The Cranford Chronicles - Elizabeth Gaskell

Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell

three women. Molly s step-mother is a painfully weak and manipulative woman, but by far the most interesting character is the step-sister Cynthia. With Cynthia, Gaskell walks the line between an often likeable character and someone who seems at heart selfish. This intriguing characterisation makes the book, because it removes the predictability there might otherwise have been. Elizabeth Gaskell died before finishing the novel, but only the tying up of ends remains and she communicated her plans to her editor and these are included in the book. This story has depth and deft charactisation and is a joy to ...

Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell

three women. Molly s step-mother is a painfully weak and manipulative woman, but by far the most interesting character is the step-sister Cynthia. With Cynthia, Gaskell walks the line between an often likeable character and someone who seems at heart selfish. This intriguing characterisation makes the book, because it removes the predictability there might otherwise have been. Elizabeth Gaskell died before finishing the novel, but only the tying up of ends remains and she communicated her plans to her editor and these are included in the book. This story has depth and deft charactisation and is a joy to ...

Gothic Tales - Elizabeth Gaskell

of Udolpho style stories, with secluded locales shrouded in mystery and dark secrets around every corner. That said, I have no wish to pidgeonhole Gaskell, who offers a good range of settings in the collection, ranging from the English moors to the tempestuous times of the Salem witch hunts. Some of the themes explored are surprisingly frank, with jealousy, sexual desire and murder. At the same time, she enjoys herself with imaginative re-workings of some of the better known tropes of the gothic genre, including fairy stories and dopplegangers. One for fans of Gaskell, ghost stories and the works of M. R. James and Henry ...

Gothic Tales - Elizabeth Gaskell

of Udolpho style stories, with secluded locales shrouded in mystery and dark secrets around every corner. That said, I have no wish to pidgeonhole Gaskell, who offers a good range of settings in the collection, ranging from the English moors to the tempestuous times of the Salem witch hunts. Some of the themes explored are surprisingly frank, with jealousy, sexual desire and murder. At the same time, she enjoys herself with imaginative re-workings of some of the better known tropes of the gothic genre, including fairy stories and dopplegangers. One for fans of Gaskell, ghost stories and the works of M. R. James and Henry ...

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

lot more substance to this novel when it is compared to Jane Austen's books. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is more comparable to North and South, but the depths in Elizabeth Gaskell's novel are not quite as subtle. The one thing which really drew me to this book was the fact that it dealt with industrial Britain, rather than the wealthy aristocrats which always seem to be portrayed in the others. The story is a very touching account of Margaret Hale's relationship with a local mill owner after her family moves to the north of England when her father leaves his profession in the church. I wonder if the realistic quality of the book and the ...

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

lot more substance to this novel when it is compared to Jane Austen's books. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is more comparable to North and South, but the depths in Elizabeth Gaskell's novel are not quite as subtle. The one thing which really drew me to this book was the fact that it dealt with industrial Britain, rather than the wealthy aristocrats which always seem to be portrayed in the others. The story is a very touching account of Margaret Hale's relationship with a local mill owner after her family moves to the north of England when her father leaves his profession in the church. I wonder if the realistic quality of the book and the ...