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    North and South
    North and South
    North and South
    Audiobook18 hours

    North and South

    Written by Elizabeth Gaskell

    Narrated by Clare Wille

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    When Margaret Hale moves with her father from the comfort of the south of England to the industrial north, she is at first repulsed by what she sees; and then when she discovers the conditions under which the workers are forced to live, she is outraged. But this throws her into direct conflict with the powerful young mill-owner, John Thornton. Using personal passions to explore deep social divisions, North and South is a great romance – and one of Elizabeth Gaskell’s finest works.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateFeb 1, 2010
    ISBN9789629549428
    Author

    Elizabeth Gaskell

    Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson (Gaskell de casada) nació en Londres en 1810. En 1832 contrajo matrimonio con William Gaskell, ministro unitario, y la pareja se estableció en Manchester, una ciudad sometida a las secuelas de la revolución Industrial. El choque que supuso el contacto con esta sociedad quedaría reflejado en varias de sus novelas: Mary Barton (1848; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR NÚM. LIV) o Norte y Sur (1855; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XXIV). En 1857 publicó la Vida de Charlotte Brontë (ALBA CLÁSICA BIOGRAFÍAS, núm. IV), una de las biografías más destacadas del siglo XIX. Otras obras suyas son La casa del páramo (1850; ALBA CLÁSICA, núm. CIV), Cranford (1851-1853; ALBA CLÁSICA, núm. XLII), Cuentos góticos (ALBA CLÁSICA, núm. XCIV), Los amores de Sylvia (1863), La prima Phyllis (1863-1864; ALBA CLÁSICA, núm. CIII), e Hijas y esposas (1864-1866; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XLII), cuyos últimos capítulos dejaría sin concluir a su muerte, acaecida en 1865 en Alton, Hampshire.

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    Reviews for North and South

    4.5/5

    342 ratings108 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a truly beautiful and engaging book. The historical romance and the exceptional narration make it a highly recommended novel. The characters are relatable and the story is masterfully woven with intrigue and suspense. The book resonates with the tensions between employers and employees, making it relevant even today. Although some find it long and preachy, it is still considered one of the all-time favorite books. Overall, it is a superbly read and excellent delivery of a wonderful book.

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      An excellent reading of a most wonderful book. One 9f the few I wish didn't end and wondered what would follow.
    • 4/5
      Very good.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful book. Couldn’t stop listening must read morbid Elizabeth-Gaskell
    • 5/5
      I grew up in Yorkshire in a town where mills stood empty and were repurposed into trendy dwelling places for the young and wealthy. I was born in 1973 and never fully understood the rivalry and opposition between North and South England. Elizabeth Gaskell has drawn that out beautifully in this book along with a masterfully weaved story of intrigue and suspense. Characters with whom I can relate and love. Superbly narrated, I intend to listen to it again immediately and enjoy from a different perspective the characters. God knows the end from the beginning and now I shall see the tale from that perspective.
    • 5/5
      This narrator was exceptional - author so eloquent... A very engaging book.
    • 5/5
      Why has it taken me so long to read an Elizabeth Gaskell novel? North and South is an excellent book with well-drawn characters, themes of class and religion, and a love story, too. I was initially reminded of Jane Austen (always a favorite), but as the novel progressed these themes were explored on a broader, more worldly scale. Also, although Gaskell was writing only several decades later than Austen, I was surprised to find her language much more accessible.

      This was a combination read/listen for me. Juliet Stevenson's narration was nothing short of perfection.
      Very highly recommended
      4.5/5 stars
    • 5/5
      Love it! It's Pride and Prejudice with a serious labor politics twist.
    • 5/5
      Brilliantly strong characters and strong social commentary. I admit that watching the BBC adaptation of it book has significantly contributed to my increased enjoyment, appreciation and love for the book the 2nd time around. (Having Richard Armitage's Mr. Thornton in mind...mmmm...)I'm continually amazed at Elizabeth Gaskell's realistic and deep portrayal of each main character. Even though I love them, each character has flaws which force me to pause and reflect that, despite those flaws, I still love, respect, or at least empathize with them.Aside from Margaret and Mr. Thornton, I'm particularly struck with Mrs. Thornton, in her fierce love for her son and her strength of character. What a mother! (And what a mother-in-law she would make!!) I must say that Mrs. Gaskell is now one of my favourite authors, on par with Jane Austen!
    • 5/5
      This is one of the novels you should read twice: once to lose yourself in the romance, the second time to focus on the social dimension: the contrast between the rural, traditional south and the newly industrialised north of England; the plight of the working class, the role of women...
    • 4/5
      Sometimes the old writers remind me of modern ones--Charles Dickens in particular shares many spiritual descendants, none of whom live up to his standard. This book gave me the strong impression of a Victorian Maeve Binchey. I'd been avoiding it until now because the title evokes the American Civil War, and I don't like war, and it's enough to colour my vague impression of this non-war-related book until now. I also knew it had something to do with unions or industrialism, and it does, but it only seems a bit didactic in one chapter, and just local colour in the others, so that wasn't so bad.

