North & South discussion
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Oh, very well, I concede the point. :) Undressed it is. I can well believe Edith might blush! She'd blush at pretty much anything. Yes, you're right, it does show rather well his state of mind that he was so, ah, undressed - though I stand by the theory that he probably (to begin with, anyway) had his coat off just because it would have been quite hot walking around Helstone in the sun in a black coat. :P Wouldn't it?
Ah, well, I envy you having a romantic friend! Admittedly a couple of my other friends are romantic, but any mention of North and South from me generally gets brushed off.
I'll take your word for it then. :)
Hello! My name is Ceri and I am a bookaholic :) I first met Mr Thornton many years ago, probably a couple of years before the BBC adaptation was made and obviously I loved him immediately, who wouldn't?! And now he looks like Richard Armitage when I imagine him, which is lovely! I've read a few of Mrs Gaskell's other works, I enjoyed both Mary Barton and Wives and Daughters but I couldn't get on with Cranford. I've read only one published based on N&S, plus some unpublished fanfiction, so I'm always open to book recommendations, though I have a TBR list that will take me about a decade to get through as it is :)
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In any case, welcome to the group - I hope you enjoy yourself here. :)
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So glad that you joined, Ceri! Welcome :D
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The perfect fanfiction sequel to Gaskell's N&S is entitled 'Pack Clouds Away' and can only be found at C19.proboards.com.
Do you know Trudy, I could have written your first paragraph myself, that is exactly how I felt about Cranford, Mary Barton and Wives & Daughters too! My favourite Gaskell is N&S, and it's a book in my all time top 5 but my absolute favourite is Pride & Prejudice. Thanks for the fanfiction recommendation too!
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Finding N&S reignited a love of literature in me and I've been catching up on classics ever since: Austen, Dickens, Bronte, Hardy, and Trollope.
I'm eager to re-read N&S with this group starting on the 22nd, as I have notes I want to take on certain things. There's a lot to keep track of in N&S!
Thanks for reviewing my book on your blog, btw. :)
No, I haven't read either of them, and in fact I'd never heard of them until I was about to post here and I checked whether Mrs Gaskell wrote Mary Barton, as I wasn't 100% sure. I'll have to try them.I had years of not being able to find books I liked so I would read and then reread mainly older stuff. I have read quite a bit of the Brontes and I tend to enjoy theirs, but I had variable luck with Dickens, some of his books I loved, like a Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, but things like Hard Times I didn't like so I kind of gave up with him, and I've never tried the other authors you mentioned. I am having much better luck finding books I enjoy these days so I am expanding my reading horizons, which is lovely.
You are welcome, re the book review! I enjoyed your book, will have to try and read your other one some time :)
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I've just started reading Cranford myself - also my first Gaskell after N&S, and I'm not finding it too bad! I mean, it's not exactly riveting, but it is sort of cute, and relatively easy reading for classic literature. Still, I don't think it will even compare to North & South! :)
It's been a very long time since I read it, so I can't remember exactly what it was about Cranford that I didn't like, I think I just found it a bit boring. Mary Barton was more exciting, though I didn't think that was as good as N&S. W&D was excellent though :) I am glad you're enjoying Cranford.
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It seems like everyone thinks really well of Wives and Daughters, so that might be my next Gaskell novel. :)
Hey everybody! *waves* I'm Michaela, and I've wanting to read North and South for very long time. I love reading (obviously), writing, and listening to music. Really excited to be a part of this group. Thanks for inviting me, Becca! :)
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Hi, everyone. I'm Vicky, I live in Vienna and I study history and literature at uni. Thanks a lot for the invitation! :) I recently read North and South after seeing the mini series far too many times and I absolutely adored it. I think I love it even more than P&P :)
Well I'm not sure I'd go that far myself Vicky, but it is a wonderful book! :)
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Hi Michaela and Vicky! I´ve something in common with both of you: my name´s also Michaela and I also live in Vienna. And then there´s North and South of course...;) Welcome and enjoy!
Hello everyone! My name is Tweety and I love North and South. If I didn't I wouldn't be here. But I also really like Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. :)Thank you Becca for inviting me, I always shy away from inviting myself. ;)
Hello Anne and Maria!
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Hi Becca, Hi Tweety *waves* I'm glad to be joining in on this one. I'm from Brookline, Massachusetts right near Boston and this is my first time reading North and South--and my first time reading Gaskell! But if Tweety loves it I know I will, too :)
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~ Somewhere in the General Folder the group has a birthday list, where people post their birth-dates and our members can wish each other Happy Birthday on the appropriate days. :) I think we have about twelve people on there at the moment, and it would be awesome to have more. There tend to be quite a few pictures of Richard Armitage flying around in use as birthday cards, so I (and many others, I'm sure) would be happy for an excuse to post as many pictures as possible! ;)
lol I must see more of the Armitage chap: the first role I've ever seen him in was as Thorin and I loved that scene where he sings 'Far Over the Misty Mountains' in Bilbo's house.
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Then of course I saw North & South, and I was done for! I've since seen him in Robin Hood, Vicar of Dibley and the second Hobbit film. I'm also really excited to see both the Battle of the Five Armies, and Richard's other film 'Into the Storm', which is out in a couple of weeks over here.
