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North and South

Elizabeth Gaskell

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Feb 09, 2023 Linda Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: geo-england, 2023, families, classics, kindle, audiobook

This has got to be the most languid novel I've ever read. I think I've never before read a novel that used the word "languid" much, if at all. This novel, North and South, used that word fourteen times!

(I searched for the word on my Kindle and guarantee it was used exactly 14 times. Aren't Kindles wonderful?)

Google defines "languid" as "displaying or having a disinclination for physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed." Perhaps my reading of this book is appropriate as I've been having a ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2019 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: justice, problems-ideas, relationships, the-classics-club, poverty

Margaret Hale and her family are forced to move to the industrial north of England when her pastor father has doubts about his profession and must seek work as a tutor. Life in the north, Margaret soon learns, is difficult for the people there, especially so after workers begin to strike against the mills. Margaret and her family have found friends on both sides of the strike, and their affections lie with both. There are also side stories about Margaret's brother who helped lead a mutiny on boa ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2010 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: 19th-century-british

The heroine must move from her happy, rural parsonage home to an industrial city when her father, the parson, resigns his post due to doctrinal doubts. The novel then examines the intersections of class and religion and the relationships of labor and ownership. The novel includes an interesting plot and well-drawn characters. The questions of economics and theology that are raised are complex and interesting, I think even for a modern audience.

1 like · Like · see review