Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mary Barton

by Elizabeth Gaskell, Shirley Foster (Editor, Introduction & Notes by)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 4,644 ratings · 315 reviews

This is Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, a widely acclaimed work based on the actual murder, in 1831, of a progressive mill owner. It follows Mary Barton, daughter of a man implicated in the murder, through her adolescence, when she suffers the advances of the mill owner, and later through love and marriage. Set in Manchester, between 1837-42, it paints a powerful and movi...more

Paperback, 437 pages

Published April 20th 2006 by Oxford University Press (first published 1848)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

"Family & Self" on The Guardian's "1000 Novels Everyone Must Read"

12th out of 146 books — 41 voters

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Best Books of the Decade: 1840s

14th out of 84 books — 41 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 28, 2013 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

This was Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel and it shows. It's signficantly less assured than her better known works, North and South, Cranford and Wives and Daughters. The eponymous heroine is at times annoying (although she grows in stature as the work progresses) and the narrative has a number of those features which make some readers avoid Victorian fiction: a leisurely pace, wordiness, preachiness, sentimentality and melodrama. The novel starts very slowly. At the half-way mark the pace picks...more

19 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2007 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mary Barton is a wonderful failure of a novel, in all of the classic Victorian ways–the love plot is overwrought, the ending is melodramatic, the moralizing is far too heavy, and the epigraphs are obnoxious. But, somehow, in the middle of all those problems, Elizabeth Gaskell manages to capture perfectly something important. Mary Barton is a "Condition of England" novel, a meditation on the plight of Manchester cotton weavers in the depression of the early 1840's. This is the Manchester of Freid...more

20 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2011 Diana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-lit, 2010, politics, could-not-finish, overrated-classics

Ok, I could not--COULD NOT--finish this.
Maybe it was just too close on the heels of Vanity Fair. Maybe I'm just sick of High Victorian Melodrama. Maybe I've just tried to read too much 19th century literature in a (relatively) short space of time.
Whatever it was, I could barely stand reading this, which really is a shame as I normally quite like Elizabeth Gaskell.
But, since it had gotten to the point that I was having to force myself to read this book (which was supposed to be for pleasure), an...more Ok, I could not--COULD NOT--finish this.
Maybe it was just too close on the heels of Vanity Fair. Maybe I'm just sick of High Victorian Melodrama. Maybe I've just tried to read too much 19th century literature in a (relatively) short space of time.
Whatever it was, I could barely stand reading this, which really is a shame as I normally quite like Elizabeth Gaskell.
But, since it had gotten to the point that I was having to force myself to read this book (which was supposed to be for pleasure), and hating nearly every minute of it, and so aggravated I constantly wanted to argue with someone over it, I decided that enough was enough, and that I'm not actually obligated in anyway to finish it.

To make at least a few notes on the books itself, you can tell it's an early book (her first, I think?). Writing wise, it lacks maturity and polish, and awareness of what actually makes a good narrative. The story itself is conceivably good except, as I mentioned before, the extreme melodrama of it. And while the subject is very interesting (Trade Unions and striking workers in the 1840's, relations between the classes in Manchester, possibilities and consequences of seeking marriage outside one's class) the entire book is written with a sort of condescension which exposes Gaskell as the upper-middle class outsider that she was: someone who ultimately doesn't and probably can't (or just won't) really understand what she's talking about, all of her work with the poor notwithstanding. Her sympathies are too completely with the masters--even when she knows they're wrong, and even when she tries to show understanding for the workers. She never stops defending the system, never stops criticizing Trade Unions, the Chartists, the Communists, or any radical/progressive movement or thought which vocally and forcefully questions the justice of the current system. She seems to be wringing her hands at all the violence and anger, but whenever presented with an actual problem she has no answer except the vague, feel-good, and essentially useless sentiment of, "Well, who knows why these horrible things happen; let's all just hold hands, love one another, and trust God to do something."
Basically, all of the problems I've had with her other writings--her simplistic treatment of the poor, her (very Victorian) obsession with "maiden-modesty" etc, her refusal to questions current mores or the privilege and unneeded wealth of the upper classes--are here in full force, and whereas in Wives and Daughters & North and South these were relatively small issues in otherwise superbly written tales that were well thought out and thought provoking, in this novel it's the entire focus and just plain provoking.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2008 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, classics

