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Aug 29, 2011

Fiona rated it:

I have just completed reading this book for the second time and it has been even better then the first time.

I'd already seen the BBC series before reading the first time so I already knew the story, and I wish I'd come to the books afresh in a way though I do not think that would have altered in anyway, the way I perceived them. Though Richard Armitage certainly does help and I swooned over Thornton even more.

What I love about North and South is the passion and the realne More...

27 comments like (28 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Ailsa rated it:

I can't quite put my finger on why I love this book quite as much as I do. And even for someone who does re-read books as much as I do, to get through 3 copies of one book is quite a feat. For me, the most remarkable achievement of Gaskell is that she is able to combine so many elements of various 19th century novelistic traditions and yet not have the novel collapse into incomprehensibility.

The broad scope of the novel, coupled with insightful depth and comment means that each readi More...

1 comment like (31 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2008

Dawn rated it:

I read this because I'd seen the BBC production, and wondered if Margaret Hale would be less silly in the book. North and South sounds like it should be about social and geographic divisions, but it's actually about finding balance amidst constant change. Although I found her character annoyingly reactive, the Miss Hale of the novel is decidedly less silly than she of the movie.

I've read comparisons of Mr. Thornton to Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy, but I don't personally see much likeness- More...

5 comments like (32 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2009

Elizabeth rated it:

I keep thinking I don't like Victorian literature and then I read another Elizabeth Gaskell novel...

Usually, I find the practice of paying authors by the word or the chapter (the books were serialized) lead to meandering plots, excessive description of unimportant things, and cliffhanger chapter-endings. North and South is definitely a Victorian novel. The domestic details seem to overwhelm the story sometimes. I would have to step back and remember the importance of them to establis More...

24 comments like (37 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2008

Anneliese rated it:

On Sunday evening I finished reading Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. It's the book they based the wonderful BBC movie on, in case you were wondering. It took me three weeks, maybe four to read this novel. I think that's the longest time I've spent with a book this year (not including when I've reread some of my favorites). A couple of years back I remember starting this book, but for some reason or another I didn't finish it. Just recently I came upon a website that posted pictures from the More...

2 comments like (13 people liked it)

Sep 24, 2007

Leanna rated it:

I love this book.

The writing is nineteenth century and may not be accessible for all readers, but I find this style soothing and rhythmic. More than anything, though, the book touches the romantic inside me.

A vast majority of the story has little to do with romance. Gaskell focuses much of the text on industrialization, unionization, and the human condition. These topics are not too terribly interesting to me, and I would normally feel impatient with these passages. But I More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

May 28, 2007

Zeina rated it:

You could call this the industrial revolution version of Pride and Prejudice: woman of lesser means meets stern, rich man; she hates him; he loves her; she rejects him then learns to appreciate him and finally falls in love with him.
However, the roles are a little more complex.

John Thornton is a wealthy cotton manufacturer in Milton, but he's worked hard to get to the top. He's a nouveau riche with worn hands. Margaret is an ex-parson's daughter, fresh from the idyllic south, More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Moss rated it:

I've never been a fan of the Victorian era. What little I know about it is couched in the language of disease and epidemics and the kind of pestilence that defies belief. I know that's simplifying it, and that the social reform that rose out of the miasma revolutionised a nation, but even with that said all that ever comes to mind when I think of the Victorians is poor people dying for want of simple things like a proper sewage system, and for want of less than thirteen to a room.

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40 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2011

Becky rated it:

OK, I want to preface this review by saying that there is a very good chance that poor timing has caused me to not enjoy this book as much as I probably would have otherwise. I chose to read this immediately after finishing the ridiculously fast-paced and, I'll admit, addictive Twilight series, thinking that a classic romance would, as I told a friend (probably "former" after she reads this review though), get me back into the habit of reading "big people books".

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24 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2011

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

Margaret Hale is the daughter of a slightly-impoverished parson. She's been living as a companion to her wealthy cousin, but when that cousin gets married, she goes back to live with her parents. Shortly after the transition, her father announces that his beliefs have changed and he can no longer be a parson. He moves the family to Milton, a manufacturing town in the north of England. There, he works as a tutor for the wealthy men (both young and not-so-young) of the city.

