Most Popular Books by Elizabeth Gaskell

The novel is set in the fictional industrial town of Milton in the north of England. Forced to leave her home in the tranquil, rural south, Margaret Hale settles with her parents in Milton. She witnesses the brutal world wreaked by the Industrial Revolution, seeing employers and workers clashing in the first strikes.

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, 29 September 1810 - 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. Gaskell''s The Life of Charlotte Bronte, published in 1857, was the first biography about Bronte. Some of Gaskell''s best known novels are Cranford (1851-53), North and South (1854-55), and Wives and Daughters (1865).Gaskell was born Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson on 29 September 1810 at 93 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. She was the youngest of eight children; only she and her brother John survived infancy. Her father, William Stevenson, was a Scottish Unitarian minister at Failsworth, Lancashire, but resigned his orders on conscientious grounds and moved to London in 1806 with the intention of going to India after he was appointed private secretary to the Earl of Lauderdale, who was to become Governor General of India. That position did not materialise, however, and instead Stevenson was nominated Keeper of the Treasury Records. His wife, Elizabeth Holland, came from a family from the English Midlands that was connected with other prominent Unitarian families, including the Wedgwoods, the Martineaus, the Turners and the Darwins. When she died 13 months after giving birth to her youngest daughter, [1] she left a bewildered husband who saw no alternative for Elizabeth but to be sent to live with her mother''s sister, Hannah Lumb, in Knutsford, Cheshire"

With an essay by Anna Unsworth. ''Just at this moment he passed us on the stairs, making such a graceful bow, in reply to which I dropped a curtsey - all foreigners have such polite manners, one catches something of it'' Cranford is an affectionate and often moving portrait of genteel poverty and intertwined lives in a nineteenth-century village. One of Elizabeth Gaskell''s most beloved works, it centres on a community dominated by women and governed by old-fashioned ways. The formidable Miss Deborah Jenkyns and the kindly Miss Matty''s days revolve around card games, tea, thriftiness and an endless appetite for scandal, until change comes into their world - whether it is the modern ideas of Captain Brown, a bank collapse, rumours of burglars or an unexpected reappearance from the past. The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Elizabeth Gaskell''s ''Sylvia''s Lovers'' is a riveting tale set in the 18th century English coastal town of Monkshaven. The novel explores the themes of love, betrayal, and social class in a society torn by war and the impact it has on individuals. Gaskell''s eloquent prose and vivid descriptions immerse the reader in the tumultuous lives of the characters, showcasing her ability to capture the complexities of human emotions and relationships. The novel is a masterful blend of historical detail and intimate storytelling, making it a captivating read for fans of Victorian literature. ''Sylvia''s Lovers'' is a compelling narrative that delves into the intricacies of love and loss, weaving a poignant tale that resonates with readers long after the final page. Elizabeth Gaskell''s portrayal of the challenges faced by individuals caught in the tumult of historical events is both poignant and thought-provoking, making ''Sylvia''s Lovers'' a timeless classic that continues to captivate audiences today.

North and South is a social novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Along with Wives and Daughters (1865) and Cranford (1853), it is one of her best known novels and has been adapted for television twice, in 1975 and 2004. The latter version renewed interest in the novel and gained it a wider readership. While Gaskell''s first novel Mary Barton (1848) focused on relations between employers and workers in Manchester from the perspective of the working poor, North and South uses a protagonist from southern England to present and comment on the perspectives of both mill owners and mill workers in an industrializing city. North and South is set in the fictional industrial town of Milton in the North of England. Forced to leave her home in the tranquil rural south, Margaret Hale settles with her parents in Milton where she witnesses the brutal world wrought by the industrial revolution and employers and workers clashing in the first organised strikes. Sympathetic to the poor, whose courage and tenacity she admires and among whom she makes friends, she clashes with John Thornton, a cotton mill manufacturer who belongs to the nouveaux riches class and whose contemptuous attitude to workers Margaret rejects. The novel traces both her growing understanding of the complexity of labor relations and her impact on well-meaning mill owners, and her conflicted relationship with John Thornton.Gaskell based her depiction of Milton on Manchester, where she lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister.Margaret Hale, 19, happily returns home from London to the idyllic southern village of Helstone after her cousin Edith marries Captain Lennox. She lived nearly 10 years in the city with Edith and wealthy Aunt Shaw to learn to be an accomplished young lady. Margaret, herself, has refused a marriage offer from the captain''s brother, Henry, a rising barrister. But her life is turned upside down when her father, the local pastor, leaves the Church of England and the rectory of Helstone as a matter of conscience-his intellectual honesty having made him a dissenter. On the suggestion of his old friend from Oxford, Mr. Bell, he settles with his wife and daughter in Milton-Northern, where Mr. Bell was born and owns property. An industrial town in Darkshire, a textile-producing region, it is engaged in cotton-manufacturing and finds itself in the middle of the industrial revolution, where masters and workers clash in the first organised strikes. Margaret finds the bustling, smoky town of Milton harsh and strange and she is upset by the poverty all around. Mr. Hale, in reduced financial circumstances, works as a tutor and counts as his pupil the rich and influential manufacturer, Mr. John Thornton, master of Marlborough Mills. From the outset, Margaret and Thornton are at odds with each other: She sees him as coarse and unfeeling; he sees her as haughty. But he is attracted to her beauty and self-assurance and she begins to admire how he has lifted himself from poverty. During the 18 months she spends in Milton, Margaret gradually learns to appreciate the city and its hard-working people, especially Nicholas Higgins, a Workers'' Union representative, and his daughter Bessy, whom she befriends. Bessy is consumptive from inhalation of cotton dust and she eventually dies from it. Meantime, Margaret''s mother is growing more seriously ill and a workers'' strike is brewing. Masters and hands (workers) do not reach a resolution on the strike and an incensed mob of workers threatens Thornton and his factory with violence after he brought Irish workers into his mill. Margaret implores Thornton to intervene and talk to the mob, but he manages merely to fuel their anger. Margaret intervenes too and is struck down by a stone.........Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, (nee Stevenson, 29 September 1810 - 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer....."