I'm not sure why I feel the need to read 19th century women's British lit, but I always go back to it, whether it's re-reading Austen or trying out new titles and authors. At first it was reading anything by Austen or that was Austenesque in period, satire, and romance. Now I've come to love reading the formal British diction and grammar - long sentences, Hackney London accents, and all. It's also an interesting way to learn about and live the historical period.

That said, I've read Gaskell befo...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, classic-literature, history, literary, women, novel

I really enjoyed Juliet Stevenson's reading of this, as I did her reading of North and South. I love these industrial novels fraught with class tension. I also loved the picture of daily life that Gaskell gives us, as well as the bitter contrast between rich and poor lives. Mostly, it made me want to drink more tea.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 05, 2012 Nancy Dardarian rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book, when I read it I was on a Victorian kick and had a lot of fun. It is sometimes a bit much but overall worth it.

I loved this bit:

Of all the trite, worn-out, hollow mockeries of comfort that were ever uttered by people who will not take the trouble of sympathizing with others, the one I dislike the most is the exhortation not to grieve over and event, "for it cannot be helped." Do you think if I could help it, I would sit still with folded hands, content to mourn? Do you not be...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 K. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency-and-victorian-british-era

Okay, I am turning into a major E. Gaskell fan. I absolutely loved this book. It was her first, and got a bit melodramatic in places, but I think she made it work. "North and South" was definitely better crafted, but this was just as good a story.

Gaskell wrote at the same time as Dickens, Industrial Age Britian. She lived in Manchester (trade town) and knew the condiditions there very well. She does a great job at describing the real living circumstances of the rich and poor. The book is absolu...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Stein rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is not a book for the casual reader. It is a true literary classic à la Gaskell's contemporary, Dickens' works. Published in 1848, It has Lancashire dialect and colloquialisms aplenty, aided by footnotes and a copious appendix. It has harsh social and economic commentary, interlaced with strong Christian and bourgeoisie influences. Most of all it is a narrative of desperate privation, devoted friendships, a zealous romance, a vengeful murder and dramatic mystery, taking place in the 1830s a...more This is not a book for the casual reader. It is a true literary classic à la Gaskell's contemporary, Dickens' works. Published in 1848, It has Lancashire dialect and colloquialisms aplenty, aided by footnotes and a copious appendix. It has harsh social and economic commentary, interlaced with strong Christian and bourgeoisie influences. Most of all it is a narrative of desperate privation, devoted friendships, a zealous romance, a vengeful murder and dramatic mystery, taking place in the 1830s and 40s. Many circumstances tie into actual historical events and locations in Manchester and London. Although reading this book may at times feel like hard work, it is well worth it.

This Penguin edition has an introduction by Macdonald Daly which should be read subsequent to reading Gaskell's novel. I'll never understand the publisher's logic in placing it at the front of the book when it is going to betray the plot highlights. I disagree strongly with Daly's critique of Gaskell's perceived motives and biases. As the saying goes, "write what you know" and that is what Gaskell did. She grew up a Unitarian and married a minister. She existed in a life of moderate privilege. Her social environment was one of associating with the academically, professionally and economically astute. Who could afford to buy her book? Certainly very few of the downtrodden, most of whom were practically illiterate, would read her book. She addressed her book to members of the upper crust and tried as far as she could to instil in them more of a social conscience. But she had to do this judiciously without alienating them, not by coming down on them full force as did her contemporaries Robert Owen, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx.

