Romantic Passages from Favorite Reads Part IV

The Book: North And South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Chpt. 27
The Setting: 1850s, London, England
The Scene: John Thornton and Margaret Hale reach an understanding.. at last!

"While she sought for this paper, her very heart-pulse was arrested by the tone in which Mr. Thornton spoke. His voice was hoarse, and trembling with tender passion, as he said:---

'Margaret!'

For an instant she looked up; and then sought to veil her luminous eyes by dropping her forehead on her hands. Again, stepping nearer, he besought her with another tremulous eager call upon her name,

'Margaret!'

Still lower went the head; more closely hidden was the face, almost resting on the table before her. He came close to her. He knelt by her side, to bring his face to a level with her ear; and whispered--panted out the words:--

'Take care.--If you do not speak--I shall claim you as my own in some strange presumptuous way.--Send me away at once, if I must go;--Margaret!--'

At that third call she turned her face, still covered with her small white hands, towards him, and laid it on his shoulder, hiding it even there; and it was too delicious to feel her soft cheek against his, for him to wish to see either deep blushes or loving eyes. He clasped her close. But they both kept silence. At length she murmured in a broken voice:

'Oh, Mr. Thornton, I am not good enough!'

'Not good enough! Don't mock my own deep feeling of unworthiness.'

After a minute or two, he gently disengaged her hands from her face, and laid her arms as they had once before been placed to protect him from the rioters..."

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North & South (reviewed)
North & South (Free AudioBook)

A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins & Adelaide Anne Procter

102 pages
First published 1858, reprinted 2004
Indy Publish
Boston, Massachusetts

Some time ago my friend and fellow bibliophile, Alison, and I were searching online for future reading ideas. She stumbled upon a little known book titled A House to Let which was co-authored by five authors, among the most notable of the five were Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Wilkie Collins. Intrigued I put the book on my list to read one day... That day finally came. At the May meeting of my book club both A House to Let and Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens were selected as our reads before the next meeting in July.

A House to Let was first published in 1858 in an edition of Dickens' Household Words magazine. The story is split up in six chapters or segments. And with the exception of the first and last chapters, which were co-written by Dickens and Collins, each chapter was written by one of the five authors. Gaskell wrote the second, Dickens the third, Procter the fourth, and Collins the fifth, with Dickens handling editing for the entire novel. Apparently the story was enough of a success and enjoyment to write to encourage the group to join forces again and co-write The Haunted House in 1859.

At 102 pages, A House to Let is a short novel told in the first person by an elderly spinster named Sophonisba (a.k.a. Sarah), who has moved in across the street from a run down and abandoned house. Sophonisba's interest is sparked when she learns that the house, shrouded in mystery, has not been let for years and will never let. With the aide of an old admirer, Jabez Jarber, and her devoted servant, Trottle the research and sleuthing begins and by the end of the story the mystery is solved and things are put right in typical Dickens fashion. Throughout the story various characters, stories, and possible solutions to the mystery are submitted to Sophonisba, including stories of romance, tragedy, epic poetry, suspense, and swashbuckling adventure.

Overall I enjoyed A House to Let. I admit, I did find it a little slow at first, not because of the wording, but because I had no idea what I was getting into (the used copy I bought turned out to be a different edition than I expected and it didn't include a description or introduction to the story on either the inside or outside of the cover). Nevertheless, if the reader is persistent the story does pick up and reward the reader in the end.

On a scale of 1-5, 1 being horrible and 5 being excellent I would rate A House to Let a 3.5. I really enjoyed the story. I think it was a fun read, especially considering the number of celebrated authors involved in its creation. But I don't think it was said authors' best work. Still, if a reader is curious to read something by Collins, Dickens, or Gaskell, but is daunted by the length or wording of their individual novels, this might be a good place to start.

Unfortunately copies of A House to Let are hard to locate. None of my local libraries possessed a copy, so I ended up buying one online from a used bookseller for $3.50. Although it wasn't the edition I wanted, I decided to keep it and it now rests amongst my other Collins, Dickens, and Gaskell novels.

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Note: For those interested in reading one or more of the stand alone novels by these authors I recommend: North and South, Wives and Daughters, Ruth, and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I've only read one by Wilikie Collins entitled, The Woman in White, but it was excellent! As for Dickens, my favorite so far has been Bleak House, but I've heard many wonderful things about David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities, I know they are great reads and I plan to read them one day. Oh and, stay tuned for my review of Little Dorrit.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

A delightful reading... A wonderfully clever and romantic tale... on par with the best of 19th century classics... that's what comes to mind when I try to describe how I feel about Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel, Wives and Daughters.