... And I totally agree with you about the song scene. It's almost embarrassing how many times I've listened to that. It's simply stunning, isn't it?
The first thing I saw him in was North and South, inspired casting there!
Hi everyone! It's nice to see some old friends here and to meet some new ones. I'm a newbie to North and South so it'll be a fun group read for me. About 3 years ago a friend gave me the DVDs for North and South and told me to watch it. I never did. D: In my defense, I thought she was giving me the old TV miniseries about the US Civil War. Heh. Now I'm not sure where those DVDs are any more. Time for a scavenger hunt!
:D I always thought it was about the US Civil War, too! One of those American/British disconnects: 'two people separated by common language!"
Becca wrote: "Welcome to the group, Tweety! I was very happy to invite you, and I hope you enjoy it here. :)"Thanks Becca! I bet I will. Hi Hana! Nice that we joined at the same time. :)
I read the book years ago, before they did the mini-series, and was a little confused when I looked on Amazon and found the Patrick Swayze series. Wondered what on earth Mr Thornton was wearing :-)
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I can understand the confusion though, I was talking to another friend about N&S and he said something along the lines of, "Oh, is it the one about the Civil War? I don't particularly want to see that." My response: o_O "No! No it's not!" *goes on lengthy explanation about the incredible awesomeness of N&S* :D
@ Ceri: I agree, it was very, very inspired casting to have Richard Armitage as Mr. John Thornton. Can you imagine if they hadn't cast him? How terrible that would have been! In fact I'm pretty sure they almost overlooked him, because he was one of the first to audition, but luckily they remembered him before they made their selection. *phew*
I really need to see the older version of N&S though, don't I? Just to compare. :)
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Hope you enjoy the book. It can be strange shifting from the riveting film version to the pages of description Gaskell gives.
But I love both versions of this story, although I must love the book more for giving us so much more detail into what's going on in Mr Thornton's lonely heart. :)
Thanks Trudy! I agree that I like the book more, just because of all the detail. It made me understand Thornton much better. :)
I love the fuller picture that you get in the book, and I prefer the ending too.
Hi - I saw a reference to this group read from a post by Trudy at another site. I love Gaskell's work and have read all of her books, but N&S is among my favorites. The BBC miniseries was amazing (I also love the composer - powerful connections - he did the latest of the Sense and Sensibility adaptations as well). ANYWAY, it would be great to try and read along with you all. So I hope to keep up with you! Thanks for encouraging group reading!
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Good night, ladies.Tadiana invited me to this group right now :).
I am new to "North and South," never having read the book or watched the serials before, which, considering that I'm a fan of Armitage, is a sin I've still to atone for. What better way than reading the book?
I have a vague idea of the plot, mostly from mini-spoilers here and there that I picked up over the years through looking for pictures of the gentleman in question. My recollections is fortunately too hazy to have any expectations, good or bad, so I'm coming much like a blank sheet to paint impressions on. I've never confused this book and serials with the American Civil War trilogy with the same name by John Jakes, mostly because I know next to nothing about that period.
I look forward to enjoying the time here and learning a bit from the veteran fans here.
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I'm sure you'll love both the books and the t.v. series once you see them, they're both great - as is Armitage, of course. :)
I look forward to getting to know you on the discussion threads! I hope you like it here, and thank you for joining.
Becca wrote: "Hi Marquise! Welcome!I'm sure you'll love both the books and the t.v. series once you see them, they're both great - as is Armitage, of course. :)
I look forward to getting to know you on the di..."
Thank you for the welcome, Becca! I hope to participate whenever possible.
Yes, Richard is single-handedly responsible for me starting the book :).
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Lol, there were some of us who read the book before, I will have you know :)
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No, I'm perfectly aware that many people did read the book first, I'm simply inclined to think that the majority (at least of the younger generation, I think Kate calls us 'young whippersnappers'?) were persuaded to read the novel after seeing the beautiful BBC adaptation. *cough* And Richard Armitage *cough* as Thornton *cough*.
Well thank you for reminding me of my aged status, LOL. I take your point though, I read the book before they did the adaptation but since it was such a popular adaptation I think it's likely that younger people, or even just those people who've found it in the last few years, would have seen it before they read it, and even if they've just seen pictures of the adaptation it'll affect how they picture the characters. As you know, Margaret doesn't look like Daniella Denby Ashe so when I read it I picture my originally imagined Margaret from my first read and Richard Armitage as Thornton, since he is better than what I imagined when I first read it!
North & South
Books mentioned in this topic
Unmapped Country: The story of North and South continues (other topics)Ruth (other topics)
Candide (other topics)
Mary Barton (other topics)
Wives and Daughters (other topics)
He IS undressed for a Victorian gentleman. A gentleman never appears in public without a coat and cravat, especially not before a lady. Edith would blush and Fanny would think it disgusting - HER husband would never do such a thing. It tells you the state of mind he's in that he wasn't impeccably dressed.
My best friend is a romantic - usually. She loves Disney movies. She's not really into Victorian but puts up with my obsession with the 19th century.
You don't want to know who Jenny McCarthy is but suffice to say, she's an adult female-oriented comedienne.