      I enjoyed it immensely, but it wasn't as fun as I'd want it to be, to be honest. Still, a beautifully-crafted Victorian novel, unread by me until now, is still a treat.

      (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
    • 5/5
      I was compelled to read this novel after seeing the excellent miniseries, and I loved the book even more. Pretty much every scene with John Thornton set my heart aflutter in some way or other--he is an irresistible character. The only thing I didn't like very much was the chapter epigraphs.
    • 4/5
      North and South is the story of Northern England during the Industrialization. The book centers around the Hale family--Rev., Margaret, and the Missus. Because Rev. Hale wouldn't agree to support the Book of Common Prayer he was let go from his parish and moves his family north where he takes up teaching. They meet Mr. Thornton, a misunderstood factory owner? Margaret and her family become sympathetic to the factory workers and the union. This is a very bleak book, much like those of Thomas Hardy's . There is the requisite happy ending, but it is not satisfying.There is just something "missing" from this book when compared to Hardy and Trollope who write of the same time period. 521 pages 3 1/2 stars
    • 4/5
      This is not the Civil War North and South that most people are familiar with. This is North and South of England. I like Gaskell's books because they include romance and social commentary. Is the plight of the factory worker similar to that of the poor farmer in the country? Do the mill master's have a duty to take care of their workers or is paying them sufficient? And as in Pride and Prejudice, will Mr. Thornton ever get together with Margaret? In truth this book is basically Pride and Prejudiced rehashed except for a little more depth of character for the two main players. There is a BBC mini-series of this book which is also amazing.
    • 5/5
      I've seen the miniseries version of this multiple times, so I figured I should probably read the actual book. Though many of the secondary characters are flawed through singular characteristic traits, I took the "big picture" route and viewed them as part of the whole story and focused on how they aided Margaret's evolution throughout. The miniseries version was pretty true to the book--the biggest change I can think of was the ending, but each version works for the story. The book version was a softer, more private finish (as befits Mr. Thornton & Margaret) but the film version was just as romantic. I read reviews that compared this story to Jane Austen, only more political, and I do agree to an extent. However, I'm pretty sure Mr. Thornton has trumped Mr. Darcy on my list of handsome brooding fictional men. :p
    • 4/5
      I very much enjoyed this novel about the rising and falling fortunes of the manufacturing and educated classes. This novel struck me as quite progressive in certain ways as the manufacturer has a number of classically 'noble' traits such as self-sacrifice for honour. Highly recommend if you are partial to Victorian romances that are conscious of class.
    • 5/5
      This title is a truly beautifully read truly beautiful book!
    • 5/5
      This is an excellent novel. I try not to read too much about a book before I read it because I want to be surprised by everything. So, if you're like me and reading this I'll tell you this: Just read it. Don't expect action packed and mysterious. If you enjoy a nice leisurely stroll through a story of love developing out of nowhere, a girl growing up and changing, then you'll enjoy this.
    • 4/5
      Reading this was sort of like discovering another Jane Austen, but Gaskell is more political. In this novel, first published in 1855, the heroine, Margaret Hale, must move from the rural south of England to the Industrial north. There, she is exposed to the tension between owners and workers, as she meets and befriends people on both sides of this divide. There is a strike, and it is clear that Gaskell is not much in favor of this tactic. But she doesn’t shrink from the novelist’s task of understanding what drives each of her characters.

      I also enjoyed the love story at the heart of this novel. It’s a bit like Pride and Prejudice, with Margaret Hale first sitting in judgment of those who are involved in trade. Then the situation is reversed, when the hero learns something that appears to sully Margaret’s reputation.

      One thing that hadn’t changed since Austen was writing: Margaret Hale has very little power to move her love affair forward. In order to preserve their dignity, women had to be passive in the face of love. In this situation, the Fates have a field day, throwing the lovers far apart before finally bringing them together.

