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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love this book, but I'd be lying if I said that the book itself caught my eye.
I stumbled across North and South the BBC 2006 adaptation with Richard Armitage (who I have loved since a child in The Vicar of Dibley and the 2006 BBC Robin Hood - big BBC year for Richard) and just loved it and had to read the book.
Now, personally the book drags for me. I wanted so badly to love it and devour it as I had Pride and Prejudice especially considering it's basically the Victorian version of Pride and Prejudice anyways. There are some very serious debates on working conditions in factory mills and a real push and pull between Margaret and Mr Thornton (I'd call him by his first name but it just feels wrong?) and they are interesting in terms of revealing certain aspects of Victorian life and the place of religion and work in the lives of the characters, how the attitude towards education and work differs. And of course the push and pull from the different cultures of the north and south of England. But they really went on and rambled and I found them hard to follow, I am a bit dumb though so take that with a pinch of salt.
But I just have to give it four stars as it makes you (or well me with my Armitage bias) love a factory owner. The scene where he exclaims 'I don't want to possess you! I wish to marry you becuase I love you!' yes go simp go! But the book's version of his rejected marriage proposal just takes the biscuit. The drama of the man seeing a weeping child and basically goes same and walks to the bus stop without realising and then gets on to the middle of nowhere just to save face rather than admit he'd not meant to be at the bus stop - what a shambles I love him. I'm sure far more intelligent people have more to say about this book, the relationship of work, class, education and religion and the role of Margaret's saving the Mill - a place she once thought of as a kind of hell, has she put her opinions of the working conditions to one side or has she assimilated and understands the need for work for the working classes? Who's to say? Does that ramble even make sense? That's simply not for me to say- I'm here purely for the silliest man in the factory
I stumbled across North and South the BBC 2006 adaptation with Richard Armitage (who I have loved since a child in The Vicar of Dibley and the 2006 BBC Robin Hood - big BBC year for Richard) and just loved it and had to read the book.
Now, personally the book drags for me. I wanted so badly to love it and devour it as I had Pride and Prejudice especially considering it's basically the Victorian version of Pride and Prejudice anyways. There are some very serious debates on working conditions in factory mills and a real push and pull between Margaret and Mr Thornton (I'd call him by his first name but it just feels wrong?) and they are interesting in terms of revealing certain aspects of Victorian life and the place of religion and work in the lives of the characters, how the attitude towards education and work differs. And of course the push and pull from the different cultures of the north and south of England. But they really went on and rambled and I found them hard to follow, I am a bit dumb though so take that with a pinch of salt.
But I just have to give it four stars as it makes you (or well me with my Armitage bias) love a factory owner. The scene where he exclaims 'I don't want to possess you! I wish to marry you becuase I love you!' yes go simp go! But the book's version of his rejected marriage proposal just takes the biscuit. The drama of the man seeing a weeping child and basically goes same and walks to the bus stop without realising and then gets on to the middle of nowhere just to save face rather than admit he'd not meant to be at the bus stop - what a shambles I love him. I'm sure far more intelligent people have more to say about this book, the relationship of work, class, education and religion and the role of Margaret's saving the Mill - a place she once thought of as a kind of hell, has she put her opinions of the working conditions to one side or has she assimilated and understands the need for work for the working classes? Who's to say? Does that ramble even make sense? That's simply not for me to say- I'm here purely for the silliest man in the factory
Fell in love with the series with Richard Armitage. Found out recently there was a book. It is definitely different than the series but goes into further depth of Margaret and Mr. Thornton. It was a delightful read.
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you like pride and prejudice, combine that with Victorian class struggle.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Sexism, Suicide
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Another portal to another time. The concerns of this book - class identities grafted onto geographic spaces - is something that remains relevant in 21st century America. While some of the set-ups could feel contrived (the way characters are arranged to represent their class, often in the most favorable way) and the coincidences pile on (like the dead Boucher arriving just as Margaret and Mr. Higgins are discussing him), the underlying writing and humanism carries it off. In the end, I cared for the characters and was eager to know where they’d end up - what more could I really ask?
Returning to politics, I couldn’t help but map the concerns of 19th century England onto my own environment. The divides here are not specifically around money - the Hales, after all, are considerably worse off than the Thorntons when they meet - but around class in some broader sense. Money is part of it, but the notion that even the most successful manufacturer couldn’t buy his way into high-society and would be beneath the educated Mr. Hale shows that money isn’t everything. Thinking about contemporary U.S., with our intense geographic sorting and polarization on education more than anything else, it would seem this book is speaking directly to our concerns. Somewhat unfortunately, the answer offered isn’t that deep: talk to each other, see the humanity in one another, and then all will be well. Margaret disdains manufacturers until developing an at first grudging respect, then affection for Mr. Thornton. Mr. Thornton regards his workers as fools until being pushed to get to know Mr. Higgins. To her credit, she doesn’t see this as a way to fully resolve society’s prejudices (the book ends with Margaret and Thornton wondering what their families will think), but she does think that on an individual level it would do the trick. This is the great wish of all centrist fantasists - that no differences are so great that they can’t be bridged by an open mind and a little conversation. It’s far too simplistic. And in that vein, Gaskell doesn’t seem to want to pick sides in the labor/capital debate she’s raising - she wants to have us believe that both sides have a point and are basically decent people doing what they think is best.
Thankfully, the rest of the book works beautifully. Despite being stand-ins for their class, the characters mostly end up deepened and humanized in a way that almost makes you believe the politics. The tragedies feel tragic and the long route to a resolution of the romantic plot ends up feeling earned. Margaret, in particular, is real and independent and complex in a way that female characters often are not. A real step-up from her original publisher Dickens. She’s just turning down marriage proposals left and right and I love it. There’s also a nice undercurrent of humor, like when Mr. Hale first has the notion that Margaret and Mr. Thornton might be an item and goes to bed spending the rest of the night resolved not to think about it (actual quote not handy). Anyway, there was more than enough in the book that I liked to make me forgive the stuff I didn’t (stuff which I don’t think was even all that uncommon in Gaskell’s day).
An enjoyable read--a very typical Victorian novel in some ways, with a lot of elements that reminded me of other novels. I enjoyed the romance but thought the pacing was a little off in spots.