115. North and South

North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell
1855
Around 520 pages

I have had this book for roughly two months (which means it came to London and returned to me unopened) and still have struggled to find the time and interest to read it.  This is Gaskell's third and final time to impress us; so far she has only run the gamut from dull to mildly entertaining.  I finally sat down and banged it out last night.  While it wasn't terrible, it still kind of felt like the poor man's Pride and Prejudice.

Margaret Hale (our typical heroine of utter perfection) returns home after living with her cousin, only to find that her father is leaving his job at the rectory of the idyllic town of Helstone.  Due to his "goodness" he has become a dissenter of the Church of England, which is a fancy way of saying he is a selfish bastard (he forces Margaret to tell her mother because he is too scared, probably because moving will cost his wife her health).  Anyway, Margaret and her family move to an industrial town, which is pretty much as terrible as you would imagine any town during the Industrial Revolution is.  Margaret meets her father's student, Mr. Thornton, and they are instantly at odds with each other.  Will they ever get along??  Too bad there is no precedent to figure it out!

Like I said, Margaret is virtually perfect, which never really makes for a fun main character.  Feminists are quick to point out that she displays an inner strength that is unusual for female characters during this time.  For one thing, she stands by Mr. Thornton when he is being confronted by an angry mob of workers.  That is, until someone throws a pebble at her and she becomes practically catatonic.  Literally, it is described as a pebble that grazes her forehead.  I don't think you have to go to the ICU just yet.

While I did enjoy some of the interactions between Thornton and Margaret, their conversations are not nearly as well done as what can be found in Austen's novels.

Wow, I have rambled on long enough.  Overall, not a complete miss but not worth the five hundred pages.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Many male critics panned the novel by saying that a woman couldn't handle writing social critiques.  Oh, shut up.

BBC version trailer.  This actually looks pretty great:

UP NEXT: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.  A personal favorite.

110. Cranford

Cranford
Elizabeth Gaskell
1851
Around 200 pages

I did not expect a lot from this book, seeing as how Mary Barton, the previous Gaskell from the list, was a huge disappointment.  However, this is a very unique book that is worth the afternoon it takes to read it.

Cranford is narrated by Mary Smith, a spinster who often stay with another "old maid" (these are quite flattering titles for unmarried women), Miss Matty.  There is really no plot; the novel just details random events in their lives.  Throughout the novel, the women take great delight in frightening themselves after there is a report of burglaries in Cranford,  Miss Matty visits her former suitor, Mr. Holbrook, and Mary attempts to find Matty's long lost brother.

So in a lot of ways, this novel is quite ordinary for its time.  The style is like Jane Austen's, only less amusing, and the characters are of a standard stock.  However, the fact that we are hearing about women who, for one reason or another, have never married is actually really interesting.  Now, granted, Miss Matty and Miss Pole seem to be quite miserable about their single status.  On the other hand, Mary Smith seemed to be quite content with her unmarried life.  There was a particularly entertaining passage where the women try to prove they are braver than their dentist, who was too embarrassed to admit that he had been robbed.  The idea that women were trying to prove they were better and more capable than men just seemed really modern to me and it was interesting reading it in a book written in 1851.

So worth a read; Gaskell is not the most talented writer but she is an entertaining feminist.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Published in a serialized form in the magazine Household Works, which was edited by Charles Dickens.

UP NEXT: Villete by Charlotte Bronte.  Yay!

Seems like a loose adaptation but still might be worth checking out:

102. Mary Barton

Mary Barton
Elizabeth Gaskell
1848
Around 400 pages

Now that the wacky celebration we had for post 100 is over, we can get back to reality here, if everyone's hangovers aren't too bad.  I actually thought we would break the good book streak at first with this one but I ended up really liking it.  I guess I am storing up a mega rant for Dickens.

Jem Wilson is in love with Mary Barton, but she dreams about marrying the rich, dashing Harry Carson.  Of course, women are silly, simple creatures and often can't make up their minds.  Mary really does love Jem, but after rejecting him once she can't say she likes him until he says it again, since men like to do the courting.  I really can't judge though since I haven't had a successfully relationship since.

Let's start with what I hated since one of my favorite things to do is complain.  Mary is an incredibly annoying character who is frequently described as honorable and beautiful.  Translation: she is an obnoxious brat who uses the people around her.  Additionally, Gaskell seemed to be trying so hard to make us feel sorry for the poor that it bordered on sappy.

However, this was an interesting story, even if Gaskell can't hold a candle to the Bronte sisters style wise.  I actually gasped at one development and found the character of Harry very entertaining.  Still, certainly not the best we have seen here.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Gaskell wrote this novel to distract herself from the death of her son.

Published anonymously.

UP NEXT: Shirley by Charlotte Bronte.