Gaskell should be viewed as a courageous pioneer and bridge builder over the morass of social and economic inequality which existed during the Industrial Revolution in Britain. She became an ardent activist for her causes, influencing the gradual lessening of the breach between capital and labour. Daly implies she was a schemer and deceiver and questions her integrity of motive. I would call his attitude reflective of retrospective leftist snobbery! Gaskell first issued the book anonymously because of her fear of the backlash (and, no doubt, the prevailing prejudice against women having the ability and right to have serious opinions). But, not long after, she admitted to being its author and she wrote several more excellent works as well as articles, taking the criticism in stride.

I would give this book five stars for its historical and social significance, but purely based on its literary merit I would give it three stars, hence my rating of four.(less)

like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 Dolors rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2013

After having read "North and South" quite a long time ago I had forgotten why this woman was a master in storytelling.

Because it seems impossible that a novel written in the classic way, with long sentences and a "stiff" structure with ancient vocabulary and dealing with the pros and conts of the revolutionary working class in the industrial England of the late XIXth century, might engage the reader the way that "Mary Barton" does.

Even with all these formal constraints Gaskell manages to transmi...more

like · see review

Mar 12, 2013 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ever since I heard 'Ruth' on Radio 4, I have activly hunted out and read ever Elizabeth Gaskell I could find (this is my third after 'Ruth' and 'North& South'). 'Mary Barton' is not a bad book, but it's not as polished or tightly written as the others possibly because it's her first novel. It's very clear that she wrote this book to make a point about the working and living conditions in Manchester at this time, and unfortunately this mission means that the story takes a backseat for the fi...more

like · see review

Jan 02, 2013 Arukiyomi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books

My first Gaskell was a bit of an unexpected page turner (well, it would have been if I hadn’t listened to it!) and it sparked my desire to read more of her.

Mary, as many of us when young, finds herself a victim of her own whimsy. But then, unlike many of us, she then finds herself involved in an awful moral dilemma as the characters around her fall victim of circumstances created by the economic hardships of the time.

Although I’ve not read any Gaskell before, I know enough about her writing to k...more

like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Katelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Elizabeth Gaskell has awesome word usage and expresses herself very well. "In this she was wise; for when we are heavy-laden in our hearts it falls in better with our humour to reveal our case in our way, and our own time". Now I'm not perfect in my grammar, but I noticed she did have an interesting habit of using run on sentences. Nevertheless, I enjoyed her wording and expressions immensely.

As for the story...it was kinda depressing and I kept thinking that throughout the book. Gaskell kills o...more

like · see review

Jul 26, 2010 Lynne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Just as the back of the book will tell you, Gaskell's story is a love story but is also very much a story of social commentary. I read Adam Bede (Eliot) in January, and I'm wondering if there's this similar Victorian vein of observing and testing out the moral fiber of the characters, which is fascinating (hmm, also in Thomas Hardy, so, yes, perhaps). Gaskell also points out the religious ideas her characters are sometimes mulling over or struggling with. She looks at the repercussions of our ch...more

like · see review

Jun 25, 2012 Helen Kitson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19c, fiction

Mary is apprenticed to a milliner and dressmaker but dreams of escaping her family's poverty and becoming a lady. She is adored by Jen Wilson, the son of an old family friend, but pretty Mary's head is turned by mill owner's son Harry Carson, and she dreams of becoming his wife.

Mary's father, a weaver, has a deep and bitter hatred of the rich. Only the poor, he says, help the poor. The death of mill worker Mr Davenport seems to bear this out - Carson Snr can't even remember Davenport, he's just...more

like · see review

Sep 17, 2011 Karene rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like books that motivate me to introspection. I think that was what I liked best about Mary Barton. I didn't realize until after I'd finished reading it that this is Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel. I think that explains some of its flaws. However, it also goes to show what an incredible author she is. Gaskell really delves into social issues in her novels, and this is no exception. For those who have read North and South, it is somewhat reminiscent of that novel in that a good deal of the nov...more

1 like · like · see review

May 18, 2011 Amanda May rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mary Barton traces the moral struggles of the title character, whose purity is challenged by the influence of her Aunt Esther. It is also a tale about the hardships of the working class during the depression and one man's vigilante action against the rich mill owners who trapped them in that position. The novel itself is full of Biblical and poetic allusions, placed at the beginning of every chapter as a sort of precursor to the plot events of that chapter.

