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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

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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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Jun 07, 2018 Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-book-i-own, classics-shelf

Update June 16, 2018: I watched the BBC production this past week and it was outstanding! I highly recommend pairing the book with the movie. While I rated the book 4 stars, the entire package of paper and screen is a sure 5+ stars. The movie adds that extra bit of magic that I found didn't come across as well in the writing alone. And the acting? - superb! Yes, I did need to fan myself on several occasions - thank you Richard Armitage. And that ending.... sigh :)

About three or four years ago I Update June 16, 2018: I watched the BBC production this past week and it was outstanding! I highly recommend pairing the book with the movie. While I rated the book 4 stars, the entire package of paper and screen is a sure 5+ stars. The movie adds that extra bit of magic that I found didn't come across as well in the writing alone. And the acting? - superb! Yes, I did need to fan myself on several occasions - thank you Richard Armitage. And that ending.... sigh :)

About three or four years ago I picked up a copy of Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters on a whim, never before having heard of the book or even the author for that matter. (I know, thank goodness for Goodreads or I would forever remain in a state of ignorance!) I did not expect to become absolutely smitten with both the novel and its characters. I immediately placed it on my ‘favorites’ shelf and added numerous other Gaskell works to my list. Finally, I have gotten around to reading another.

I will start out by saying that I truly enjoyed and appreciated this work of fiction. Set in England during the time of the Industrial Revolution, North and South tackles some of the major economic and social issues of the time. Gaskell earnestly depicts the differences between the north of England and the south of England both geographically as well as through her characters. With great insight, she portrays the conflicts between the working class and the more affluent mill-owners, the ‘masters’. She is sympathetic to both, realizing that each depend upon a mutual understanding in order to thrive.

"I see two classes dependent on each other in every possible way, yet each evidently regarding the interests of the other as opposed to their own; I never lived in a place before where there were two sets of people always running each other down."

Margaret Hale has lived a life of luxury in London with her Aunt Shaw and cousin Edith for some time. When she moves back to the relative tranquility and more modest living of her parents' home in Helstone, she quickly adapts to her new surroundings. However, when her father decides to leave his position as minister of this small hamlet and uproots the family to the manufacturing town of Milton in the north of England, neither Margaret nor her mother are at all keen about this sudden upheaval. The ‘north’ is a place of smoke and fog, factories, factory-workers and tradesmen. Margaret brings along some of her preconceived notions and prejudices to Milton: "I call mine a very comprehensive taste; I like all people whose occupations have to do with land; I like soldiers and sailors, and the three learned professions, as they call them. I'm sure you don't want me to admire butchers and bakers, and candlestick-makers, do you, mamma?"

While in Milton, Margaret’s father, Mr. Hale, strikes up a friendship with the self-made industrialist John Thornton. Margaret and Thornton, on the other hand, clash immediately. But it is through this antagonism that each grows and learns from the other. Thornton is a man who at first appears hard and uncompromising. Like the others of his profession, he remains stolidly apart from his subordinates. Margaret eventually befriends millworker Nicholas Higgins and his ailing daughter, Bessy, whose lungs have been permanently damaged from her work in the factory. This newfound friendship changes Margaret from one contemptuous towards the working class to one that becomes an advocate of social justice. She has found new meaning to her life. "From that day Milton became a brighter place to her. It was not the long, bleak sunny days of spring, nor yet was it that time was reconciling her to the town of her habitation. It was that in it she had found a human interest."

When Margaret inadvertently becomes involved in a mill-workers’ strike organized by the union, she and Thornton reach a turning point; yet misunderstandings, pride and former sensibilities stand in the way of what seems to be a mutual admiration. Margaret’s championing of the workers along with Thornton’s respect for Miss Hale and his recognition of the plight of his employees bring about much needed change. The question remains as to whether this will be enough for both a lasting harmony between ‘master’ and worker as well as a triumph of love between man and woman, that between north and south.

This is a book that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone that is fond of classic Victorian literature. It is a novel of tremendous self-discovery and excellent character development – particularly in the protagonists, Margaret and Thornton. It is an interesting and worthy depiction of the Industrial Revolution in England. It did not quite soar to the level of Wives and Daughters for me personally, perhaps slightly lacking in the magical charm of that beloved treasure. I also love a dash of wit sprinkled into my classic literature as well and did not quite find that here. Nevertheless, it is a very fine piece of literature and I’m very pleased to have read it. I have a copy of the BBC production sitting on my coffee table just begging to be watched. I anticipate a huge swoon fest with that one! I mean, seriously, who can resist Richard Armitage?! His voice alone is enough to make a fairly reasonable girl turn giddy. Maybe an update to the review on that later. ...more

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