Wives and Daughters

May 11, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, all-time-favourites

Why has it taken me so long to finally read this wonderful novel? I bought the Penguin edition when I was in my 20s, read a page or two, put it down and didn't pick it up again. The book sat on my shelf for years. For all I know, it could be there still. However, after university I went right off Victorian literature and it's only been in the last twelve months or so that I've felt the desire to tackle it again. And now I've fallen in love with Elizabeth Gaskell's writing.

In brief, the novel is...more
Why has it taken me so long to finally read this wonderful novel? I bought the Penguin edition when I was in my 20s, read a page or two, put it down and didn't pick it up again. The book sat on my shelf for years. For all I know, it could be there still. However, after university I went right off Victorian literature and it's only been in the last twelve months or so that I've felt the desire to tackle it again. And now I've fallen in love with Elizabeth Gaskell's writing.

In brief, the novel is set in the English Midlands in the 1830s and focuses on Molly Gibson, who lives in a small town with her widowed father, the local medical practitioner. Concerned to acquire an appropriate chaperone and guide for his teenage daughter, Mr Gibson re-marries the vain, self-absorbed and manipulative Hyacinth Kirkpatrick, who has a teenage daughter of her own, Cynthia. The story of Molly and Cynthia is a tale of love, friendship, secrets and scandal. Central to the narrative are the changes in English society, where class distinctions are slowly becoming blurred.

The best thing about this novel are its characters. There is kind, loving Molly, her sarcastic and undemonstrative but deeply caring father, her truly awful stepmother and the "fascinating, faulty" Cynthia, who is probably the most complex and interesting character in the novel. There is also the aristocratic Cumnor family, the conflicted family of Squire Hamley, and the chorus of ladies from the town. Gaskell breathed life into all of these characters. None are perfect - even the closest to perfect amongst them, Molly and Roger Hamley, demonstrate some flaws. None are mere caricatures, not even Hyacinth, in spite of her her quite breath-taking shallowness and the fact that she is the butt of much of Gaskell's highly-developed sense of irony.

This is a novel with plenty of wit and humour, as well as melodrama and pathos. First published in serial form between August 1864 and January 1866, Gaskell died before the novel was finished. The final section, said to have been written by journalist and editor Frederick Greenwood, explains how Gaskell meant to conclude the final chapter. While it is sad that Gaskell's death left the book unfinished, it's not difficult to see where the narrative was going even without the final section. The excellence of the novel is not diminished by it being unfinished.

I listened to an audiobook edition narrated by Josephine Bailey, who is truly superb. Every character is wonderfully realised, each with a distinct and appropriate voice.

All in all, listening to this novel has been a wonderful experience. I'm looking forward to going back to its world in the not too distant future. And of course, I now have the BBC television adaptation to look forward to. (less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

Molly Gibson is a kind-hearted, intelligent, sensitive girl who is thrown into society when her father, the equally sensible but far more sarcastic Mr.Gibson, marries. His new wife is flighty, hypocritical, and manipulative, but all in such a soft, pliant way that it is difficult to oppose her. With her comes her daughter Cynthia Fitzpatrick, who is Molly's own age but beautiful where Molly is pretty, and socially brilliant where Molly is genuine. Cynthia and Molly immediately become best friend...more Molly Gibson is a kind-hearted, intelligent, sensitive girl who is thrown into society when her father, the equally sensible but far more sarcastic Mr.Gibson, marries. His new wife is flighty, hypocritical, and manipulative, but all in such a soft, pliant way that it is difficult to oppose her. With her comes her daughter Cynthia Fitzpatrick, who is Molly's own age but beautiful where Molly is pretty, and socially brilliant where Molly is genuine. Cynthia and Molly immediately become best friends, but Cynthia is so constantly charming young men that (by trying to help her get out of scrapes) Molly's own reputation suffers.

Easily one of the most charming, romantic Victorian novels I've ever read. Victorian novels generally put so much emphasis on morals or virtues that I find alien and silly, or are so long-winded in their explanations, descriptions, and dialog, that I grow quite out of patience with them. Instead, Gaskell seems to have a good deal of sympathy for characters like Cynthia, who would have been treated very severely by authors like Trollop or Bradden, and quietly pokes fun at the sexist, classist, xenophobic notions of her main characters. She seems to like her characters, and want to explain them to her readers, instead of trying to use them as puppets to force her readers into higher morals. Gaskell is nearly as witty as Dickens, but turns her attention in much the same direction as Austen, with that same satirical edge to her domestic descriptions. Gaskell is particularly adept at portraying characters' personalities and interests through dialog alone. I quite loved this, and was horrified to learn, when I was 75% done and utterly wrapt up in the story, that it was never finished. It ends on a satisfying note, however, so though one does not get to actually read the resolution, one is not left without hope that it did take place. In a way, by ending this novel before (view spoiler)one is left to resolve it in the manner most satisfactory to oneself, and not bound to the author's choices. (less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Towards the end of last year I spent many happy hours visiting a world so perfectly realised that it still lifts my heart when I think of it. I stepped into the middle of the 1830s, into the English countryside that Mrs Gaskell knew so well, I met people who were so real, fallible, interesting, and I became caught up in their lives and their stories.

