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A review by ellisaspen
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth Gaskell's 1854 novel North and South. It is a beautiful, heart-breaking, soul-raising book filled with memorable characters and critical examinations of society during the Victorian era. The characters, setting, and writing style are appealing, and I found that, as I read, Margaret’s story and experiences often aligned with my own life. This book was touching on a personal level, and I look forward to investigating Gaskell’s other books, as well as rereading this one. It will be interesting to return to it in a few years and look back not only at this story, but also on the annotations I made as I read.
I was introduced to this book through the BBC adaptation, which I watched with some friends. After finishing the miniseries, I almost immediately bought the book. It takes place in England following the industrial era and focuses on Margaret Hale, a young lady who moves with her parents from their quaint village in the south to an industrial town called Milton in the north. She meets both the workers and masters of factories and begins to learn about the complex relationships and struggles of the classes. This book is much more than a romance; it’s an examination of social class and prejudice, among other things. So many times while reading, I thought the perfect title for this book would be, in all honesty, “Pride and Prejudice.” The misunderstandings between the Hales and Milton natives—especially regarding the Thorntons—were amusing, unsettling, and thought-provoking (such as: how many times does one's unfamiliarity with local customs and traditions lead to tension between people?). The characters of North and South contain depth and embody growth as they learn to view the world in a less closed-off manner and recognize that the ideal is neither real nor attainable.
I highly recommend this book to those who love history, well-written literature, romance, economics, social relations, ethics, strong characters…This is a hidden gem in the literary world, which is somewhat surprising when one considers Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Brontë’s. Oh, and this book was first serialized in Household Words, a weekly magazine edited by none other than Charles Dickens himself (obviously it had some major supporters from within the literary world, yet so few people nowadays seem to know of it).
To read more (including where I would sort some of the characters of they went to Hogwarts), please visit my blog.
I was introduced to this book through the BBC adaptation, which I watched with some friends. After finishing the miniseries, I almost immediately bought the book. It takes place in England following the industrial era and focuses on Margaret Hale, a young lady who moves with her parents from their quaint village in the south to an industrial town called Milton in the north. She meets both the workers and masters of factories and begins to learn about the complex relationships and struggles of the classes. This book is much more than a romance; it’s an examination of social class and prejudice, among other things. So many times while reading, I thought the perfect title for this book would be, in all honesty, “Pride and Prejudice.” The misunderstandings between the Hales and Milton natives—especially regarding the Thorntons—were amusing, unsettling, and thought-provoking (such as: how many times does one's unfamiliarity with local customs and traditions lead to tension between people?). The characters of North and South contain depth and embody growth as they learn to view the world in a less closed-off manner and recognize that the ideal is neither real nor attainable.
I highly recommend this book to those who love history, well-written literature, romance, economics, social relations, ethics, strong characters…This is a hidden gem in the literary world, which is somewhat surprising when one considers Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Brontë’s. Oh, and this book was first serialized in Household Words, a weekly magazine edited by none other than Charles Dickens himself (obviously it had some major supporters from within the literary world, yet so few people nowadays seem to know of it).
To read more (including where I would sort some of the characters of they went to Hogwarts), please visit my blog.