A review by quoththegirl
Cousin Phillis by Elizabeth Gaskell

3.0

Like Cranford, this novella was originally serialized. I didn't find either novella to be as good as North and South, but admittedly these are shorter and there's less time for plot and character development. Cousin Phillis is short and sweet, though maybe a little saccharine and unrealistic, particularly by today's standards. The minister and Phillis are both interesting characters, although I couldn't help but be disappointed that Phillis' brilliant mind was reduced to
Spoilerliterally almost dying from grief after Holdsworth marries someone else
, and I don't see why Holdsworth gets off scot-free in the book for his misleading behavior. Paul as narrator is almost incidental (as in the case of the narrator in Cranford--I think both just give the reader someone to cling to in the serialized format so as not to get lost between one installment and the next), and the story ends somewhat abruptly, without Gaskell's usually neatly tied ends.