Cranford Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Books
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Cranford Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Books
In this classic novel, Elizabeth Gaskell introduces us to the small village of Cranford. Largely dominated by lower class women, we read the stories of life in a small impoverished hamlet in Victorian England. Such stories include the women of Cranford entertaining visitors, going about their daily lives, losing dear friends, and losing their life savings. As the women of Cranford endure such things, their neighbors offer all they have to give in order to help their friends.I really loved this book. I love the Victorian era, and this book gave some insight into what life was like for those Victorians that were not born into royalty. It was a lighter read than books like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I really liked how the Cranford women were there for one another. When one hit a rough patch, the others were there to help and support her in any way they could. It’s a nice message to read about and one that I think ought to be portrayed more in literature.
This was a wonderful novel. Any fan of classic literature should read Cranford.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
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Cranford Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Books Reviews
"Cranford" is likely the best known novel of Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell. The novel follows the day-to-day social lives of a group of upper-middle-class women in the small, fictional town of Cranford, England. Rather than having a strong narrative, the novel delivers a tableau of social goings on that illuminate the characters and their lives. These stories are told largely through the eyes of a younger lady (Miss Mary Smith) who often visits from a nearby town. The ladies of Cranford are not rich, but wealthy enough to belong to a certain social strata, and much of the comedy derives from their careful considerations of who to include and exclude at various social gatherings. Miss Matty is essentially the main protagonist, and she is a basically kind woman if a bit miserly, especially when it comes to candles. She and her friends typically look to the most prominent member of Cranford female society, Miss Jamieson, and then assiduously follow her lead. Unfortunately, Miss Jamieson is sometimes rather narrow-minded, unlike the other ladies, which creates certain socially awkward situations.
This enjoyable novel may seem a bit meandering to some readers, given that there is not a main narrative thread. The novel was originally published in serialized form in "Household Words" (edited by Charles Dickens), which may partially help explain its lack of a strong plot. Indeed, the 2007 BBC mini-series versions of "Cranford" included stories from several of Gaskell's other novels. However, the stories here all add up to a devastatingly accurate picture of small town life and the sometimes vicious yet amusing ways in which people in them behave. Gaskell clearly understood human nature, and readers are likely to recognize many truths about human foibles in her stories. I found myself laughing and touched often.
Note This review is for the version. The text is well-arranged and does not contain any noticeable errors, although there are lots of spaces in between section and subsections (which actually makes reading easier). This version has no extras, such as a biography of Gaskell or an introduction to the text; however, such materials are so easily available on the internet now that this exclusion is not a major debit.
This volume contains three independent novels. The first one, The Cranford Novellas consists of stories about a small town where the society is composed and controlled by elderly women. The stories are written in first person by a younger woman who lives in a different town but who frequently visits Cranford as a house guest of the Jenkyns sisters, two spinsters who rank high in the society. The older, Miss Deborah Jenkyns. is severe and controlling while Miss Matty, the younger, is sweet and loving. The narrator, Mary Smith, is enveloped into the society and makes pithy comments on the culture of Cranford, which has been frozen in time in a state that is old-fashioned even to her Victorian notion. A few men characters come into the story and add spice to the tale. Interesting characters are well developed, and I understand that Cranford was produced as a TV mini-series. This is an amusing read.
The second novel is Mr. Harrison's Confession. The story starts in a cozy drawing room in the home of Mr. Harrison. (I don't know why he isn't called Dr. Harrison, as he is a medical doctor.) His brother has just returned to England after spending many years in Ceylon. The brother, Charles, asks the doctor how he wooed and won his charming wife. Mr. Harrison warns that it will be a long story, but with Charles' encouragement, he launches into the tale. As a new young doctor, working under Mr. Morgan, an established village doctor, Mr. Harrison becomes embroiled in a horrendous romantic tangle that seems impossible to resolve. He finds that three young women think they are engaged to him at the same time, and that does not include the girl he loves and wants to marry. Read the story to see how it comes out.
I give it four stars instead of five only because I feel it doesn't quite reach the level of many books of my favorite Victorian author Margaret Oliphant.
The third novel is My Lady Ludlow. This story is also told in the first person by Margaret Dawson, a young girl who at sixteen is the oldest daughter of a large family of nine children. Upon the death of her clergyman father, Margaret's mother, who boasts some noble blood and connections, sends out letters far and wide to loosely related persons asking for help in raising her large family. An answer comes back from Lady Ludlow offering to take Margaret and incorporate her into her household where she is raising five young women who are somehow related to her, no matter how distantly. Margaret becomes one of the five. The rest of the novel centers around the Hanbury Estate of which Lady Ludlow is the noble person in charge.
Lady Ludlow has also been the mother of nine children, but has lost them all except for the oldest, Lord Ludlow, lord of the Ludlow estates but who presently is representing England as ambassador to a European country. Lady Ludlow on the other hand is the lady of the estate of her own family Hanbury. Lady Ludlow believes strongly in the superiority of the nobility and very much looks down on the common people. She is very annoyed by a young clergyman, Mr. Gray, who has ideas of educating the poor on her estate. The plot is well developed and centers around the "modern" idea of having a school for the poor. Lady Ludlow, who in spite of her superiority complex is a charming, lovable little person with a soft heart, is very opinionated against the idea, and at one point she tells Margaret a long story about how the ability of a common boy to read caused the death of a friend of hers, a young noble Frenchman, and his beloved on the guillotine. Margaret by this time has become a cripple and because of her disability spends much time in a soft chair in Lady Ludlow's room and to some extent becomes her confident.
As well as her prejudice against the social rise of commoners, the lady also has a strong dislike towards Dissenters, and feels that illegitimate children should be treated as though they do not exist. While not a major thrust of the book, these two prejudices of Lady Ludlow's are dealt with as well. I appreciated seeing these social issues through the eyes of a gentlewoman of the early 19th century.
In this classic novel, Elizabeth Gaskell introduces us to the small village of Cranford. Largely dominated by lower class women, we read the stories of life in a small impoverished hamlet in Victorian England. Such stories include the women of Cranford entertaining visitors, going about their daily lives, losing dear friends, and losing their life savings. As the women of Cranford endure such things, their neighbors offer all they have to give in order to help their friends.
I really loved this book. I love the Victorian era, and this book gave some insight into what life was like for those Victorians that were not born into royalty. It was a lighter read than books like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I really liked how the Cranford women were there for one another. When one hit a rough patch, the others were there to help and support her in any way they could. It’s a nice message to read about and one that I think ought to be portrayed more in literature.
This was a wonderful novel. Any fan of classic literature should read Cranford.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
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