    • 4/5
      Classics are always good and so was this. The female protagonist Margret Hales was the one I liked the most she was strong, stubborn and yet sensitive. I had already seen the BBC TV adaptation of it and it was as good as this book.
    • 5/5
      I had relatively low expectations for this book, as I'd attempted to watch the BBC special before and found it pretty dull. But the the book itself (actually the audiobook) was a very different experience. While I found myself feeling a bit impatient with the heroine and perhaps sympathising a bit more with Mrs. Thornton than the author probably intended, the characters and their stories were so finely drawn that I fell right into this book. I was continuously impatient to know what would happen next, even though the outcome of the story (typical romance in its plot) was a given. Juliet Stevenson gives an excellent performance in reading the story. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      Excellent in all senses. Elizabeth Gaskill is a true literary artist. The reader was amazing!
    • 4/5
      When her father has a crisis of faith and leaves his position as a parish priest in the lush community of Helstone in southern England, Margaret Hale finds herself transplanted to the strangely foreign community of Milton in northern England. In this bustling, industrial town, Margaret encounters the rough and striving John Thornton, a local mill owner, with whom she regularly clashes. In Milton, Margaret develops a greater awareness of the social injustices between the owners of industry and their workers and also discovers that there may be more to her relationship with Mr. Thornton than either of them ever expected.Gaskell's novel is a fascinating combination of Victorian romance and a contemporary exploration of the social upheavals that came along with the Industrial Revolution. Margaret and Mr. Thornton are both well-drawn characters each with a realistic combination of virtues and flaws. Watching their clashes and growing realization of their feelings is a delight. Interspersed is a narrative exploring the conflict, so associated with the Industrial Revolution, between the labourers and their employers. While Gaskell's views are unlikely to gibe with modern sensibilities, in Nicholas Higgins she creates a character that moves beyond caricature of the lower class and imbues him with emotion, intelligence, and ultimately makes him a sympathetic figure. A great read whether the politics, the romance, or both are of most interest.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite reads of the new year! I really enjoyed the love story between Margaret and Mr. Thorton but also enjoyed reading about the industrialization of northern England.
    • 5/5
      In Gaskell’s novel, Margaret Hale is uprooted from the home she loves after her father leaves the Church following a crisis of conscience. Upon settling in Milton, she becomes acquainted with industry and poverty in a way she never anticipated. Self-made man, John Thornton is at the heart of Milton and as time goes on, Margaret and John develop tenuous relationship that masks an unexpected deeper attraction.Elizabeth Gaskell has penned an amazing story with an original and heroic heroine in Margaret Hale.
    • 2/5
      This was not my favorite book to read and I was sadly disappointed as I really loved the movie. The author's style just clashed with my preference. It did not draw me in very well. The characters were well developed and the plot itself was fine, but I think the flow was lacking. I also hated the bits of poetry that began with each chapter on my Kindle.

      As I said before, the plot is good, but I think that the author just needed to tweak her writing style a bit.
    • 3/5
      Audio book performed by Clare Wille
      3.5***

      Richard Hale, a vicar at a country parish in southern England, has had a crisis of faith, and decides to leave the church to become a tutor in an industrial city in northern England. This might be fine, except that he is married and has waited until two weeks before they are to move to let his daughter and wife know that their lives are about to be turned upside down. His daughter, Margaret, has had a clearly defined role as the clergyman’s only daughter in the rural surroundings of Helstone, and now struggles to find a place in the very different society of Milton. Accompanying her father in the hunt for a suitable dwelling, she meets Mr John Thornton, the wealthy mill-owner who has engaged Mr Hale as a tutor in the classics. Thornton is immediately smitten with the lovely Margaret, though she does not return the feelings. Can opposites attract? Can the self-made Thornton woo and win the refined Margaret?

      Gaskell’s book is more than just a romance. She spends considerable time exploring the changes wrought on England’s economy and her people by industrialization. We learn of the difficulties of the laborers vs the excesses of some owners. For a short time I thought Gaskell was going to completely discount Milton as a dirty, factory town, but she balances this with a warning Margaret gives about the harsh conditions of the agricultural workers in the South – toiling in all kinds of weather for low wages, and dependent on the squire for their living.

      I loved how Gaskell gave us so much insight into the thoughts and feelings of Thornton, Mr Hale and Higgins (one of the labor leaders). We really come to learn about them and, therefore, care for them. I wish she had spent more time expounding on Margaret’s thoughts; to me, she was rather one-dimensional. Yes, she was kind and also spoke her mind when pushed too far by Mrs Thornton, but she was so passive! I realize that women in her situation at that time had few choices but to sit and wait for a suitable man to come along and propose marriage, but I think Margaret did too much “waiting.”