At the centre of it all was Molly Gibson, the only child of a widowed doctor. The apple of his eye.

In a lovely prologue she was twelve years old and...more

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Oct 22, 2008 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Austen fans

Shelves: 2008, fiction

Oh. MY. WORD.

This is, in every sense of the phrase, the never-ending story.

I had been wanting to see the BBC's film version of this book for years, but never got around to it. In a story too complicated to explain, I was not able to get the video, so decided I'd try to read the book instead.

The book is 60 chapters long. SIXTY. 650 pages. The first two slow chapters made me return the book to the library. But the story kept nagging at me, so a few months later, I tried again. The story definitely...more

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Feb 15, 2008 Cissy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my new favorite. Written by a lesser-known British author in the mid-1800s, this novel would be enjoyed by Austen and Dickens fans. It is very long--more than 600 pages in small print--but the characters are wonderfully detailed and the story very compelling. It is not a difficult read, but I do recommend getting a version that has notes explaining period references. I loved the sweetness of the main character, Molly Gibson, and all the different relationships between her and the other c...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jane-ites and Bronte fans

Shelves: 19th-c-english-novels, classics

I had high hopes for this based on the reviews of others in addition to the fact that I'm a sucker for 19th c. British writers. Dickens - check. Austen - check. Charlotte, Anne & Emily - check. Eliot - check. Thackeray - check. Collins - a half check. Trollope - a triple check. James (you can argue he's an American) - a quadruple check. Okay, you get the idea.

While I like nothing better than the head games played in provincial drawing rooms they have to be executed by individuals of depth in...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Mira rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-literature, classics, historical-fiction, 19th-century, favourites, 2012

Wives and Daughters is Elizabeth Gaskell at her finest. Written in the year preceding her death, the novel unfortunately never got finished. However, it is amazingly enjoyable, and makes one of the best love stories, as well as an excellent social commentary.

Little Molly Gibson, who lives with her widowed father, suddenly has the opportunity to see her world changing, when she is invited for a stay with the Hamleys, while her father is busy elsewhere getting married. In Molly, we have an endear...more Wives and Daughters is Elizabeth Gaskell at her finest. Written in the year preceding her death, the novel unfortunately never got finished. However, it is amazingly enjoyable, and makes one of the best love stories, as well as an excellent social commentary.

Little Molly Gibson, who lives with her widowed father, suddenly has the opportunity to see her world changing, when she is invited for a stay with the Hamleys, while her father is busy elsewhere getting married. In Molly, we have an endearingly sweet heroine, with a refreshing simplicity about her, and a father that wins the reader with his cynicism and wonderful sense of humor, which reminded me of Mr. Bennet, only that Mr. Gibson is a much better father than Mr. Bennet ever aspired to be. The new stepmother, “Hyacinth Clare”(whose name even Mr. Gibson makes fun of) is one hilarious add to the plot; sickly-sweet, with an extravagant air of a past-yet-clinging youth about her, and a tendency to be occasionally jealous of her own daughter, thus never failing to provide the novel with a silly, irritating comic role. Gaskell also does a great job describing the Hamleys and the irony of the parents’ expectations of their sons, which are contradicted harshly by the real turn of events.

Wives and Daughters is not perhaps as bleak as North and South, but it is just as moving and powerful , with a great love story at its heart, and a realistic comparison between worldliness and locality, shrewdness and innocence, and between fickleness and resolution of beliefs, as displayed by Molly and her alluring stepsister, Cynthia. Cynthia is certainly an interesting character to read about. Though not my favorite, she may be the most realistic character in the novel, probably because you just keep wavering between liking and disliking her, understanding her motives at one moment, and then declaring her selfish and too sophisticated at the next. The wonderful thing about this novel, is that it is never dull. Every chapter is apt to invoke some kind of emotion, the laugh-out-loud moments are plenty, and always connected in some way or another with Mr. Gibson or the rough, but good-hearted Sir Hamley.

Elizabeth Gaskell never disappoints. Witty, prolific, and beautifully imagined, her writings are always a delight to read, and put me in the best of moods. And without doubt, Wives and Daughters is one excellent example.(less)

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Dec 01, 2010 SarahC rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: elizabeth-gaskell, fallreading2010

This novel achieves much and thoughts of it do not leave the mind quickly. Gaskell captures both the human experience and the beautiful settings of mid-19th-century English country life. You will be drawn into this world as she introduces the lives of the common folk of Hollingford and those who hold distinction either by title or by ancient stewardship of the land. Regardless of rank, Gaskell’s characters face essentially human situations.

