Shortly after the book opens, Margaret Hale’s father, a minister, is having a crisis of faith that causes him to leave the church and move his wife and daughter from their comfortable country home in Hampshire to the industrial town of Milton in the north of England. Margaret gets to know both mill workers and mill owners in her new home, and when the mill workers strike, she finds herself in the middle. She has befriended the daughter of a worker and wants to see their situation improve, but she can’t quite break her ties with factory owner John Thornton.

As the story develops, there are deaths, romantic misunderstandings, an exiled mutineer, long discussions of workers’ rights and the consequences of strikes. Characters have cause to reconsider long-held beliefs about each other and about the world in which they live.

I’ve always seen Gaskell as novelist for social justice, having first read Ruth and Mary Barton, both of which offer close-up looks at the plight of the poor. But what struck me about this novel was that by having middle-class protagonist, she was able to step back and look at the situation from multiple angles. Margaret is close enough to see what was going on but not so close as to have a personal stake in the labor conflict.

The love story bore some strong resemblances to Pride and Prejudice, but (dare I say it?) Gaskell’s story had slightly more heft. Because the romance is her central focus, Austen explores it with more depth than Gaskell, but Gaskell’s characters have so much further to go to be right for each other. They have to rethink all their loyalties and attitudes, and at the end of the book, they’re transformed.

But my very favorite aspect of the book was the theme of connection. This book is all about connections—not just becoming aware of those who are different but really becoming wrapped up in their lives, seeing them as equals, gathering over a meal, accepting a gift from them. Whenever people do that in this book, barriers fall.

See my complete review at my blog. ( )

As I mentioned above, I chose this particular novel because it is considered her best. Having never read anything by Ms. Gaskell prior to this tour, I wanted to make sure that I was focusing on one that would allow me to enjoy all of her talents. I was definitely not disappointed by what the book contained. In fact, I was quite surprised at what was between the pages. I was not expecting the rich details of class struggles, the strong female character and a love story. This proves that sometimes, not having any idea about a book is the best way to read it.

Margaret Hale deserves our applause, and Ms. Gaskell deserves an award for her portrayal of Margaret. Written at a time when women were still considered inferior and limited by their social class and sex, Margaret pushes the boundaries beyond the societal norm. She portrays masculine characteristics and mannerisms within a very feminine body: she holds herself erect, she looks others directly in the eye, she is not overly emotional, and when she is, she tries to hide her emotions, and most importantly, she chafes under her "womanly duties". It is such a subtle revolt against conventions that it took me almost half the book to truly appreciate Margaret. By the end, all of the other females in the books could be called insipid and unworthy and still bound by outside forces: Edith controlled by her husband, Aunt Shaw by conventions, Dixon by class, and Mrs. Thornton by her son. Kudos to Ms. Gaskell for creating a character that breaks those bonds and sets out on a path not normally forged by women at the time! (For this reason, I am going to count this book towards the Women Unbound Challenge because Margaret Hale represents a new way of thinking and acting that forged the way for future women.)

The dichotomy between the North and South was fascinating. I thought the differences closely mirrored those same differences here in the U.S. between the North and the South - agriculture versus industry, progress versus stagnation. The union debate was also interesting, given my own personal opinion about unions today and my experiences with them. I remain impressed that Ms. Gaskell showed both sides of the argument. I also feel she did an excellent job traversing the two opinions. She suggests at possible solutions and compromises but does not actually resolve anything, which is the most realistic portrayal of this fight. She does not take the easy way out of the argument but rather shows that there are no easy answers when it comes to this debate between workers' rights and owners' expectations.

Mr. Thornton definitely grew to be a favorable character, in my eyes. He had the perfect strength to counterbalance Margaret. However, I loved the fact that he needed to be knocked down a peg or two before being considered worthy of her. I felt their relationship was very much like yin and yang.

In all, I felt this was an amazing book. While it started out slowly, I realized as I was reading that it was slow reading not because it did not hold my interest but rather because there was so much to absorb from each page. In addition, the class commentary is still very valid in today's society. I found North and South to be extremely worthwhile for the history and the life lessons it presents as well as for the introduction to some very memorable characters. ( )

This book is a great read, thus fulfilling the most important aspect of any novel. The heroine is beautiful and intelligent, the hero handsome and serious-minded, their first meeting unpropitious. She thinks he is rather beneath her. He thinks she is affected and a snob. Things don't improve any time soon… Jane Austin? No. Elizabeth Gaskell.

Mr Thornton (our hero) is the crie de coeur of Victorian moralists (and moralistic novelists) whose remedy for industrial strife and the alleviation of the terrible living and working conditions of many people was a 'change of heart' on the part of the factory owners. If they would see their workers as more than just mere 'hands' or items of labour expenditure, then they would treat them properly, with dignity, pay them well & etc. Thornton starts off as a fairly typical factory owner whose only interest in his workers is that of their being the material by which he can make profit. His view changes as the book progresses and I do not want to spoil the story by saying any more.

Margaret (our heroine) is given fairly strong characterisation and her hot temper and straightforward honesty are well drawn and save her from becoming just another beautiful heroine caught in a dreadful situation. She is a genuinely interesting character, realistically drawn. And here I have to say that, even though I am a dyed-in-the wool Dickens enthusiast, Elizabeth Gaskell has created a female character much in advance of The Master. His heroines are, for the most part, simply insufferable whiter-than-white, or blacker-than-black-but-white-underneath-it-all cardboard cut-outs. There are some marvellous creations of course, such as Miss Havisham, but they are very often so weird that she cannot possibly be seen as fully human.

