of "Mary Barton". This novel, "North and South" seems to have more wry humor and also a gentle romantic dimension that was pleasant and interesting to contemplate, while at the same time addressing very dreadful issues of poverty and hunger among the urban poor.I did not like it as much as many Charles Dickens novels but that is a fairly high bar for me. Of the Charles Dickens novels that I have read, this novel reminds me most of "Hard Times". I actually liked this novel better than "Hard Times" but I have liked every other novel by Charles Dickens that I have ever read better than this one.As for George Eliot, my favorite author, while Victorian, she stands alone in my personal literary universe. I find her work so nuanced, intellectually sophisticated, and multifaceted that I cannot easily compare her works to other authors, Victorian or otherwise. I suppose this novel most reminds of "Felix Holt The Radical". But to me the novels are at two different levels, as if one is comparing Christopher Marlowe to Shakespeare.If one is a Jane Austen fan, in the event that it matters, I have read every work that has been published authored by Jane Austen, including incomplete works published after her death. I still prefer Jane Austen to Elizabeth Gaskell. Jane Austen is, of course, pre Victorian. While humorous and romantic, Jane Austen's work does not focus on the extreme poverty of Industrial Age England.In summary, I am very glad to have had the opportunity to read "North and South". My opinion is that this novel has more warmth, gentle humor, and a romantic aspect that "Mary Barton" did not have. I am anxious that I am now being unfair in my recollections of "Mary Barton". It does all of this while still addressing the same important social and economic issues of the author's first novel. After a short respite from this author I believe I will next read "Cranford". Thank You...

I read this book after watching the mini-tv series with Richard Armitage. I loved the series and was blown away at his performance as a romantic character (as opposed to the characters Thorin and Guy of Gisbourne). I found the main plot of the book to be similar to Pride and Prejudice, but it also covered characters from the working class and provides insight on how the Industrial Revolution changed relationships between masters and workers. The book was written just after the Industrial Revolution, and though the story-line is fictional, Gaskell's knowledge of industrial towns and of the working class were real. She goes into detail about the sociology behind the interdependent relationship of workers and masters by using Mr Thornton (master), Nicholas Higgins (worker) and Margaret Hale (the outsider) as conduits to discuss the philosophical essays of John Locke and Henry Stuart Mill. The social status of the characters is also interesting with Mr. Thornton as part of the nouveau rich, Higgins part of the working class and Margaret as part the upper class (by blood if not by money). I imagine if Gaskell had been born in our time, she would have been a successful anthropologist or sociologist.The romantic stuff made me giggle like a little girl and I was always looking forward to the next encounter between Margaret and Mr. Thornton. I wish there could have been a chapter which took place a couple years after the end of the book to show how the characters are getting on. It ended too soon!The book is a 19th century romantic classic and it reads like one too. If you're unfamiliar with that style of writing, the Industrial Revolution or the famous philosophers who contributed to discussion on the working class, you might want to touch up on some history a bit before reading this. You only need the basics, but it really helps to understand the context. It's well worth it though, and I think this had become one of my favorite books!