Our heroine, young Molly Gibson, on the brink of adultho...more This novel achieves much and thoughts of it do not leave the mind quickly. Gaskell captures both the human experience and the beautiful settings of mid-19th-century English country life. You will be drawn into this world as she introduces the lives of the common folk of Hollingford and those who hold distinction either by title or by ancient stewardship of the land. Regardless of rank, Gaskell’s characters face essentially human situations.

Our heroine, young Molly Gibson, on the brink of adulthood, has quietly grown up with her father, the town physician. A little awkward and protected by her father, she is carefully embarking on life. She finds love and acceptance with a surrogate family, the Hamleys. At the same time, Molly’s father brings home a new wife -- a new mamma for Molly -- the lovely yet ambitious Hyacinth, former governess to the grand Cumnor family who rule the town. Hyacinth’s bold but neglected daughter Cynthia also becomes a part of the Gibson household. Meanwhile, the Hamleys, who grow so dear to Molly, face the illness of a devoted mother, the struggles of two brothers, and the constant desire of a father to maintain the centuries-old estate.

The beginning of the story feels like a fairy tale. Twelve-year-old Molly is whisked away by carriage, in the company of not-too-observant guardians, to the great house of the Cumnors, appropriately named The Towers. Here she experiences a day of grand entertainments but is accidentally left sleeping as the carriages ride away. She is imprisoned in a sense, as no one will help her leave or be convinced that her father will worry. Soon her father arrives to rescue her. The reader fears more adventures in wonderland as her story resumes when she is almost seventeen. This time she goes on her first “real visit,” a stay of several weeks at Hamley Hall. Thankfully, Molly finds a much different experience from her fearful stay at The Towers as she becomes somewhat adopted by the kind family, who long for a young girl about the place and appreciate Molly’s constancy and caring nature.

So wonderland dissolves and the concerns of everyday take its place. Molly is coming of age and much of the story tells of things hidden and misunderstood in her life and that of those around her. A sister of the heart to the Hamley sons, she protects their secret that will affect the path of both brothers’ lives. Molly also guards the hidden life of Cynthia, her sister by necessity, to insure hope for Cynthia’s future. Strengths, flaws, rediscovered relationships and discovered love are revealed in this “rich and rare” story, as labeled by Gaskell biographer Jenny Uglow.

The crafting of the story sets it apart from anything else I have read including other writing of Gaskell. She has a light touch and an absolute respect for how real life happens, preventing this from being a tale of drama and dysfunction. The people simply live, feel, make mistakes and endure sacrifices. I can’t improve upon what the editor remarked of her in the last original published Wives & Daughters installment in 1866 after Gaskell’s death, “She began by having the people of her story born in the usual way, and not built up like the Frankenstein monster..,” and therefore a very natural, pure story follows.

I greatly recommend this novel.(less)

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Jul 21, 2011 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Elizabeth-sometimes a re-read is a must. Kelly- she must know my joy.

Recommended to Kelly by: Charlotte Bronte

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. What haven't I thought?
Was there ever such an imbecile? Getting stuck in the introductions, come on! WheredidIputthatstupidthesaurus. Oh, jeez, people! What is it with the interlude of childhood? I know she didn't come from a peapod. Hmm, Clare old or not? Clare, is this some sort of hint of hip novelists of the seventies using last names when they are talking to subordinates? [Clare forgets Molly in her room] Yup, definitely a speaking-to-subordinates thing. I really shouldn't have gotten stuc...more

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Aug 17, 2007 Elise rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of Austen and the Brontes

I discovered this book in high school when my library gave away a ton of books. I took my brown paper bag full of books, and to my delight, discovered Ms. Gaskell.
The book focuses on one Molly Gibson, a sweet girl, who is almost too good to be true. As we all know, perfect girls don't attract beaus, and poor Molly first loses her father to a n overbearing stepmother, and then her crush to her conceited, flaky stepsister.
Fortunately, there are those who do recognize her merits, and her trials...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, victorians-challenge

Where I got the book: free on the Kindle. Although I think I should pick up an annotated edition one of these days.

It's not often I finish a book with a big smile on my face, despite the teasing ending (which had me seriously worried that my free Kindle version had something missing, but then I decided it was entirely consistent with the story). Update: Thanks to more informed friends, I now know that Mrs. Gaskell died before finishing the book, which is the biggest bummer I can possibly think o...more Where I got the book: free on the Kindle. Although I think I should pick up an annotated edition one of these days.

It's not often I finish a book with a big smile on my face, despite the teasing ending (which had me seriously worried that my free Kindle version had something missing, but then I decided it was entirely consistent with the story). Update: Thanks to more informed friends, I now know that Mrs. Gaskell died before finishing the book, which is the biggest bummer I can possibly think of for a writer.

This was my first Mrs. Gaskell and I'm now wondering, where has she been all my life? I think I learned more about the social mores of small-town England in the early 19th century (1830s according to Wikipedia) than I would have done from any number of history books. Mrs. Gaskell paints her details with a fine brush, wrapped up in an entertaining story with an undercurrent of wry humor.