Up until the last few pages of this boo...more

like · see review

Jun 24, 2011 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, cultural-history, favorites, historical-novel, murder

Elizabeth Gaskell is a classic writer. Her characters have depth and her descriptions are detailed. She makes it hard to read modern works in which, most of the time, the writing is much thiner.
I can put this no better than the description on the back of the book, which reads in part:
"While it is certianly possible to consult Mary Barton as a social document depicting Manchester in the "hungry forties" with appalling precision, the novel cannot only be read as such. Partly because its love st...more

like · see review

Dec 01, 2012 Philip Lane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

A slow burner this one. I was a bit dubious at first because of a number of asides by the narrator making comments on the political situation of the time. She expresses strong opinions about the industrial unrest caused by a financial crisis and criticizes both owners and striking workers. I began to think this was more of a pamphlet than a novel. However she suddenly drops the political comment and dives wholeheartedly into a crime novel. I really loved the moral dilemmas thrown up and it start...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2009 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gaskell's first novel shows all the promise of her later career, but is oddly less feminist (that being entirely the wrong word for it, but the only one I can think of.) The influence of Dickens and the social-change authors is apparent, and Gaskell's own interest in social change, accurate portrayal of lower-class life, and nascent gift for dialogue are all here.

Mary Barton and her father, John, live in 1840s Manchester. He works at a mill; after she is old enough, she is apprenticed to a dress...more Gaskell's first novel shows all the promise of her later career, but is oddly less feminist (that being entirely the wrong word for it, but the only one I can think of.) The influence of Dickens and the social-change authors is apparent, and Gaskell's own interest in social change, accurate portrayal of lower-class life, and nascent gift for dialogue are all here.

Mary Barton and her father, John, live in 1840s Manchester. He works at a mill; after she is old enough, she is apprenticed to a dressmaker. Mary is lovely and perfect, sweet and beautiful, a bit one-dimensional. The story centers around tragedies that occur when the mills stop running because of a downturn in trade. Mary's friend Margaret begins losing her sight, Mary is having trouble with her son-of-a-mill-owner lover Harry, Jem is in love with Mary, and John is becoming more angry at the mill owners every day. The love story isn't as well developed as in North and South, but the portrayal of millworkers' lives is much deeper. The powerlessness of the workers to feed their families is on display here, as is a strong sympathetic portrayal of why the poor act the way they do, alongside a plea for understanding of the mill owners' actions as well. Gaskell seems to be recognizing that there's no good answer in the political movements of the day, but she believes a solution can be found if we're willing to know more about each other. Overall the story doesn't succeed as well as the social statement does.

The end of the book, which may seem a bit discombobulated in time, has the most preachy statements. I would say that these are less believable dialogue had I not recently read The Dumbest Generation's discussion of changes in political speech, or Gaskell's own statements earlier in the book about the thirst for knowledge among the mill-workers. This passage speaks to the point about workers' rights and capitalism that Gaskell seems to be making in the book:

[Millowner Mr. Carson speaks:]"I fear, Legh, neither you nor I have convinced each other, as to the power, or want of power in the masters, to remedy the evils the men complain of."

"I'm loth to vex you sir, just now; but it was not the want of power I was talking on; what we all feel sharpest is the want of inclination to try and help the evils which come like blights at times over the manufacturing places, while we see the masters can stop work, and not suffer. If we saw the masters try for our sakes to find a remedy, -- even if they were long about it, -- even if they could find no help, and at the end of all could only say, "Poor fellows, our hearts are sore for ye; we've done all we could and can't find a cure" -- we'd bear up like men through bad times."