North and South is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in book form in 1855 originally appeared as a twenty-two-part weekly serial from September 1854 through January 1855 in the magazine Household Words, edited by Charles Dickens. The title indicates a major theme of the book: the contrast between the way of life in the industrial north of England and the wealthier south, although it was only under pressure from her publishers that Gaskell changed the title from its original, Margaret Hale. The book is a social novel that tries to show the industrial North and its conflicts in the mid-19th century as seen by an outsider, a socially sensitive lady from the South. The heroine of the story, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a Nonconformist minister who moves to the fictional industrial town of Milton after leaving the Church of England. The town is modeled after Manchester, where Gaskell lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister. Gaskell herself worked among the poor and knew at first hand the misery of the industrial areas.

Cranford depicts the lives and preoccupations of the inhabitants of a small village - their petty snobberies and appetite for gossip, and their loyal support for each other in times of need. The village is dominated by women, from the kindly spinster Miss Matty, living in genteel poverty with her redoubtable sister, to Lady Glenmire, who shocks everyone by marrying the doctor. When men do appear, such as ''modern'' Captain Brown or Matty''s suitor from the past, they bring disruption and excitement to the everyday life of Cranford. This volume includes the novella Cousin Phillis, which depicts a fleeting love affair in a rural community at a time when old values are being supplanted by the new. Both works are exquisitely observed tragicomedies of human nature, told with great delicacy and affection.

Mary Barton is the first novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1848. The story is set in the English city of Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian lower class. It is subtitled ''A Tale of Manchester Life''.

Cranford (1851), the best-known of Elizabeth Gaskell''s novels, first appeared as a serial in the magazine Household Words, edited by Charles Dickens. The story revolves around the town of Cranford, home to Mary Smith and her friends, the sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. Life changes when their long-lost brother Peter returns after a long absence.

Elizabeth Gaskell is equally well known as Mrs Gaskell. When her mother died, she was three months old and she was sent to live in Knutsford, Cheshire with her Aunt Hannah, this setting would become the basis for her novel Cranford. At 22 she married and settled in Manchester to raise her family. Friends with Charlotte Bronte she went on to write her biography and was also highly regarded by a certain Charles Dickens who published her ghost stories in his magazine. Much of her work views the emerging industrial society of Victorian England through her own moral and religious values and has an uncanny ability to look at and report on the many strata of society. Here we publish Wives and Daughters.