The narrative, for those who need reminding, tells the story of Molly Gibson, the daughter of the doctor in the aforesaid small town (or possibly large village). What's interesting to me is that the Gibsons, being of the professional class, occupy a kind of social gray area between the ordinary folk of the village and both the nobility, represented by the Earl of Cumnor's family, and the gentry, represented by the Hamleys. Not to forget a new class of Victorian gentleman ready to risk all in the name of exploration and Empire, given shape in Roger Hamley the squire's son. This means that Molly manages to achieve a degree of social mobility that would definitely have been quite startling at the time.

To drive home the point, Mr. (never Dr.) Gibson goes and marries a shallow, self-centered social climber with the wonderful name of Hyacinth (Bucket, anyone?) who brings along her daughter Cynthia. We then have a family split neatly down the middle between the honest, traditional values of Olde England and the nouveau riche pretensions of an up-and-coming class who see the established gentry as a target for marriage (if only they have money to back up their good name).

A nicely complicated plot ensues, with romance, secrets, scandals, and reconciliations. Really great stuff. I felt as if I should have been annoyed at Molly and Roger for being perfect to the point of saintly and the Embodiment of Honest English Virtues, but somehow I never was and found myself cheering them both on.

(less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Anne Ivory rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really loved the beginning chapters of this book, specially the relationship between Molly Gibson and her father. It was so very sweet. You can actually feel her father's panic at the thought of his daughter being left behind at the peer's home, so much so, that he missed his dinner, got back on his horse, even though he'd just returned from a hard day at work, rushed off to bring his daughter back home. And little Molly so frightened by the new-ness of it all, in spite of the fact she had bee...more I really loved the beginning chapters of this book, specially the relationship between Molly Gibson and her father. It was so very sweet. You can actually feel her father's panic at the thought of his daughter being left behind at the peer's home, so much so, that he missed his dinner, got back on his horse, even though he'd just returned from a hard day at work, rushed off to bring his daughter back home. And little Molly so frightened by the new-ness of it all, in spite of the fact she had been waiting forever and so excited to have been invited to 'tea', that she spent her time crying and throwing up. When father and daughter re-unite they are just so darn happy to be back together again.

Then she grows up and her father, fearful his daughter is growing up without a woman's influence, right after he intercepts a letter from his young intern to Molly, who by the way knows nothing of the letter nor the growing affections of the poor man, sends her off to the Hamleys. A little 'late thinking' on his part to be sure. If a daughter needed a mother, I would think it would be when she was little and not 16 or 17 yrs. Then he decides to get married to the witch of a woman with a world-weary daughter.

That sweet relationship between father and daughter turns to milquetoast and he is only too happy to pass on his responsibility to the new wife. He’s off being the ‘good doctor’ all day long and the only thing he cares about is getting his supper in time when he returns home each night. He does get rather peeved when it’s not.

And Molly…who would have guessed that when, as a little girl, she'd spent her time crying at a party, that she’d turn into an adult watering pot. Everytime she's hurt or upset she's off to her room or to the garden and the bushes crying her heart out. She does spend a lot of time crying. I wished so much she would just once stand up to that conniving step-mother of hers.

It was a huge manuscript, sometimes unnecessarily verbose and at times kind of clinical, almost robotic. I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters of which the most interesting were the step-mother and her daughter, Cynthia, Lady Katherine and maybe Molly but only because one naturally wants to sympathize with the protagonist.

BBC has adapted the book into a mini-series and I will be watching that next—as soon as I can lay my hands on the DVD—that is. Adaptations of books have that alarming habit--cutting the story down to its bare bones.(less)

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Aug 30, 2009 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lesser Austen, better than Barbara Cartland.

If you've ever wondered how the Bennett sisters' daughters might have turned out, you may find this interesting. Although written in 1866, it is set 30 years earlier, in a time when Austen's universe of landed gentry was undergoing serious challenges from industrialization, scientific discovery, and social mobility.All are themes in the novel, which centers around a brilliant Scottish physician who marries a dim-witted, self-absorbed ex governess and s...more

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Sep 15, 2008 Kj rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-it, books-i-read-in-the-bathroom

I knew I was undertaking a possibly futile adventure when I began reading Elizabeth Gaskell's unfinished novel. Writing it in serialized form from 1864-1866, Gaskell died almost literally before the last 20 pages were completed. So you have the entire story except the resolution (kind of important). But that in itself felt like a fun experiment, and in fact, it was. Instead of finding a neatly wrapped up ending, you suddenly encounter a 150 fifty year old editor's note explain the sad loss of El...more I knew I was undertaking a possibly futile adventure when I began reading Elizabeth Gaskell's unfinished novel. Writing it in serialized form from 1864-1866, Gaskell died almost literally before the last 20 pages were completed. So you have the entire story except the resolution (kind of important). But that in itself felt like a fun experiment, and in fact, it was. Instead of finding a neatly wrapped up ending, you suddenly encounter a 150 fifty year old editor's note explain the sad loss of Elizabeth Gaskell. This lovely little article succeeds both in laying out the remaining story elements based on Gaskell's notes, while also serving as a tender eulogy to a beloved woman and author (a not too common combo in 1860). This uniqueness of this story interrupted over a century ago, makes the ending almost more enjoyable. It feels quite a bit like time travel, sort of a "this just in!" breaking news announcement that reaches out right from 1866 to you on your sofa.