My copy was published in the late 1960s, and the flap reads "Mary Barton is a glimpse into that other England we should never forget. In these days of living wages, protected trades, shorter working hours and a general levelling[sic:] of wealth it is difficult to visualize what conditions were like...an exact picture of the privations experienced by the operatives, bringing home to the reader the human stories behind the angry resolutions and political protests." It is impossible to compare the current economic depression to a time when workers could not feed their families, but reading this book right now certainly helps one understand the importance of labor unions in times of economic uncertainty, and makes one grieve that we seem to have returned to days with no "general levelling of wealth."

Now, as far as that "feminism" point: I continue to be interested in the early Victorian sense of rights for women versus our own. There is a discussion among the female characters in the book about how wrong it is for women to work in factories particularly, and how wrong for them to work after marriage, how women being tired and worn out and unable to maintain the home drives men to drink and worse. I grew up with a sense that women were fighting to work because they had not been allowed to - it had not occured to me working only at home was a situation that women had fought for as part of a solution to the social ills of the industrial revolution. No wonder it was so difficult (and I think still is for many) for women to be accepted in the work world when we spent 100 years arguing that the right and honorable thing was for women to not have to work in the factories. There's a phrase for this movement to limit women's place that I can't recall right now. Gaskell herself creates very powerful women (perhaps not in this book particularly) who do work, who are intellectually gifted, who are not as tractable and naive as Mary Barton, but she still seems to have believed that women are happiest and best working only to make a home, and that the power that comes with wages is not safe for women. It's an interesting sidenote about the plot in this book.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 15, 2009 Ana T. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, victorian

I had loved North & South, liked Cranford and I must confess that I was totally unprepared for my reaction to this Mary Barton. I loved it!!!

I am a bit undecided on what to mention first, Mary Barton focus on Mary who is apparently the main character but more than that is focusses on the industrial side of the city of Manchester in the 1840s, on the relationships between Masters and workers, but especially on the workers living conditions. The misery that forced them to desperate acts from s...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 ☯Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

I have never understood why Elizabeth Gaskell is not better known. She was a contemporary of Dickens and a much better writer. Both HARD TIMES by Dickens and MARY BARTON by Gaskell deal with the terrible plight of the working poor during the 1840s and 1850s. Gaskell's characters are realistically drawn as opposed to Dicken's exaggerated comical characters. Mrs. Gaskell shows how factory workers lived in terribly squalid conditions and the affect this had on Mary Barton's father. There is a murde...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2013 Cheyanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

It may be that Elizabeth Gaskell is not be as well known as her friends Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens because her novels are less "literary." Her prose is not as ornate and her stories avoid the extremes of tragedy, pathos, and romance found in those other authors. But to me, that makes her novels seem fresher and her female characters more believable. "Mary Barton" is both about the romantic travails of the title character, a beautiful but poor young seamstress who is almost "ruined" by...more

like · see review

Apr 03, 2013 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Clearly a novel with a purpose, bordering almost on propaganda. Yes, Mrs. Gaskell, I understand that conditions were poor in Industrial Manchester. However, I don't think that justifies much of the plot's resolution: I don't think the characters' motivations are at all realistic.

While I think the Victorian heartstrings would probably have been tugged by the amount of religious piety she lays upon her poor, ignorant, working class characters, I found it overtly patronising. This is perhaps becau...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I struggled with this book. That's not to say it's not without merit.. But the woman is a twit, Mary that is.

I got lost in the local dialect and often found myself skipping pages and pages of.. Gumpf. Like, where did Mary go? Suddenly I'm reading chapters without her..?

Perhaps I'm just ignorant of the issues and circumstances of the time, but I'm not sure I completely follow why Jem HAD to leave the country. And live happily ever after in Canada.

