Originally published in 1855 by Chapman and Hall.
Initially serialised in ‘Household Worlds’ between 1854-5.
My edition: The 2012 Penguin English Library
paperback.
WHEN
I Discovered This Classic
I don’t really remember not
knowing about North and South. My mum
was a big Gaskell fan and it was a book she re-read every few years, but I
didn’t really take much notice of it until I started to watch lots of
booktubers who focus more on classics. They gushed about it and the Richard
Armitage adaptation – I was sold!
WHY
I Chose to Read It
I read Gaskell’s Cranford last year completely on a whim
and I really enjoyed it. I knew I wanted to read more of her work so I figured
I'd go for her most famous novel next! Plus, I really want to watch the
adaptation, but of course I need to read it first!
WHAT
Makes It a Classic
Gaskell was a contemporary of the
Brontës and a successor of Austen and has elements of both. In fact, she was a
great friend of Charlotte Brontë and even wrote the first biography of her.
WHAT
I Thought of This Classic
Unlike with Cranford it took me a while to warm to North and South. This is the first classic novel I've come across
that is set in the industrial north and while it was fascinating and I love how
different it made everything feel, I did think Gaskell got a little bogged down
in the politics and explanations of mills, the strikes and the discontent
between the owners and the workers. I found myself skimming these parts and
hoping there wouldn’t be another for a good while, but these scenes were rather
frequent. Though I never came to like them, I did end up being able to look
past them and enjoy the story anyway.
I did enjoy the northern setting,
however, especially the contrast between Margaret’s life in the south and her
new home in Milton. Society has no function in Milton: it won’t achieve a
successful marriage, no one has the time for society as everyone works and society
doesn’t feed anyone or make anyone money. It was cool to see this side of life
in the mid-1800s, especially the harshness of life for the lower closes. The dirt,
the illnesses, the smoke and fog and weariness of the north show on the
characters and it really was startling when comparing them to the upper class
characters of lots of other Victorian novels, all set in the south or in the
respectable parts of London.
Mr Thornton is a mill owner who
has worked himself up from poverty to prosperity and when he becomes involved
with the Hales and is the student of Margaret’s father a Pride and Prejudice-eque courtship begins between him and Margaret.
I couldn’t believe the parallels between the two! Not so much in other elements
of the novel, but in the way they interact, the misunderstandings and the
course of their romance. There are also characters that resemble Mr Collins, Mr
Wickham and Margaret’s parents are rather reminiscent of Mr and Mrs Bennet,
however. That was a lot of fun.
I have to admit that I was
totally cheering Margaret and Mr Thornton on. As we got towards the end of the
novel and nothing had been resolved between them I genuinely started muttering
to the cat about how worried I was that they wouldn’t end up together (she didn’t
care), but all was well. I was surprised at how much I'd fallen for these
characters without even realising it. I ended up ordering two more of Gaskell’s
novels – Wives and Daughters and Mary Barton – very soon after finishing North and South!
WILL
It Stay a Classic
Gaskell’s connection with
Charlotte won't be forgotten quickly, and nor will her explorations of the
industrialisation of the North of England – North
and South is said to be one of the first!
WHO
I’d Recommend it To
- Fans of Pride and Prejudice!
- People interested in seeing a
different side of Victorian England.
- Those interested in the
industrialisation of northern England.
Fun
Fact
- ‘Household Words’ which North and South was originally
serialised in was owned and run by Charles Dickens. He edited North and South and recommended the
title over Gaskell’s choice of Margaret Hale.
Sophie