The unique nature of the book's ending turned out to be worth the read. In many ways, its hard to imagine the book's original ending being much more interesting anyway. The story is simple and charming and in no way builds towards anything climactic, so not much is lost in the missing pages, except to read Gaskell's own words of course.

But the book is charming, and I don't mean that as an insult. There's not much in the way of passion, intrigue or even really plot, but I think "Wives and Daughters" has an amazing portrait of a mother/daughter duo bound by one's narcissism and the other's sarcastic refusal to be consumed by the other. I've never really encountered true sarcasm in Victorian novels, and certainly not in simple village stories. The character of Cynthia is a remarkable capturing of truth- a girl who seems both caustically oblivious and insensitive to deep emotions, while also being acutely critical of facade and shallowness in others. I loved how she ignored her mother and the mother never understood Cynthia's insults. A character like Cynthia (if she exists at all) would typically be a "bad" character, but Gaskell gives her almost equal footing with the heroine Molly, and clearly tends to be on Cynthia's side more than her mother's. For all I've heard of Gaskell being a conservative female author of the period (she was a friend and biographer of Charlotte Bronte who was often shocked by Bronte's "wild" beliefs and manners) I was delighted to see some real language and psychological battles going on between characters.

All in all, "Wives and Daughters" it's kind of like a sunny day that you spend inside watching movies. You enjoy your time, but also have part of you always aware you're missing something out there. Read, but expect to be quietly amused, not blown away.(less)

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Mar 05, 2008 Jen Stowell rated it 5 of 5 stars

WOW--if you don't already know, this is one of my very favorites (second only to pride and prejudice). If you are an Austen fan you will absolutely love Elizabeth Gaskell. She is a Bronte contemporary and has a very distince style. Like all English novels of this era, Wives can get wordy in spots and there are LONG descriptions. This never bothers me--I guess my imagination needs all the descriptive help it can get.

The story is about a young woman, Molly Gibson, who lost her mother when she was...more WOW--if you don't already know, this is one of my very favorites (second only to pride and prejudice). If you are an Austen fan you will absolutely love Elizabeth Gaskell. She is a Bronte contemporary and has a very distince style. Like all English novels of this era, Wives can get wordy in spots and there are LONG descriptions. This never bothers me--I guess my imagination needs all the descriptive help it can get.

The story is about a young woman, Molly Gibson, who lost her mother when she was young. Her father is a physician and has to work long hours. Mr. Gibson is not comfortable with the needs of his daughter and worries constantly about having a female influence in her life.

One of Mr. Gibson's patients is a homebound, aristocratic woman named Mrs Hamley who lives with her husband and two sons. She takes a liking to Molly and has her stay with her often to bring some female company into her home. The woman's older son Osborne is a handsome and dashing pursuit for the young women of the town. Molly, however, begins to fall in love with the younger, more backwards scientific brother Roger. Molly keeps her affection concealed and continues to fall deeper in love with him.

Around this time, her father gets remarried to a rather vain and annoying woman, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. The woman's daughter Cynthia, however, is a beautiful and talented girl who resembles her mother in nothing. The younger brother (object of Molly's affection) falls in love for her new step-sister. The step-sister has no real interest in her love's science or mind and treats his affection rather flippantly. She's one of those beautiful women used to men throwing their affections at them.

Meanwhile, Molly is forced to step aside and experiences her heartache in quiet. Molly soon becomes unintentionally aquainted with a secret between the brothers--the older brother is married and has a child. None of this is known to his family who has high hopes for their first-born.

All eventually works out in the end (as all good romances must!)and Molly wins her love--who of course was always in love with her though he was not aware and his affection for her sister was merely infatuation. LOVE IT!!(less)

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Feb 14, 2009 Merritt rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this: 650 pages of joy the past few days.
This is the story of Molly Gibson, a girl living with her widower father in the 1820s. Molly is completely satisfied with her life, but her father is worried about Molly being motherless, and so marries again. Soon Molly, her new mother and sister, and the good friends, young men Roger and Osborne Hamley, go through a set of years filled with happiness, death, romance, and grief.
The characters have many weaknesses along with their strength, an...more

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Feb 15, 2008 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent. A young woman copes with the loss of her established routine of life with her widowed father. He remarries and the ensuing changes around her give rise to some predictable difficulties. She also gains a step-sister, who provides a direct contrast to the heroine- yet, she's so skillfully created, that sympathy towards her is still possible (considering her upbringing). I like the way this young woman's understanding of the people around her evolves. She moves from a very black and whit...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Scott rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-imaginative-fiction, classics

