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North and South

Elizabeth Gaskell

Start date: March 1, 2019

Finish date: March 31, 2019

Discussion: Upcoming Reads

Why we're reading this: Group read for March
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last updated Mar 31, 2017 12:48PM

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What Members Thought

Nov 15, 2011 ☯Emily Ginder rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics

Another wonderful story from Elizabeth Gaskell. Margaret Hale leaves the bucolic south of England and moves to the industrial north, probably Manchester. There she meets the poor, destitute workers and one owner of a mill, Mr. Thornton. Gaskell presents the viewpoints of both sides with sympathy and understanding. Margaret endures many trials in the book, but helps forge an uneasy peace betweem Mr. Thornton and his factory workers. This book along with Mary Barton, deal with the problems that En ...more

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May 09, 2011 Elisabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, it-s-a-classic

Together with Jane Eyre this book really challenged my view of women in the Victorian era. Margaret and Jane were such strong and morally upstanding women. Jane had her own trials as an orphan trying to fund her place in the world but this Margaret really goes through everything in the space of 400 pages. She really carries her family and it is strange to think of an 18-19 year old woman (essentially a girl) having that kind of responsibility - being the person to lean on for her father and the ...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Charlotte rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, interesting-female-characters, diverse-cultures, families, social-commentary, religion-is-involved, authors-female, read-again, set-in-uk

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have heard a lot of people draw comparisons between North and South and Pride and Prejudice. There are certainly similarities - initial mutual dislike between hero and heroine born out of misunderstanding and social inequality, the hero making a marriage proposal which is at first rejected by the heroine, the hero doing something altruistic to make the heroine change her mind about him. And, as the strong silent type, Mr Thornton is a bit like Mr Darcy. However, I think in character it is Marg ...more

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Mar 26, 2018 Ali rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, favorites, audiobooks, classics, 2018

read for Popsugar 2018 challenge: a book mentioned in another book

WOW I LOVED THIS. I stumbled across the BBC mini series of this years ago and fell in love, so I'm glad I finally read its source material. There's so much in this novel. Gaskell explores social critique, industrialization, religion, familial relationships, grief, and more. But the heart of this novel is Margaret Hale and John Thornton and their romance. There's tension between the two of them from the moment they meet as they rep ...more

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