North and South is a novel of the Two Englands, the pastoral, refined south, and the industrial, coarse north. The contrast between the two is well drawn, somewhat exaggerated, but exaggerated for the purpose of driving home how much a class difference there was between the peoples of either area. You really do feel the difference when the chapters bring you from one part (the rural) to the other (the built-up city). This is a novel attempting to come to terms with the Great Divide and to offer a way forward for the betterment of the working classes, but without revolution.

To say that many of the issues raised in this book in the area of 'industrial relations' are still relevant today is to say no more than that there are certain issues in 'industrial relations' which are perennial and long-lasting. One does not have to be a Marxist to know that an employer's aim is to make profits and that this is done by keeping costs down as much as possible and with little regard (if any) for workers. ('A company's first duty is towards its shareholders') And it is also true, everlastingly it seems, that a prolonged workers' strike will usually turn into a vicious internecine row between those who weaken and those who resolve to keep it going. These, and so many other thorny aspects of industrial life are at the core of this book. The 'solution' offered by Gaskelll (and also by Dickens) of a 'change of heart' by the bosses is of course wildly naïve. But short of preaching revolution, what other option was at hand? Even today with our complex industrial-relations machinery for settling disputes, our 'welfare state', and our more enlightened attitude towards workers' rights', we still have our ugly confrontations. It says something about Gaskell's awareness of her age that these issues intrude into what could have been just another Jane Austin heroine landing a good catch. Well, OK. There is a little of the Jane Austins about this novel. But there's a lot of the Stan Barstows too. A true classic and has lost little, if anything, of its relevance to our humankind in the 145 years that have passed since it was written. ( )

Beneath Gaskell's social, moral and industrial blathering, beats the heart of a powerful romance; or at least, beat the hearts of two of the most romantic characters I have encountered in a while.

Margaret Hale is at first arrogant and patronising, but matures into a wilful, noble heroine who must bear an almost gothic period of mourning in an incredibly brief time. Arriving from the indolent, gentle South, after her rather pathetic father suffers a crisis of confidence, Margaret immediately forms a prejudice against the hectic and polluted 'North', with its 'dark satanic mills', and professes an active hatred for the scruffy, uncouth plebs who dwell there. The fact that she is merely the daughter of 'gentleman' without means doesn't seem to alter her perspective. As one character says, 'she seems to have a notion of giving herself airs; I can't think why'.

But Margaret is young, and sheltered from reality, and the daughter of a delicate lady who married beneath her 'station'; if it is possible to endure the first few chapters in the mellow Hampshire village of 'Helstone', the reward comes when Margaret is toppled from her self-styled pedestal, by circumstance and familial bonds, and grows almost beyond recognition from a shallow, snobbish girl into a humble, generous, if shattered, woman. I went from feeling irritation to admiration, and finally finding Margaret - as is Mrs Gaskell's intention, no doubt - worthy of Mr Thornton's love.

Which leads me onto a hero who, in strength, pride, passion and sheer devotion, is more than a match for any Rochester or Darcy. John Thornton. I fell so much in love with the self-made master from 'Milton' (or Manchester) that the chapter where he visits the ailing Mrs Hale with a gift of fresh fruit, soon after Margaret's rejection of his heartfelt proposal, almost had me snivelling on the bus to work! He is absolutely fascinating, almost 'two chaps in one body', as Higgins describes him - the strong, silent millowner facing striking workers with grim determination, but also the loving son, who pulled himself and his family up after the suicide of his father, to make a name and a fortune for himself, yet who isn't too proud to seek a cultured polish to his lacking education and deal with the 'common man' as an equal. The charged dialogue - and silent gestures - between Mr Thornton and Margaret are far more erotic than any love scene (and these two only manage one kiss in the whole book!) John Thornton is now one of my favourite literary heroes, but it's because of his love for Margaret - from their first proper meeting, when he watches with rapt attention how she fidgets with a loose bracelet, to the brave, almost painful moment when he declares how he feels. These two are drawn, and belong, together, which is the true mark of soulmates in fiction.

The only failing I found with this novel is the ending - for me, the climax is to be found early on in chapter 24, after which the tension slowly dissipates among grand speeches and prolonged misunderstandings. Although I could appreciate Margaret's love for her brother, and the gloomy landscape Mrs Gaskell paints of 'Darkshire' (or Lancashire), all that really holds this story together is the attraction of opposites between Margaret and John. I enjoyed reading every scene with him, and found Margaret an inspiring Victorian heroine (once she grew up), but the thrill was in the chase. I was gripped through every chapter, abandoning another book to concentrate on this story, and savouring both historical fact and dramatic device - only to disappointed by the standard 'reversal of fortune' in the final pages. Why must a strong hero be brought down before the heroine is permitted to return his love? Wouldn't the union of two equal partners, in status and personality, be more exciting than the powerful woman stooping to raise up her man? I can understand why Gaskell and other female authors might have been tempted to redress certain social inequalities of the Victorian era in their writing, but John Thornton deserves more than the same old treatment. The long-awaited resolution between John and Margaret makes me wish that someone would write a sequel, however lacking, for this novel, but their playful words also seem rushed. Mrs Gaskell was apparently under pressure to complete her story, and I share what must have been her frustration at the result.

Engrossing, educational, evocative; witty in places (especially droll Mr Bell), and bitter in parts, 'North and South' is a novel of changing moods and times. Recommended. ( )

I just read this book for the first time, and truly enjoyed it. I never had to read this in school, and felt bad that I didn't even know the story. I am so glad I took the time to read this- it was such a wonderful story and piece of literature- I am looking forward to reading the rest of her books. ( )