We had to read this for 12th grade English Lit. Our teacher had gone on a yearlong sabbatical to study Victorian serial novels, and this way one of his "great finds" that he foisted upon us. It was horrible. Serial novelists were paid to keep the story going interminably, and there is no sense of forward movement. Worse, the author died before finishing, and a hack was paid to finish it for her. Belongs in the dustbin of history, not on a 12th grade English lit booklist--having kids read garbage...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Vibina Venugopal rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to read something in classic and I chose this book for no good reason and to be frank I wasn't really looking forward to it...Like that of the tale of Cinderella with a differemce that our widowed father Mr.Gibson has a teenage daughter Molly Gibson rather than a kido like Cinderella, and he decides to remarry and predicatably a bad choice...
Life of seventeen year year old Molly is that of super contend and quiet well that is how we can describe it until her fathers decision to remarry,...more I wanted to read something in classic and I chose this book for no good reason and to be frank I wasn't really looking forward to it...Like that of the tale of Cinderella with a differemce that our widowed father Mr.Gibson has a teenage daughter Molly Gibson rather than a kido like Cinderella, and he decides to remarry and predicatably a bad choice...
Life of seventeen year year old Molly is that of super contend and quiet well that is how we can describe it until her fathers decision to remarry, though not entirely happy about her father's decision , she is only too happy to learn when Claire or Hyacinth Kirkpatrick , Mrs Gibson to be daughter Cynthia Kirkpatrick..Utterly beautiful who carries an air of charm around her somehow also carries an air of mystery and secret naive and plain Molly seem like an opposite pole to her step sister..Far from being happy Molly's life begins to tumble down with feelings of despair about Mrs Gibson's attitude and her own father's happiness she is also intrigued by the secret thread between Mr. Preston and Cynthia..Still the step sisters hit it well and their love, friendship, gossip and drama makes a good read...Though not completely vicious Mrs Gibson turns out to be ego-centric, and self-indulgent, evn when manages to speak sweetly to Molly something just doesn't seem right about it..
Set in 1830's English land of Hollingford, this book is a treat to a person who finds it fascinating like that me except for the matchmaking process..Molly world that changes with her father's marriage keeps up with the changing Victorian era beautifully intertwined...I was reminded of Austen's work time and again , I guess largerly because of the era both authors where romancing with...Right from the beginning what appealed to me was the contrast of ideology between the generation depicted and aptly presented through the characters while Countess of Cumnor Tower is a torch bearer of aristocratic conservative British society quite an opposite to free thinking Molly Gibson .. We are also introduced to Roger second son Squire Hamley and his elder son who also moves through that track...Hamley household treats Molly one among them yet there is a secret that might shatter Dr.Gibson..
Hamley's sons stay true to the modern young crowd who are ambitious, inspired by science, philosophy away from the old stigma and theories, they question the practice that are in practice for the sake of it..Attitude of people reflects through dialogues and thoughts, for instance Roger, who is well known for his work and travel, still Mrs Gibson takes notice of him when he is included into the inner circle of Hollingford..Even as Mr. Gibson preaches on science and developments thinking progressively, at the very same time he asks his governess to teach Molly the things that would make his daughter an obedient wife rather than an free soul...All along Molly is taught to curb her feeling never to open up her thoughts and in case she has her thoughts she has an options to spend in on solitude..While her step mother is all set to push her into a life of false pride and aristocratic immunity with no space for a person's character and personality but just the family name and hierarchy in society..I almost lost my cool when I read the ending of book man but well I don't want to spoil the suspense, but the truth is there is no ending because Gaskell didn't complete this book though you get an idea of how it might end....What I loved about Gaskell is her brilliant dramatics and portrayal of each and every character throughout the book...
For me Wives and Daughters is my cup of classic with drama, mystery, romance, love, friendship in an era that had the essence of transformation breaking free from tradition...I would definitely give a try on her other works...(less)

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Feb 08, 2013 Leya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: keeper-shelf, classic, all-time-favorite

I just finished reading Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, and what a wonderful experience it was. Although I've heard of the author beforehand - I'm a huge fan of the BBC mini series North & South, I had never read her. I also have N&S on my nightstand waiting for its turn. But Wives and Daughters was a library book, I decided to read it first.

Wives and Daughters was the last novel that Elizabeth Gaskell wrote, actually she never finished the book. She dies while writing it. But...more I just finished reading Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, and what a wonderful experience it was. Although I've heard of the author beforehand - I'm a huge fan of the BBC mini series North & South, I had never read her. I also have N&S on my nightstand waiting for its turn. But Wives and Daughters was a library book, I decided to read it first.

Wives and Daughters was the last novel that Elizabeth Gaskell wrote, actually she never finished the book. She dies while writing it. But by no means is the book unfinished, a lot of the issues were finalized, and the editor/publisher wrote a brief epilogue.

