The ending was very satisfying but I had such a hard time getting into this. All the elderly ladies felt the same for a long time.

This book gives a good feel for what life was like for women in the 1800s in England. It's nice to read a book in which women who are unmarried still live full lives. Gaskell writes with humor about some of the more ridiculous aspects of life in the town as well as the charity and love the women showed to each other. I did feel the book was a bit disjointed and didn't have a well-thought-out plot.

Cranford. A town comfortable in its aging skin, full of women whom have scarcely left its boundaries and whose companionship and small dramas are the meat of life. Our narrator is a bit of an outsider - she lives in another town but comes and stays with two of our main characters, the spinster sisters Deborah and Matty. Deborah, firm and harsh to a fault, Matty timid and ever-gracious. Their relationships with their neighbors and with new-comers, especially, is at the heart of this absolutely delightful novel.

Sharp and witty writing - Gaskell's tongue-in-cheek and gentle mocking of her characters through the narrator was so fun to read. Matty is such a special lady, and Miss Pole, especially, is a riot. There are tender moments and bits that made me chuckle to myself, their problems are sometimes so trivial and other times so heartbreaking. I loved being in a small British town in a time when a traveling magician was the highlight of the year, people might be inclined to knit pajamas for their cows to keep them warm and a new dress was the greatest splurge. Mostly, it was just as comfortable as a favorite old sweater or a soft chair sitting in a sunny spot. I felt right at home in that town and with those women, I wouldn't change a thing about this story.

This was a super sweet book, and I really enjoyed reading it. I had started watching the Masterpiece Theater production of Cranford, but I got interrupted before I finished it, so I thought that I would read the book when I had the opportunity. The humor found throughout this book was wonderful. This little town of Cranford is just full of interesting and quirky characters, and the humor works so well because no one is aware of the quirkiness around them. To these women their eccentricities are the norm and what is expected for their community. They have a strong suspicion about anything that is from outside their little town. I especially thought their opinions about men were hilarious. To be honest this novel was closer to a 3.5 rating than a solid 3. While I enjoyed reading it, there wasn't a solid plot line that carried throughout the book, so I was never inspired to have to continue to read. In fact, after finishing about a quarter of the book I put it down and read an entire other series of books. Then after finishing that series I picked this one up, started right where I had left off, and didn't miss a beat. I was able to pick the story right up without any problem. Instead of there being any real unifying plot to carry the book, it was simply a series of stories about the events in the lives of the characters living in this village. Reading it was kind of like watching a sit-com in which every episode can stand independently of the others, and only the cast of characters stay the same. This book is well worth picking up and reading. I loved the characters and the little town they lived in. I don't regret reading it at all. It just isn't a book that went to my heart and made me want to drop everything to continue. But, it was a cute, funny, and sometimes touching novel that I did enjoy a lot.

It's been a long time since I've read such a charming book full of eccentric, likable characters. It felt like I was reading gossipy letters from an old friend who felt duty-bound to keep me informed of all the home news.

Funny and wholesome, a much gentler and more domestic window into 19th-century life in the north of England than North and South, which I also liked. Charming characters and lively storytelling.