echombravo 's review for:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

4.0

---

I had some many comments while reading this book that I was going to put in a review. However, most of them I have forgotten. It felt wordy to me in the beginning. I believe that was me getting back into reading Victorian literature. The pace felt slow until the characters got to Milton. Once there, it's like the rhythm of the industrial city helped move the book forward. It's a class book, most definitely. So, the speeches on class responsibility and place in society are very prominent. Once the deaths of the book start, the pace slows again making the grief suffocating. Margaret was a great character; I like how she had her own mind and counsel. She took care of herself. The romance is done well from Mr.Thornton's viewpoint, but I did think it was hard to see why Margaret chooses him.