Wives and Daughters is the story of Molly Gibson. She a sweet, sincere, and at times boring character, but she's so lovable. Her father, a widowed doctor, is concerned about his daughters upbringing he sends Molly to the Hamley's for a visit.Molly is warmly received at the home of Squire Hamley and his disabled wife. The Hamley's have two sons, Osborne and Roger. Molly befriends them both, although Osborne is considered the favorite, it is Roger that Molly eventually falls in love with. While she's there, Mr. Gibson, marries Hyacinth Clair Kirkpatrick, a charming but petty, manipulative widow and former governess in the household of Lord Cumnor.

Although Molly does not like her stepmother, she adores her stepsister Cynthia. They are both very different people but they get along together beautifully. There were times that I felt that Mrs. Gibson resented the relationship between Cynthia and Molly. Cynthia has her own issues, she has a distant relationship with her mother, and she openly says that she doesnt love her because she never had a chance to know her. She is also secretly engaged to Mr. Preston, whom she avoids at all costs.

Although I didn't care much for either Cynthia and Osborne, I felt they they were both selfish, and cowards. They had one redeeming quality, they were truly sorry for the wrongs they did.

I absolutely loved the book! I thought it was beautifully written and it was believable. I think I've found an author that I love as much as Jane Austen. I highly recommend this book!(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, fiction

This was really a delightful story that was full of truths in human character. The characters were all believable and it was easy to develop feelings for them. The story had enough twists and turns as to not be too predictable. The characters and story lines had resolution in the end. I particularly appreciated the characters familial relationships and felt that they were accurate representations in their interactions with one another. There are joyful moments, many mistakes and consequences, su...more

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May 25, 2012 Alnoory. rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a purely satisfying story. In some respects, the women and the men in Wives and Daughters do come across as stereotypes: the wicked stepmother versus a loving mother-figure; the lazy, good-looking older son against the successful-but-ugly younger son. But somehow, the novel rises above stereotype and superficiality. The unspoken emotion in the novel gives the story a gripping tension that I quite enjoyed (and which is lacking in the movie). Molly's inner conflicts deepen the novel, and...more

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May 17, 2012 Parikhit rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, arm-chair-challenge-2012

I am so happy to have discovered Elizabeth Gaskell only made possible through a group read here. I would have genuinely missed out reading and loving the works of this authoress. ‘Wives and Daughters’ is the only one I have read so far and marks the beginning of many more Gaskell authored works.

The story is set in early 19th century in a small English town. The story centres on Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed country doctor, likeable from the very first page with her sweet demeanour...more

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May 16, 2012 Cynthia Andrews rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my absolute all time favorite book! Next to "Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Gaskell spins a tale with characters that you grow to love and care for. When I first read the book, i was so disappointed when I finished it. I wasn't ready to let go of the characters. How could this be the end? I was saddened to discover that Mrs. Gaskell had died before finishing the book, and often wonder what other secrets she would have told or plot twists of fate to entwine and entangle M...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Elizabeth Mundie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wives and Daughters is a book that can be read on many levels. On the surface, it's an interesting story, and it can be read for fun for plot alone. However, there are many other levels to this book, and that's too big a discussion for a review.

One plot device that I particularly enjoyed was how she represented various historical eras of British manhood through the generations of the Hamley family.

Squire Hamley was the good Saxon rootstock of the British empire. He often notes that the Hamleys c...more Wives and Daughters is a book that can be read on many levels. On the surface, it's an interesting story, and it can be read for fun for plot alone. However, there are many other levels to this book, and that's too big a discussion for a review.

One plot device that I particularly enjoyed was how she represented various historical eras of British manhood through the generations of the Hamley family.

Squire Hamley was the good Saxon rootstock of the British empire. He often notes that the Hamleys can trace their lineage all the way back to the heptarchy, when the Saxons ruled before the Norman invastion. He is hardy, enjoys his family and home greatly, laughs, expresses his emotions freely, and has a temper. He has married a woman who is refined, with refined breeding, and he adores her. Though he does not understand her desire to spend time in London and other interests, he supports her as she takes part in these things. When she becomes too ill to get out and about, he takes care of her. He enjoys food and drink and managing his family. He can be bellicose and prejudiced, but he always comes out on a better side of things in in the end. Squire Hamley is close to the medieval picture of the happy British man who is rooted in home and family and the land. With Squire Hamley, what you see is what you get, for good or for ill.

Squire Hamley squires two sons.

The eldest, Oswald, represents the romantic era. He is delicate in health, refined in the manner of his mother, highly educated, a writer of poetry, intuitive to people's feelings, able to communicate with and understand women, a man with secrets, and tied to the French. At the time, in certain circles, the French were thought to be too emotional and perhaps less developed than the
English.

Roger Hamley is the "modern" man of science. He represents the ideal of the explorer, the empire builder, and the Englishman with the stiff upper lip. His scientific studies take him to Africa, much in the tradition of Mungo Park and other travelers. He has a strong Saxon physical constitution, as his father does. He, too, is interested in the land his family owns, but with a bent toward progressive and scientific farming. Unfortunately, he cannot express his feelings well, and he is somewhat obtuse toward the feelings of a woman who loves him. Unlike the polished Oswald, he is a little awkward socially.