There's a boat chase scene, which was obsurd to m...more

like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Faith Spinks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, 19th-century, fiction

The novel 'Mary Barton' really is the story of Mary Barton, a young girl living in Manchester during the 1830s and 1840s. Through the telling of her life, her family, and her loves, and through the stories of those living around Mary, Elizabeth Gaskell deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian lower classes.

The premise of the storyline itself is good. Full of intrigue and events. However, I was a little disappointed by this book. At times I was lost by this book, even a little bored. At...more

like · see review

Sep 20, 2011 Marialyce rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sept-2011, classics

Actually, I do so wish there were half star ratings as I feel this one is definitely a 3.5 novel. Being that this was Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, and being that a few people told me they couldn't get through it, imagine my surprise when I found I truly liked this book? It was a fine example of the saga of the the Victorian world where feelings are so hidden, and cues so missed that oftentimes, feelings are overlooked and poor judgements are made.

Mary Barton, a young pretty woman, learns the...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Katri rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would've given this a 5 star rating if the first half of the book had been as good as the last half. A worthwhile read!

Gaskell has some very interesting insights into human nature. Here are some that I liked:

"People admire talent, and talk about their admiration. But they value common sense without talking about it, and often without knowing it."

"I do think that the necessity for exertion, for some kind of action (bodily or mentally) in time of distress, is a most infinite blessing, although...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 08, 2008 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a good classic book and who can endure 10 chapters of "set up"

Recommended to Erin by: Angie C.

I had never heard of this book, before going to my book club. I think I had heard the author's name, but this book was never on any of my classics lists. (I have many) It was very slow to begin with. 10 chapters of set up: describing characters, settings, a little history. I pushed through the first part. As, soon as I hit chapter 11, I was finally hooked. I was very interested and wanted to finish to find out what happens. I was interested in the poor vs. rich idea. The rich got richer, as the...more I had never heard of this book, before going to my book club. I think I had heard the author's name, but this book was never on any of my classics lists. (I have many) It was very slow to begin with. 10 chapters of set up: describing characters, settings, a little history. I pushed through the first part. As, soon as I hit chapter 11, I was finally hooked. I was very interested and wanted to finish to find out what happens. I was interested in the poor vs. rich idea. The rich got richer, as the poor got poorer. It was very dramatic in this book's setting. Although, I should not be surprised we see this idea all around us. Even today, but it was so prevalant in the book. Also, some of the characters attitude seemed to be based on thier circumstance. Yet others, were happy no matter what thier circumstance. John Barton was such a happy man, hard worker, seemed full of life, until his wife died. He then became so full of self-pity. I felt sorrow for him and his circumstance, but was mad at his change of character. Of all people I thought he could overcome despair. (boy, was I surprised) I liked the transformation of Mary. She started as a flirty, naive, unaware young woman. Then with one event, (read to find out) all of the sudden became completely aware of her actions, how they affected others, and her feelings, how they affected her. I was sad she did not act on instinct, and go to Jem right away instead of listening to Margaret and ignoring Jem.

There was so much to think about with this book. I kept asking myself, what would I have done. I wondered if I would be bitter like ... or would I have been as compassionate as....? Or what would I have done to make that situation better. I was interested that the author chose biblical names for some of the characters. Esther, for the "fallen" Aunt. Job for the wise, elderly friend. Even Mary for the sweet young woman who transforms into a wise young lady. I do not know what that all means, but it is interesting. (less)

like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, victorians-challenge, book-club

Where I got the book: public domain freebie on Kindle or was it directly from Gutenberg.com? Anyhow, a perfectly acceptable free copy which is one of the things I love about the internet.

