Fiction Friday

This week, we are going way backlist for Fiction Friday with North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is a classic book that I don’t think gets the attention it deserves. Jane Austin gets so much attention that books like North and South are often overlooked.

When I am asked what my favorite Jane Austen book is, I often say North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I know that North and South is not a Jane Austen book, so it doesn’t answer the question, but I would much rather read North and South over any Jane Ausin book.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility, but I have read North and South more times than I have read any Jane Austen book.

I read North and South for the first time over twenty years ago. I reread it about ten years ago.

After reading the Emma M. Lion books, I was inspired to pick North and South up again for another reread.

As I was reading it this week, I knew it would make an excellent book for Fiction Friday.

Years ago, I recommended North and South to a friend. She started reading it and told me that when she began the book, she thought it was about the Civil War. To which I said, No, it is about northern and southern England.

So, if you are wondering what North and South is about, it is not a Civil War book; it is a book set in 1800s England.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell was first published in 1855. It was initially published in 1854 and 1855 as a serial novel in a magazine edited by Charles Dickens. It was then published as a book in 1855.

It is based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s observation of life in England during the mid-1800s.

Margaret Hale and John Thornton are two of my favorite characters from classic literature. In my opinion, Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing of these two people is brilliant.

Margaret Hale is the daughter of a clergyman, who lived a relatively privileged life in southern England.

When Margaret’s father leaves the Church of England, her family has to leave the south for the northern, more industrial part of England.

This is a great picture of the time period in England.

Many clergyman left the Chuch of England because of doctrinal differences. They didn’t leave religion; they left the Church of England, and when you left the Church of England, there were many consequences.

Margaret’s family is a picture of what many clergymen faced when leaving the Church of England in the 1800s.

To make a living in the north, Margaret’s father had to become a tutor. One of his students is John Thorton, a mill owner, who worked his way up from shop boy to running a large mill.

Margaret and John are two very different people from two very different backgrounds. Throughout the book, they struggle to understand each other.

I love all the conversations and banter back and forth between John and Margaret. They are not quite the same dry humor conversations as Jane Austin writes, but they are so well done.

Mixed in with the love story of John and Margaret is the story of class issues in England at the time.

It is the story of how the Industrial Revolution changed life in England. It is also the story of the clash between mill workers and mill owners during the 1800s and the clash between the industrial north and the agricultural south.

One of my favorite scenes in the book is at the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was the first World’s Fair. Margaret finally starts to see who John really is and why he loves the industrial north like he does.

I don’t want to say much more about the book because I do not want to give spoilers.

I do want to talk about the movie North and South, though.

I love the North and South BBC mini-series from 2004. It is so well done. Yes, the book is better, but the movie is a pretty good adaptation.

I love both the 1995 and 2005 versions of Pride and Prejudice movies, but, like the books, I prefer the North and South mini-series over any of the Pride and Prejudice movies.

If you love Jane Ausin movies and have not watched the North and South mini-series, I highly recommend it.

Have you read the book North and South? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.