This is my third Elizabeth Gaskell novel (North and South, Wives and Daughters) and although it has taken me a while, I am starting to really admire her work. This is among other things a cautionary tale about how love is "three parts fancy and only a fourth part reason", with frustrating and potentially tragic consequences. It is the story of a love triangle. Throughout, you are kept guessing as to just how things will end - and the ending is powerful and perfect and sad.