Published in serial form from 1864 to 1866, Wives and Daughters is the story of Molly Gibson the seventeen-year old daughter of a widowed country doctor. Set in the English town of Hollingford, Mrs. Gaskell writes at her very best as she weaves a tale of romance, mystery, gossip and scandal, sorrow (including death), and just the day-t0-day life of the 1830s. Through the story the reader is introduced to so many unforgettably wonderful and varying characters.

The hardest part of this story is that at the very end... one chapter away from a beautiful "happily ever after" Austen-type ending, Mrs. Gaskell died. The last chapter (Chapter 60) leaves you with a hint of what was to come in the next chapter or conclusion, but sadly the reader doesn't have the joy of reading it in her words. Instead the conclusion is written by Gaskell's editor and he kindly lays out what the final chapter was to include as well as further insights into the characters in the story.

But even though you, the reader, are robbed the pleasure of reading the beautiful ending in Mrs. Gaskell's words, you do not lose the chance to find out exactly how the "happily ever after" was to play out, which as the editor said, "is what we are most concerned about."

I loved this story. It is a must read, especially for those fond of any 19th century classic. I first learned the story of Molly Gibson and her world when I watched the BBC adaptation last summer. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and decided that I must read the book. Unfortunately the length of the book (649 pages) and the fact that the story was published unfinished kept me from reading it. Of course only later did I discover that while "unfinished" the editor did include a conclusion (see above), which made me much happier at the thought of reading it.

And so when the mood struck I took Wives and Daughters from my bookshelf and dove in. I quickly found the story captivating and very difficult to put down, but of course due to its length it did take some time to read. Now that I've finished it I am only sorry I waited so long to read it! It is a delightful story and claims a top spot on my "Favorite Books" list.

Of course now that I've read it I must go back and re-watch the movie, which I am pleased to say was very true to the book. It was one of the best adaptations I've ever seen (on par with the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice). The only variation from the book is the ending -- the screenwriter kindly made a few alterations to the ending which allow the viewer to see what could have been included in the book had Mrs. Gaskell lived a few more weeks.

If you have not read this book add it to your list, you won't regret the time it takes to read it.

*As a postscript some may find it interesting -- I read that the title Wives and Daughters was a nod of sorts by Gaskell to the 1862 novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. I know little of the latter, but thought it an interesting little factoid.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Crandford, the last in this week's unofficial "Gaskell review" series, is also the most recent Gaskell novel I've read. Like North and South, Cranford was first published in serial form in the magazine Household Words and was edited by Charles Dickens. It first appeared in 1851 and is her second novel.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying two of Gaskell's other novels I had high expectations for Cranford and Gaskell did not disappoint.


Cranford is a novel about a little town in England in the mid 1800s. Most of the town's occupants are widows or spinsters, but their lives are by no means dreary. Throughout the story (told in first person by a young woman visitor, Mary Smith) you hear of the adventures of these women, both in the past when they were younger and in the present.

As always Gaskell's writing is superb. The humor was great and I found myself laughing out loud on various occasions. And there were so many quotable passages! Something else I enjoyed about this book was the fact that each chapter could stand alone -- almost as if it was a short story itself and yet they tied together to weave a story from cover to cover. This made it easy to read here and there as I had time without worrying about where I left off in the story.

In many ways Cranford is not like Gaskell's other works, but it is delightful in its own way and a quick and somewhat light read for the era. I highly recommend it. The copy I own is a Penguin Classics edition, clocking in at 187 pages. Additional reading is included in the notes, glossary, and three appendixes which are useful and informative.

Shortly after reading Cranford PBS' Masterpiece Classics aired a new mini-series adaptation of the novel. The mini-series was well made with great costumes, sets, and a who's who of classic British actors and actresses. Unfortunately I found the mini-series dull in comparison to the book and a little irritating as several liberties were taken and characters were added to "fluff" or dramatize and "fill out" the story, both I felt completely unnecessary. In my opinion, Cranford as a novel had plenty of "meat" to make it a worthwhile story without having to add anything to it.

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

After reading North and South I wanted to read another of Gaskell's books, but wasn't quite ready to plunge into the weighty 650-some page novel Wives and Daughters, so I opted for Gaskell's third novel, the little-known novel Ruth, originally published in three volumes in 1853.

Ruth is considered a social novel as it deals with a Victorian society's views on sin and illegitimacy.

At the beginning of the novel the heroine, Ruth, is a young woman (about 16) who is orphaned and apprenticed by her guardian to a dressmaker. During this apprenticeship she meets upon a handsome and rich young squire, Henry Bellingham. Bellingham is drawn to Ruth's sweet innocent beauty and begins to seduce her. Without the moral guidance of a family member or guardian nearby Ruth is oblivious to any wrong she has done. All she knows is that she is alone in the world and madly in love with someone who loves and cares for her.

