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A review by byrdnash
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
5.0
This is a first POV told by a young woman who has friends in Cranford. She gives the outsider POV but also has an intimate knowledge of the inhabitants of this genteel backwater where ladies call after the noon hour and don't stay longer then 15 minutes.
The stories (originally published in magazine installments) are also slow moving and have subtle humor that if you are not reading carefully will miss it. Such as Mrs. Forester hiring a boy to stay at her house to guard against robbers, while at the same time admitting that he sleeps very soundly after the good meals she gives him.
While there are some side romances, this isn't a "romance" book and is more about customs and small town gossiping and kindness. It is populated with scatty elderly ladies who are afraid of men, while at the same time venerate them with having special knowledge above their own. Even our narrator (who moves through the tale with almost no background) finds their behavior quaint and perhaps too good the wider cynical world.
A contemporary of Dickens, Gaskell's work has a feminine aspect that I find more interesting to read. Her tales are more approachable than Dickens and has the appeal of not being as well known. For those interested in the time period, it gives a glimpse into the manners of the mid 1850's (though much of the earlier 1800s is in evidence in the age and history of the ladies).
It was also rather nice to read a book that while written around 1853, treats the portions about India in a non-racist manner. Instead, the Mrs. Brown who is trying to get back to England with her child, is actually helped by natives along her journey. This type of treatment in literature at the time isn't usual so I think it's worth a mention.
Author Elizabeth Gaskell may be better known for her book North and South (which was made into a series starring Richard Armitage - yum), however, her short vignettes about the spinster and widow ladies of Cranford also has a television adaption. Whoever did the adaptation of Cranford changed some things in order to make a more comprehensive whole series but they did a masterful job of it. Reading the book, and watching the series enhances the other.
A nice set of tales to dip into, which don't require a lot of thought, but can give comfort.
The stories (originally published in magazine installments) are also slow moving and have subtle humor that if you are not reading carefully will miss it. Such as Mrs. Forester hiring a boy to stay at her house to guard against robbers, while at the same time admitting that he sleeps very soundly after the good meals she gives him.
While there are some side romances, this isn't a "romance" book and is more about customs and small town gossiping and kindness. It is populated with scatty elderly ladies who are afraid of men, while at the same time venerate them with having special knowledge above their own. Even our narrator (who moves through the tale with almost no background) finds their behavior quaint and perhaps too good the wider cynical world.
A contemporary of Dickens, Gaskell's work has a feminine aspect that I find more interesting to read. Her tales are more approachable than Dickens and has the appeal of not being as well known. For those interested in the time period, it gives a glimpse into the manners of the mid 1850's (though much of the earlier 1800s is in evidence in the age and history of the ladies).
It was also rather nice to read a book that while written around 1853, treats the portions about India in a non-racist manner. Instead, the Mrs. Brown who is trying to get back to England with her child, is actually helped by natives along her journey. This type of treatment in literature at the time isn't usual so I think it's worth a mention.
Author Elizabeth Gaskell may be better known for her book North and South (which was made into a series starring Richard Armitage - yum), however, her short vignettes about the spinster and widow ladies of Cranford also has a television adaption. Whoever did the adaptation of Cranford changed some things in order to make a more comprehensive whole series but they did a masterful job of it. Reading the book, and watching the series enhances the other.
A nice set of tales to dip into, which don't require a lot of thought, but can give comfort.