It's interesting to me that Mrs. Gaskell employs this device. Though she sets her story earlier in time than when she was really writing it, she did show the emerging roots of British imperialism/social Darwinism/and muscular Christianity. She was a cousin of Darwin's. When Darwin entered his famous depression and wanted read to him only books that he considered to be happy, he enjoyed Gaskell's works despite their serious nature. She was a Unitarian and an activist and often wrote depicted social problems in her fiction. I wonder what she (and Darwin) made of the way that the culture of their day was misappropriating both science and faith to justify some very unlovely things.

Throughout the book, there is rose imagery, which represents England. It also represents horticulture, in which a sturdy rootstock is grafted with something else to produce a hybrid.

Be forewarned, Mrs. Haskell died before she quite finished the book! She wasn't far from the ending, but just far enough that I wasn't sure exactly how she meant to tie up some things. I found that to be frustrating! Of course, you can always make up your own ending or watch the excellent miniseries to see how they ended it. At any rate, it's a book well worth reading. (less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Zan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this slow building characterization. I think that knowing this was a serialized novel before I dove in probably helped me wrap my head around the episodic nature of the novel, while also preparing me for the intricacies that sometimes drive me crazy in Dickens' works (he was one of Gaskell's contemporaries, friends, and editors). Fortunately, I didn't find the interlacing stories nearly as contrived or elaborate as Dickens' works.

Obviously, one of the most interesting features i...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Leslie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, favourites

Deserves its reputation as one of her best. She died with the last chapter or two not yet written, but it's easy to see how things would have ended. The pleasure of the book is not in the ending, but in the fineness of the characterisations. Standouts are Mrs Gibson--the horrible, selfish, stupid, wonderful Mrs Gibson (it's oddly appropriate that the novel breaks off with her voice)--and Cynthia (although the conventions of Victorian novels and the business of publication prevented Gaskell from...more

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Apr 06, 2010 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: authors-gh

I read Wives and Daughters, Gaskell's last, unfinished novel, for the first time in 2003 and liked it so much that I decided to read it again the next year. I liked it even more the second time. On the surface, it's a tale of English village life, harkening back to Gaskell's first novel, Cranford, but below the veneer of gentility and quiet humor, Gaskell offers up as powerful a critique of Victorian society as in her more overtly "social" novels, like Ruth or Mary Barton.

The heroine of Wives an...more I read Wives and Daughters, Gaskell's last, unfinished novel, for the first time in 2003 and liked it so much that I decided to read it again the next year. I liked it even more the second time. On the surface, it's a tale of English village life, harkening back to Gaskell's first novel, Cranford, but below the veneer of gentility and quiet humor, Gaskell offers up as powerful a critique of Victorian society as in her more overtly "social" novels, like Ruth or Mary Barton.

The heroine of Wives and Daughters is Molly Gibson, the doctor of a village doctor who remarries, bringing a stepmother (the manipulative but well-meaning Mrs. Kirkpatrick) and a stepsister (the lively, worldly Cynthia) into Molly's life. Although Molly resents her stepmother, she grows to love Cynthia, and their relationship with each other as well as their various love entanglements form the main plot of the story. Gaskell had a gift for writing realistic, interesting characters; even those with faults are engaging. Cynthia is a terrible flirt, jilting two men over the course of the book; yet she is charming, intelligent, and loving toward Molly, who herself is gentle, yet determined.

You might expect a novel called Wives and Daughters to be interested in underlining the traditional role of women in Victorian society; yet Gaskell questions it constantly. Cynthia, of course, defies it in her changeable attitude toward her lovers; yet even the more dutiful Molly thinks to herself, "Thinking more of others' happiness than of her own was very fine; but did it not mean giving up her very individuality, quenching all the warm love, the true desires, that made her herself?"

Gaskell died unexpectedly before finishing Wives and Daughters, but fortunately for her readers, little was left to finish, and it's easy to see how the story would turn out. While naturally Molly is rewarded appropriately for her sweet nature at the end, Cynthia is also rewarded by making the marriage she truly wants to make, rather than suffering punishment for her inconstancy.
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Jul 28, 2009 Marin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was charming, and I enjoyed reading it from beginning to premature end.

I hate to be the two millionth person to compare Gaskell to Austen, but so many people are familiar with Jane Austen's work that she has become a handy shorthand author for this type of writing. Readers who love Jane Austen's work will love this book for its similarities, and they may be interested by the differences.

This book is a little darker than, say, Sense and Sensibility. Sometimes the characters acted silly...more

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Jun 25, 2009 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maybe I rated this high because it compared so favorably to the book club picks of late. It had only some minor flaws, but overall, this book was a joy to read. I wanted to read Gaskell's words myself after seeing some BBC productions of her work, which I enjoyed. After seeing "North and South" I thought she borrowed a bit from Jane Austen, and I guess I assumed Gaskell to be second rate, simply because she came afterwards, and also because I never read her in college as an English major. But I...more

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