Mr. Tho More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 18, 2007

Margaret rated it:

Elizabeth Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Bronte and wrote at about the same time. The book was origonally published in parts in one of Dickons journals or magazines. After Charlotte Bronte read the first excerpt, she wasn't too keen on the story and thought it was just a discussion on religion. I don't remember what Bronte thought of the whole book, but the story received quite a bit of recognition when it came out.

The storyline is more intense than Pride and Prejudice, but not More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2010

Rachel rated it:

The verdict is in: I read Elizabeth Gaskell's 1854 novel North and South and loved it. Loved, loved, loved it!

Not only that, it is even better than the movie, that gorgeous dramatic masterpiece. It will go down as one of my favorite books of all time. I loved Gaskell's exploration of human nature, our inherent distrust of the "other" and yet, our innate goodness. I love how she profiled the little idiosyncrasies in human nature {much in Austen fashion}. And, as should be a More...

7 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2007

Ann Marie rated it:

I absolutely love this book. It is an interesting take on the differences between the industrial north and the rural south in the mid-nineteenth century. Mr. Thornton has become one of my favorite characters in literature. Since the (great) miniseries came out in 2004, many have compared Thornton to Austen's Darcy -- but I don't see it. Thornton is a self-made man, who can be pig-headed, but turns out to be quite progressive, forgiving and compassionate. It was heartening to read in Gaskell's More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2007

Jessica rated it:

My favorite Gaskell novel. I really can't explain how much I love this story. The careful intertwining of political, religious, familial, and romantic conflicts and plotlines balance each other perfectly, in a way that few Victorian writers capture, much less women. Gaskell is brilliant, and writes a story that explores not only the social atmosphere of England at the time, but a convincing and vindicating love story as well. It's like socially conscious chick lit, which makes it something entir More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 06, 2011

Marnie rated it:

Il tanto agognato libro di Elizabeth Gaskell è arrivato in Italia. L'emozione nel ritrovarsi davanti a questo sublime mattoncino, è difficilmente esprimibile a parole. La raffinata copertina:la foto di una bambina davanti a un telaio, arriva dritta al cuore. Non è da meno la storia, che potrei definire un perenne gioco di contrasti.
I campi soleggiati del Sud, le fabbriche fumose del Nord. L'allegria e l'indolenza della gente del meridione, la serietà e preoccupazione sui volti contratti del More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Michelle rated it:

North and South is a book that grows on you, even as you are still reading it. I’ll admit that my initial fear over a novel set primarily in a sooty Victorian-era manufacturing town (if it can be called a “fear”—let’s just say “literary nerd’s apprehension”) was that the novel would be too tinged with didacticism for my taste. Gloomy, a bit depressing, short on hopefulness, meant to present all the ills of an industrialized society in an emotional/sentimental way. But I was pleasantly surpris More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Yearning To Read rated it:

Margaret Hale lived an idyllic childhood in Helstone, northern England, where her father is a preacher. However, after returning to Helstone after a long stay with her cousin Edith in London, Margaret, her mother and their maid Dixon must leave Helstone for good, when her father is forced, under a matter of conscience, to leave the Church. They must now reside in Milton, a manufacturing town, full of dirty air, cotton, and a war between the hands and the masters. With her mother’s health fail More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 21, 2010

Michelle rated it:

"As I mentioned above, I chose this particular novel because it is considered her best. Having never read anything by Ms. Gaskell prior to this tour, I wanted to make sure that I was focusing on one that would allow me to enjoy all of her talents. I was definitely not disappointed by what the book contained. In fact, I was quite surprised at what was between the pages. I was not expecting the rich details of class struggles, the strong female character and a love story. This proves tha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Angie rated it:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is one of the most enjoyable Victorian novels I have ever read.

The setting is one of the agricultural, balmy South of England versus the industrial, smog-ridden North. Margaret Hale, the young heroine, has been cushioned in a life of privilege living in central London with her wealthy cousin until her cousin's marriage means that Margaret will have to move back to her parents home, a rural manse where her father is the local vicar.

Thi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2008

Nichole rated it:

Elizabeth Gaskell is a remarkable writer. I enjoyed all of the different facets she built into her story. There is something for everyone.