Mary Barton is the first novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1848. The story is set in the English city of Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian working class. It is subtitled "A Tale of Manchester Life." The novel begins in Manchester, where we are introduced to the Bartons and the Wilsons, two working-class families. John Barton is a questioner of the distribution of wealth and the relations between rich and poor. Soon his wife dies-he blames it on her grief over the disappearance of her sister Esther. Having already lost his son Tom at a young age, Barton is left to raise his daughter, Mary, alone and now falls into depression and begins to involve himself in the Chartist, trade-union movement. Chapter 1 takes place in countryside where Moss Side is now. Mary takes up work at a dressmaker''s (her father having objected to her working in a factory) and becomes subject to the affections of hard-working Jem Wilson and Harry Carson, son of a wealthy mill owner. She fondly hopes, by marrying Carson, to secure a comfortable life for herself and her father, but immediately after refusing Jem''s offer of marriage she realises that she truly loves him. She therefore decides to evade Carson, planning to show her feelings to Jem in the course of time. Jem believes her decision to be final, though this does not change his feelings for her. Meanwhile, Esther, a "street-walker," returns to warn John Barton that he must save Mary from becoming like her. He simply pushes her away, however, and she''s sent to jail for a month on the charge of vagrancy. Upon her release she talks to Jem with the same purpose. He promises that he will protect Mary and confronts Carson, eventually entering into a fight with him, which is witnessed by a policeman passing by. Not long afterwards, Carson is shot dead, and Jem is arrested for the crime, his gun having been found at the scene. Esther decides to investigate the matter further and discovers that the wadding for the gun was a piece of paper on which is written Mary''s name. She visits her niece to warn her to save the one she loves, and after she leaves Mary realises that the murderer is not Jem but her father. She is now faced with having to save her lover without giving away her father. With the help of Job Legh (the intelligent grandfather of her blind friend Margaret), Mary travels to Liverpool to find the only person who could provide an alibi for Jem - Will Wilson, Jem''s cousin and a sailor, who was with him on the night of the murder. Unfortunately, Will''s ship is already departing, so that, after Mary chases after the ship in a small boat, the only thing Will can do is promise to return in the pilot ship and testify the next day. During the trial, Jem learns of Mary''s great love for him. Will arrives in court to testify, and Jem is found "not guilty." Mary has fallen ill during the trial and is nursed by Mr Sturgis, an old sailor, and his wife. When she finally returns to Manchester she has to face her father, who is crushed by his remorse. He summons John Carson, Harry''s father, to confess to him that he is the murderer. Carson is still set on justice, but after turning to the Bible he forgives Barton, who dies soon afterwards in Carson''s arms. Not long after this Esther comes back to Mary''s home, where she, too, soon dies. Jem decides to leave England, where, his reputation damaged, it would be difficult for him to find a new job. The novel ends with the wedded Mary and Jem, their little child, and Mrs Wilson living happily in Canada. News comes that Margaret has regained her sight and that she and Will, soon to be married, will visit. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, (Stevenson, 29 September 1810 - 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer. ...

''It is in every way worthy of what one great woman should have written of another.'' Patrick Brontë Elizabeth Gaskell''s The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857) is a pioneering biography of one great Victorian woman novelist by another. Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Brontë, and, having been invited to write the offical life, determined both to tell the truth and to honour her friend. She contacted those who had known Charlotte and travelled extensively in England and Belgium to gather material. She wrote from a vivid accumulation of letters, interviews, and observation, establishing the details of Charlotte''s life and recreating her background. Through an often difficult and demanding process, Gaskell created a vital sense of a life hidden from the world. This edition is based on the Third Edition of 1857, revised by Gaskell. It has been collated with the manuscript, and the previous two editions, as well as with Charlotte Bront ̈''e''s letters, and thus offers fuller information about the process of composition than any previous edition. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

In Elizabeth Gaskell''s haunting novella, "The Old Nurse''s Story," we are drawn into the chilling world of gothic literature, where the boundaries of memory, family, and the supernatural intertwine. Through the voice of a nurse recounting a tale of her charge''s eerie experiences in a decaying manor, Gaskell masterfully employs rich, descriptive language and a suspenseful narrative style, which immerses the reader in a foreboding atmosphere. Drawing on elements of traditional ghost stories, the novella challenges Victorian sensibilities, particularly regarding class and gender, while exploring themes of loyalty and loss, making it a notable work within the broader context of 19th-century gothic fiction. Elizabeth Gaskell, a key figure in Victorian literature, was known for her exploration of social issues and the complexities of human relationships. Her own experiences as a wife to a Unitarian minister and her keen observations of working-class struggles in industrial England deeply influenced her writing. "The Old Nurse''s Story" reflects her interest in the intersections of personal and societal narratives, as well as her fascination with the uncanny and the moral implications tied to the past. Gaskell''s novella is highly recommended for readers who appreciate gothic tales steeped in emotional depth and psychological nuance. It invites contemplation of the past''s spectral presence in our present lives, while also offering an engaging glimpse into the intricacies of human experience, marking it as an essential reading for enthusiasts of Victorian literature and ghostly storytelling.

When a young nurse is sent to care for a child at a remote and isolated family estate in northern England, she soon becomes consumed by the family''s dark and tragic history. This classic ghost story is a masterful example of gothic literature with its vivid imagery and haunting atmosphere. As a young nurse attempts to raise a small child in an eerily lonely house, she begins to unravel the family''s unsettling secrets. Every sound is a harbinger of doom as the nurse becomes convinced that a malevolent spirit is lurking in the child''s ancestral home. This volume is part of the Mothers of the Macabre series, celebrating the gothic horror masterpieces of pioneering women writers who played a pivotal role in shaping and advancing the genre. First published in 1852, Elizabeth Gaskell skilfully weaves together themes of family, identity, and the supernatural in this timeless horror classic. There''s no escape from the haunting grip The Old Nurse''s Story will have on your imagination.

When first published in book form, North and South was released in two volumes. This edition includes both volumes, the complete novel. North and South is the second social novel and the fourth overall by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. With Wives and Daughters (1865) and Cranford (1853), it is one of Elizabeth Gaskell''s best known novels and produced two television adaptations - one in 1975 and the other at the end of 2004. The latter version, North & South, renewed interest in the novel and gained it a wider audience