Round the Sofa
by Elizabeth Gaskell
On This Page
Description
""Round the Sofa"", a short fiction novel, was written by Elizabeth Gaskell in 1896.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
“Round the Sofa” consists of seven short tales, of which the title story features different characters who relate the other six.
Three of these I’ve read elsewhere, so skipped over them here. A third one was a non-fiction account that didn’t appeal to me, thus I bypassed this one too.
I started three others, all of which I gave up on, as they didn’t hold my attention. They were more like extended rambles, featuring endless description, excessive words, and an overkill of punctuation.
The title story that serves as a framework was pleasant enough, so because of this and for those I’ve previously read, I rated this short story collection 3 stars rather than 2.
I tend to find Mrs Gaskell’s short stories and novellas somewhat show more hit and miss. Her novels appear to me as her greatest strength. show less
Three of these I’ve read elsewhere, so skipped over them here. A third one was a non-fiction account that didn’t appeal to me, thus I bypassed this one too.
I started three others, all of which I gave up on, as they didn’t hold my attention. They were more like extended rambles, featuring endless description, excessive words, and an overkill of punctuation.
The title story that serves as a framework was pleasant enough, so because of this and for those I’ve previously read, I rated this short story collection 3 stars rather than 2.
I tend to find Mrs Gaskell’s short stories and novellas somewhat show more hit and miss. Her novels appear to me as her greatest strength. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
231+ Works 30,505 Members
Elizabeth Gaskell was born on September 29, 1810 to a Unitarian clergyman, who was also a civil servant and journalist. Her mother died when she was young, and she was brought up by her aunt in Knutsford, a small village that was the prototype for Cranford, Hollingford and the setting for numerous other short stories. In 1832, she married William show more Gaskell, a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She participated in his ministry and collaborated with him to write the poem Sketches among the Poor in 1837. Our Society at Cranford was the first two chapters of Cranford and it appeared in Dickens' Household Words in 1851. Dickens liked it so much that he pressed Gaskell for more episodes, and she produced eight more of them between 1852 and 1853. She also wrote My Lady Ludlow and Lois the Witch, a novella that concerns the Salem witch trials. Wives and Daughters ran in Cornhill from August 1864 to January 1866. The final installment was never written but the ending was known and the novel exists now virtually complete. The story centers on a series of relationships between family groups in Hollingford. Most critics agree that her greatest achievement is the short novel Cousin Phillis. Gaskell was also followed by controversy. In 1853, she offended many readers with Ruth, which explored seduction and illegitimacy that led the "fallen woman" into ostracism and inevitable prostitution. The novel presents the social conduct in a small community when tolerance and morality clash. Critics praised the novel's moral lessons but Gaskell's own congregation burned the book and it was banned in many libraries. In 1857, The Life of Charlotte Brontë was published. The biography was initially praised but angry protests came from some of the people it dealt with. Gaskell was against any biographical notice of her being written during her lifetime. After her death on November 12, 1865, her family refused to make family letters or biographical data available. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 28
- Popularity
- 980,426
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English, French, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 3
