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North and South

Elizabeth Gaskell

Start date: May 1, 2018

Finish date: May 31, 2018

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf, May 2018

Previous Group Reads
Revisit the Shelf Reread, June 2015
Old School Classic Grou…more
[close] Revisit the Shelf, May 2018

Previous Group Reads
Revisit the Shelf Reread, June 2015
Old School Classic Group Read, May 2012

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Jul 29, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: classic, romance, 1001-books, era-victorian, gutenberg

on NPR's list of 100 best romance books http://www.npr.org/2015/07/29/4267318...

Oh, the melodrama! This is very much social-justice = yay! and union yes! and I admire that. But, oh! the melodrama!

"...Yo're not of this country, I reckon?"

"No!" said Margaret, half sighing. "I come from the South -- from Hampshire," she continued, a little afraid of wounding his consciousness of ignorance, if she used a name which he did not understand.

"That's beyond London, I reckon? And I come fro' Burnley-way

...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: victorians, classics, read-2010, hf-19th-century-europe, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, 3ms

Discussion at Victorian's group. A masterpiece by Elizabeth Gaskell showing the struggle of the 19th century woman to survive under a Victorian society. ...more

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Sep 01, 2013 Suvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, _great-britain, 1800s

When the Masterpiece Theatre's production (Richard Armitage!) was first shown on Finnish tv, I fell in love with it (including the haunting theme music). I haven't seen it in a couple of years now, because I've been afraid that the enchantment will be broken or something, but after finally getting around to reading this, I'm probably going to hunt it down.

The opposites that are Margaret Hale and John Thornton are a part of the dynamics of the novel. Thornton seems a very hard man with an unpenet When the Masterpiece Theatre's production (Richard Armitage!) was first shown on Finnish tv, I fell in love with it (including the haunting theme music). I haven't seen it in a couple of years now, because I've been afraid that the enchantment will be broken or something, but after finally getting around to reading this, I'm probably going to hunt it down.

The opposites that are Margaret Hale and John Thornton are a part of the dynamics of the novel. Thornton seems a very hard man with an unpenetrable exterior, and someone who's not too keen on showing his emotions. When this break through the barrier happens, it's touching. Margaret on the other hand dislikes the superficial company of women, admires calm behavior, and her character is often misunderstood as arrogant. Both are stubborn, and despite all the misunderstandings, prejudices, and cold behavior, both understand each other in a certain way and see behind faked facial expressions.

Although I haven't read Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813), based on the reviews and the miniseries I've seen, the relationship between Thornton and Margaret seems very similar than the one between Darcy and Elizabeth. North and South however isn't just about wallowing in love and relationships, but also a story about loss and justice, and where the meaning of death is great in the development of the characters. This isn't dark though, because on the background there are always new possibilities and hope.

Most of all this is a study of human nature, the conflicts of industrialisation, and injustices of the society. A humane story about a city, where the collisions of different people might even be dangerous. The reader is allowed the space to make own conclusions. Both the factory masters and workers have reasonable thoughts, and Gaskell shows that both sides are able to make mistakes.

There were a few times in the dialogue where the speaker wasn't identified, but luckily just a few so it didn't bother as much as it could have. At first the workers' way of talking was kind of cryptic, but when I figured out the logic behind it, it became easier to read. Reading aloud helped, although my speech kind of verged on the Irish side. The ending might seem abrupt to some, but I didn't mind. If I could have, I would have held my breath the whole time, and at the end I could finally sigh for a relief (won't admit any tears), even though we all know how these books end. ...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Kai Coates rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: group-bookish, group-the-victorians

I jokingly referred to this book as "Pride and Prejudice and Politics", but I feel the description has merit. Margaret Hale has been raised in London by her rich aunt and superficial cousin. When her cousin marries, Margaret is sent back to live with her parents, a parson and the wife who never forgave him for not having more money, in the idyllic setting of Helstone. Mr. Hale decides to leave his job and moves his family to the northern industrial town of Milton. It is an interesting novel of c ...more

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Jul 23, 2013 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Picture Pride and Prejudice, but with less aristocracy and more death and social labor issues.

I really enjoyed it. Read through it in a day or so, and the end came too soon.

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Nov 10, 2014 Susannah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-audiobook, reading-the-classics

Starting again on May 24, 2017, with Chapter 11.

Setting this one aside for a while. Both the story and the narrator are just fine, and while I understand that North and South reflects the time in which it was written, I'm just not in the mood right now for the story of a woman who is at the mercy of the selfish imbeciles around her (namely, her parents). ...more

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