Mary Barton is the pretty daughter of a factory hand who's an ardent Chartist (prototypical trade unionist) in an 1800s Manchester hit by economic hardship. She is loved by childhood friend Jem Wilson but has her eye on handsome Harry Carson, the boss's son. After Harry is assassinated and Jem is accused of the...more Where I got the book: public domain freebie on Kindle or was it directly from Gutenberg.com? Anyhow, a perfectly acceptable free copy which is one of the things I love about the internet.

Mary Barton is the pretty daughter of a factory hand who's an ardent Chartist (prototypical trade unionist) in an 1800s Manchester hit by economic hardship. She is loved by childhood friend Jem Wilson but has her eye on handsome Harry Carson, the boss's son. After Harry is assassinated and Jem is accused of the murder Mary is desperate to save him (view spoiler) but can she do so without revealing the real murderer? Because that would also destroy her.

This was Mrs. Gaskell's first novel and it's definitely not written with anything like as much assurance or finesse as her last, Wives and Daughters, which I reviewed last year. The plot moves along somewhat more jerkily and without that edge of sly amusement that I so liked about W&D. But as Victorian melodramas go, it's a corker with lots of deaths and excesses of violent emotion.

Oh, how terrible to think of his crime, his blood-guiltiness; he who had hitherto been so good, so noble, and now an assassin! And then she shrank from him in thought; and then, with bitter remorse, clung more closely to his image with passionate self-upbraiding. Was it not she who had led him to the pit into which he had fallen?

This is, as much as anything else, a story of Mary's redemption from the light-heartedness of her youth to a Woman Fit To Be Loved By a Noble Man. It really struck me how hard women had it back then; Mary's sin is to have been a flirtatious teenager, a state of existence we now celebrate. Even though the Carsons' money was self-made, Mrs. Gaskell seems to think it entirely wrong that Mary should have ever aspired to a bit of social climbing through marriage; double standards much? (view spoiler) It's interesting that while much of the novel demonstrates enormous sympathy for the plight of the factory workers, Mrs. Gaskell is not prepared to go so far as to invite them into her social circle.

With all that, it's a cracking good read with some memorable scenes. A true tear-jerker, full of pathos and with many references to the Gospels because there are certainly very strong Christian themes (redemption, forgiveness, charity and the like.) You have to understand the Victorian taste for saccharine scenes and elevated moral standards to appreciate this one, but if you roll your eyes at the over-the-top writing you should still enjoy the story and characters. Not nearly as show-offy as Dickens, Gaskell writes with earnestness and although I missed her later humor, I appreciated the attempt NOT to turn her working-class characters into Punch & Judy amusements for the (presumably superior) reader as Dickens does.(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Cat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ever since I heard of Elizabeth Gaskell and knew she was a close friend of Charlotte Brontë, I decided I had to read something from her. Then I found out my mum had this book and was really excited with this discovery. Finally I would get to read something by this author.

So I found myself reading an impressive portrait of the daily life of the working class in the Manchester of the 1840s which implies poverty, misery and death, a lot of death. Actually, people die a lot in this book.

But, despite...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (95)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

304 users

Literature > 19th Century

41 users

Literature

32 users

Historical Fiction

25 users

Romance

21 users

European Literature > British Literature

20 users

Classics > Classic Literature

14 users

Literature > English Literature

8 users

Novels

7 users

Literary Fiction

7 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She is perhaps best known for her biography of Charlotte Brontë. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to socia...more

More about Elizabeth Gaskell...

Books by Elizabeth Gaskell

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Mary Barton

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Mary Barton

“If you dare to injure her in the least, I will await you where no policeman can step in between. And God shall judge between us two.” — 4 people liked it

“Aye, aye! good-natured, jolly, full of fun; there are a number of other names for the good qualities the devil leaves his children, as bait to catch gudgeons with. D'ye think folk could be led astray by one who was every way bad?” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Mary Barton
avg rating	preview: Mary Barton Goodreads rating: 3.67 (4644 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54620.Mary_Barton?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298427440l/54620.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54620.Mary_Barton?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell[/url]

Mary Barton

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website