About this title: Elizabeth Gaskell's novel of working class life in a northern English mill town was controversial when it was published in 1848 because of its sympathy for the downtrodden workers and its indictment of the wealthy class that exploited them. Gaskell, the wife of a Manchester clergyman, wrote her first novel from firsthand experience of the lives of ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-13:9780192835109ISBN:0192835106
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780140434644ISBN:014043464X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Very light edge and corner wear. Bumped corner. Cover crease. No marks. Tight, square book. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 464 p. Contains: Illustrations. Penguin Classics. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-13:9780192805621ISBN:0192805622
Description: Very Good. 0192805622 Earlier trade paperback same content exactly-Aside from newer introduction/afterward, original text has never changed, Standard Used Condition, different cover, No writing or Highlighting, some spine creases, age tan though holding together well, sold for content. read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-13:9780199538355ISBN:0199538352
Description: Good. 0199538352 Earlier trade paperback same content exactly-Aside from newer introduction/afterward, original text has never changed, Standard Used Condition, different cover, No writing or Highlighting, some spine creases, age tan though holding together well, sold for content. read more
Edition: First Norton Library Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., New York
Date Published: 1958
ISBN-13:9780393002454ISBN:0393002454
Description: Very Good. Fiction. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Originally published in 1848. Introduction by Myron F. Brightfield. A story of a young woman in Manchester, England when the Industrial Age was ruining the countryside and making the poor people poorer and the rich people richer. This book is in very good condition. The covers have been covered in clear contact paper. The previous owner has written name and year on the inside of the front cover. read more
"It was okay, but a LOT longer than it needed to be. The social observations regarding millworkers and their masters, and labor versus non labor union workers are interesting, and the plot (when you can find it) is good. But there is a lot of general moralizing that makes the book about 3 times longer than it would be today.
I liked North and South and Wives and Daughters better."
"Read this book and all I could think about were the current conditions of the economy and how hard it is to make a living. Mary Barton was quite a character. At first I was annoyed with how--the best word i can think of is fickle but it doesn't seem to be the right word. She gets caught up in the frivolous things that money brings and it was kind of annoying but she redeems herself--as other characters do. It was a good read. Gaskell didn't fail to meet my expectations and I can add another one of her books to my favorites list."
"I found little to enjoy about this book. The characters are vapid...the insight I gained into their lives and motivations was inadequate to capture my interest and concern. I would not recommend it. I left the book feeling unconvinced that Elizabeth Gaskell truly cared about the social issues she wrote about. On second thought, maybe she did care, but she had not really made a conclusion about it and thus didn't have a cohesive point to make. I wasn't sure what to conclude at the end of it all, and didn't really care."
"I truly enjoy Elizabeth Gaskell's books. It is very interesting to me how she combines the points of view of both the working and the "master" class, and yet doesn't blame one or the other for the struggles and the problems that arose out of the industrial revolution in England. On both sides there are unsavory characters, and on both sides there are honest men and women doing the best they can in their understanding. I like how at the end of this book as with North and South, the workers and the masters seem to have a minor meeting of the minds. Knowing that it isn't going to change everything, I like the fact that she allows some to see others perspectives and grow in understanding of a different life.
As I listen I am struck with the desire for today's "do gooders" to see that large companies aren't always the bad guys and that the unions aren't always right."
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