Two characters stand out to me: Margaret Hale and Mrs. Thornton.
Margaret is the one who is always there. She has to break the bad news to families when loved ones are lost, she has to care for sick people, she jumps in when people need defending, and when someone needs a companion to talk with…she is there. I think we all would love to ha More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 01, 2008

Beth rated it:

I like to describe this book as a combination between Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Gaskell has Austen's sense of the plight of women -- and also Austen's romance. She also has Dickens' social reformer tendencies, with a keen awareness of class issues and the perils of poverty. This book is very earnest about its social issues, and the herione's life during this book is chock-full of tragedy, so there is not as much wit and satire in this novel as in some of Gaskell's other work, or in Austen More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2008

Martine rated it:

A couple of years ago I had the tremendous fortune to see the BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, which may well top their mid-nineties adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as the best period mini-series they have ever produced. In fact, it's rather like Pride and Prejudice in some regards, only it has more passion and intensity and a slightly more modern, industrialised setting.

Like the mini-series, Gaskell's book tells the story of Margaret Hale and John Thornton, More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2008

Ana T. rated it:

After watching the BBC mini series based in this book and enjoying it so much I just knew I had to find a copy of the book! That's what I did a few weeks ago.

The story begins by presenting to us the character of Margaret Hale, a middle class young lady who, by her father's decision has to move with the rest of the family from Helstone in the south to Milton (it's actually a fictional Manchester)in the north of England. Margaret's father was a clergyman but due to matters of conscienc More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2007

Rachel rated it:

So, I just read it again....Oh, how I love this book. I love the characters, plot, romance, setting, everything. Even after 4 or 5 readings it is hard for me to put down (finished this time in under a week). I was struck anew this time with the complexities of even minor characters including Mrs. Thorton, Bessy Higgins and Dixon. The book is so rich that small figures still have unique and interesting story arcs. I also got caught up more in the drama of master vs. worker this time. Aside fro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2007

Eileen rated it:

I love Elizabeth Gaskell. I hadn't even heard of her until a few years ago. I regret missing the opportunity to read her earlier, but am happy to get to read her books for the first time now. As many people mention here on Goodreads, she was a contemporary and friend of Dickens and Charlotte Bronte, and her books have a similar wealth of familiar characters and Victorian morality. Her point of view and sharp, but affectionate, social satire I find more like Jane Austen. She's been oversha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Cristina rated it:

Margaret Hale and her parents leave their idyllic home in Helstone and relocate to the manufacturing town of Milton-Northern. Margaret's father has renounced his position in the church and intends to earn a living as a private tutor. The Hales find adapting to life in Milton very difficult. They are befriended by a proud mill owner, John Thornton, and become familiar with the manufacturing way of life which includes strikes, starvation, and discord between the mill owners and mill workers.
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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 18, 2008

Kathy rated it:

Fabulous book. This book came highly recommended, and I was told if I like Jane Austen I'd like this book. In some ways it was actually more satisfying than Jane Austen. Don't get me wrong, Pride and Prejudice is among my favorite books of all time. But sometimes it's hard to get around the fact that the characters spend their lives walking around, going to balls, and doing generally very little. In North and South you get social commentary, a glimpse into the life of the downtrodden working cla More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Prettyfutility added it

I saw the BBC version of this then read the book. As expected the book was better--although, unexpectedly, in some ways more dramatic. In retrospect the plot is suspiciously similar to Pride and Prejudice, but does not read as a copy-cat (I certainly don't think Mrs. Gaskell is trying to emulate Jane Austen as many authors apparently are today--to poor results I might add). I think a good plot is a good plot no matter the incarnation (well, assuming good writing, a creative author, and a few oth More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 13, 2007

Izzati rated it:

wow, i didn't actually expect that i would like the story! the book belongs to my father, which he had kept since 47 years ago (really!) it was worn down, and looks very very old. but somehow i decided to pick it up and read it..

the main thing that attracted me to this book is the main character - margaret. i really like her style - determined and strong-willed, but still with a gentle side.
i also like the industrial revolution setting. kinda gives me a general idea of how li More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Elizabeth rated it:

I'm still not entirely sure if I read this book in college...it felt vaguely familiar. Regardless, the book has a pervasive sweetness to it that makes today's novels seem hopelessly jaded. The main character, Margaret, suffers through a series of difficult circumstances with a courage and patience that could be called old-fashioned--and quite wonderful. She's an interesting mix of dutiful daughter and independent spirit.

Gaskell's thoughtful opinions about industrialization in Englan More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

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