It is only when her lover abandons her and Ruth is treated cruelly by those around her that she realizes how wrong she has been and how great her sin. Alone in a Welsh village Ruth, pregnant and despairing, is rescued from committing suicide by a kind and godly minister and his sister. In an effort to protect Ruth's child from a life of cruelty for his mother's sin, the minister and his sister pretend that Ruth is a distant relative and a widow. This earns her and her child respectability in their neighborhood. Meanwhile as Ruth grows and matures as a woman and mother you learn of her repentant spirit and love for God. It looks as though her past is finally behind her... until her lover returns... her secret is unveiled... and the shunning begins...

The story has a beautiful, but bittersweet ending and overall it is so well written. One aspect I particularly enjoyed is the depth of the relationship between Ruth, the minister and his sister, and God. This isn't a shallow "Christian" novel. Gaskell's writing is as good as Jane Austen, but she isn't afraid to be open and clear about sinners, the repentant, and how Christians should behave towards such people. In my opinion this novel would put any modern Christian novel to shame for it's shallowness and cheap writing, which is why I tend to avoid Christian novels published after a certain point.

What I found intriguing about this book is that it is recorded as being the first novel to have a "fallen woman" as the heroine. In today's society an unwed mother is not nearly as scandalous as it was two-hundred years ago. While I certainly do not advocate such life, I truly believe as the minister, Mr. Benson, explains -- if Christ could forgive a woman such as Mary Magdalene's character when she repented, so should we and not treat people with cruelty. I won't say anymore, if you want to know how it ends you'll have to read the book yourself. It will be worth it, I promise.

The copy I borrowed from the library (purchased upon my request) was a Penguin Classics edition and steady, but fascinating read at 432 pages. As a Penguin publication footnotes on the text are included and are often useful to the reader.

North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell

While I work through my current book selections (I hope to post reviews on them next week) I thought I might as well post some reviews I wrote on a few books I enjoyed earlier this year. Today I am reviewing the first, a novel, written by Elizabeth Gaskell (aka Mrs. Gaskell). Be sure to check back over the next few days for the rest of my reviews.

I am a real fan of Gaskell's work having read three of her books with a fourth on my "To Read" list. Before last year I knew nothing of this author. She was a contemporary of Charles Dickens (Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, etc.) and Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White, The Moonstone, etc.) and in fact had many of her stories published by Dickens in serial form. She also co-wrote a book with Dickens and Collins.

Elizabeth Gaskell is most noted for her books North and South and Wives and Daughters. BBC has adapted those two plus the most recent Cranford to film -- all of which were well made, though the first two were by far the best adaptations.

I read Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South a few months after viewing the BBC film adaptation (which, by the way, I really enjoyed). Although the movie stayed very true to the story, there were a few minor changes, but nothing disturbing to the reader if they were to see the movie after reading the book, or vice versa. Still, I have to say I enjoyed the book even more than I expected. I had expected the book to be just like the movie, but it was even better.

Originally published in serial form in the magazine Household Words during the years 1854 and 1855, North and South was one of many stories written by Gaskell and edited by Charles Dickens. The story follows the heroine, Margaret Hale, from London to the south of England where she lives with her parents before being uprooted to the north of England to an industrial town and a total change of lifestyle. At this time she meets the haughty and rich owner of a local mill, John Thornton. An "Elizabeth/Darcy" type of misunderstanding clouds Margaret and John's views of each other at first, but unforeseeable situations force them to take a closer look and reconsider their views of each other, themselves, and those around them.

The book is more than Margaret's story and more than a love story; it addresses themes of responsibility, duty, class, and the day-to-day struggles of those you meet throughout the novel.

I enjoyed Gaskell's writing style. I did not find it any more difficult to read than Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, or even Charles Dickens. Although, Gaskell’s style might be considered more Austen-like if compared to those three. The one part of the story that I had difficulty following was the dialect and thus conversations of two characters -- those being Nicholas Higgins and his daughter Bessie. It took me several pages before I figured out exactly what some of their words meant. One example is, "hoo" instead of "she", but once I figured that out I was able to read their conversations much more clearly and quickly. (And speaking of Nicholas Higgins. Talk about irony. I knew a Nicholas Higgins once... and a John Thornton too.)

North and South was a steady, but enjoyable read. The copy I own is a Norton Critical Edition publication, which was only 395 pages and included footnotes that I found very helpful as I read. As a bonus readers can enjoy some of Gaskell's short stories (i.e. Lizzie Leigh) and letters included in the appendix.

If you enjoy 19th century novels, or at least Jane Austen, you should definitely add this book to your reading list. Particularly if you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion you will enjoy this book. I love a good romantic ending to a book and I don't mean romance as described through vividly worded pictures of passion that you find in modern books; the romance I mean is more a subtle 19th century passion of the heart. North and South's ending was... well you'll have to just read it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.