“When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill-workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skilfully fused individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale created one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.”

This was my second go with the book; the first time I didn’t quite get to the halfway point and I’m sure I was distracted by some other book at the time. I’m glad I stuck to it this time around because I quite enjoyed it. Though, I do have to say that having seen the BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage  and Daniela Denby-Ashe helped a lot. I already knew what was going to happen, so it was much easier to understand what I was reading.

I was intrigued by the prejudices and stereotypes by both sides of each other. The South (Margaret/family/friends) disgusted by the trade industry, poverty, blue-collaredness of the North. The North (Thorntons and Higgins families) a bit resentful of the ways of the South, thinking the South feel superior over them. In fact, both sides were snotty towards each other if they really thought about it.

From the beginning, you know that John Thornton is attracted to Margaret, by the way Gaskell describes the way Thornton observes her. As for Margaret, she’s a little slow with the reciprocity. Which is great because we get to follow her along the novel as she slowly rethinks her opinion of John. I prefer the ending of the BBC adaptation (if you haven’t yet, please watch it! I know you can find it on YouTube) over the book’s. Essentially the same ending except done slightly different. Either way, by the end of the book, North and South meet in the middle after strikes, deaths, speculations, and resentments. A great read.

Rating:

3 Comments

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  By melanie, July 8, 2009 @ 12:58 pm

  This is one book by Mrs. Gaskell I haven’t read, but your review makes me want to move it up in my queue.

  [Reply]
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  By Maria Grazia, August 10, 2009 @ 2:43 pm

  I’ve read and studied this novel by Gaskell which is still one of my favourites. Have you seen BBC 4-episodes miniseries? It’s an extremely good adaptation.
  I also wrote about North and South
  1. http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspot.com/2009/05/mr-darcy-vs-mr-thornton.html

  2.http://learnonline.splinder.com/post/19823269/Mrs+Gaskell%27s+North+%26+South

  If you liked North and South you may also be interested in Mrs Gaskell’s MARY BARTON, RUTH or WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.

  [Reply]

  

  Kris Reply:
  August 14th, 2009 at 12:29 am

  @Maria Grazia, yes, I’ve seen the BBC miniseries, which I absolutely love! I saw quite a while ago and made me want to read the book. I couldn’t finish the book the first time I tried reading it, not because it was boring, but because I got distracted with other things. But I’m glad I’ve been able to finish it the second time around!

  Thanks for your visit!

  [Reply]

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