      Still, right up to the ending I was ready to give it four stars. But that ending – abrupt hardly covers it. I actually exclaimed aloud, “Is that it!?”

      Clare Wille does a superb job performing the audio book (produced by Naxos AudioBooks). Her facility with accents and skill as a voice-over actress breathed life into the work for me.
    • 4/5
      I actually did I reverse on this one, which is unusual for me--I read the book *after* seeing the movie on PBS. I loved the movie, and as a result was somewhat disappointed when things were slightly different in the book (dialogue, mostly--though it did go both ways and I also wished some from the book had made it to the movie)...perhaps if I'd read the book first I'd give it five stars and the movie four, as that is how it usually goes with me. However, I did really enjoy both, and look forward to reading more my Gaskell in the future.
    • 5/5
      I can't believe it's taken me so long to finally read this! I fell in love with the story when I first saw the adaptation on TV, bought the book (and the DVD!) soon afterwards... and it has been sitting on my shelves for FIVE YEARS waiting for me to finally get my act together! Anyway, it was definitely not a short read, but so very worth it. Basic storyline: Margaret Hale and her family move to the Northern industrial town of Milton from their sweet Southern village. The whole family is uprooted and struggles to settle into the smoky, noisy, dank atmosphere of their new home. Their earliest acquaintances there are the Thorntons - dignified Mrs Thornton, her silly daughter Fanny, and her handsome son John, wealthy master of the Marlborough Mills and a famous name in cotton. Despite Mr Thornton's best efforts, Margaret believes Milton society to be inferior to their status as gentlefolk, and so the scene is set for a 'Pride and Prejudice'-esque story of wounded egos, longing glances, misunderstandings and, finally, true love.Despite the similarities between this novel and the Austen favourite, there are big differences. This book is much more complex, and much grittier, leaning further towards Dickens in some respects. The poverty of the Milton workers, in which Margaret takes a philanthropic interest, is a major focus of the novel. The misfortunes of the Higgins and Boucher families, and their constant struggles against injustice, illness and uncaring employers, are carefully explored and movingly rendered. At the same time the progressive ambitions and difficult decisions made by the masters are never overlooked, providing a balanced view of industrial progress in the mid-19th century. And alongside all this Gaskell pointedly shows the contrast between the frivolity of the London social scene and the harsh life of Milton, as well as slowly drawing the reader deep into the lives of the Hale family, who have their own preoccupations, hardships and tragedies to bear. All in all, this is a wonderful novel. It provides a fascinating insight into a time and an existence very different to modern life, while never losing the intimacy that draws the reader into the lives of these characters. I cried several times over the course of the novel, and had the HUGEST smile on my face at the inevitable and well-deserved happy ending. These characters burrowed their way into this reader's heart over the course of the book, and I've learned a little to boot. A fantastic read - and if you haven't seen the BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe, you should! It's what started my love affair with this story and I've been watching it very happily as I've been reading... Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Thoroughly enjoyable novel, set in England as the north and south, industrialists and aristocracy, try to find middle ground as both groups go through significant change. Of course, we have the protagonist, Margaret, who is reminiscent of the heroines in "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice". She is idealistic, yet intelligent and compassionate. She meets her match in Mr. Thornton, a radical industrialist. Ah love......I thought the author dragged the tension between the lovers out too long, which is the only reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars. Sometimes, I just want to say, "Alright, already.....get to the point."
    • 4/5
      In a word: enchanting.This book does not only have very interesting characters, but it also provides one with a rare insight into social issues of nineteenth-century Britain When I started reading this book I thought it would be a perfectly good way to kill some time. Little did I know I would be staying up until two o'clock in the morning because I can't rest until the many persistent misunderstandings between Mr Thornton and Margaret are cleared away.North and South is about Margaret Hale who moves with her mother and father from the country to an industrial town. Originally prejudiced against the working class, she finds an 'human interest' as she calls it in the people of the town. Her father's new position as tutor throws her into the path of Mr Thornton, who is an owner of a mill in Milton and a man who seems to be at odds with all of her opinions. Their growing attraction to one another is a major plot line in the book, but it is not solely a romantic novel. This book addresses many social themes and contrasts the busy town-life with the stagnant southern manners of nineteen-century Britain. Margaret is a strong, likable heroine that I found very easy to relate to.The rest of this review contains plot details.I loved this book. I liked every single character, even Margaret's insipid cousin who was used by Gaskell as a foil for the hard-working and interesting people of Milton. Also Mr Lennox, who I felt was not a favourite of Gaskell's (only because she continually gave him opportunities to show his unpleasant side but never gave him a chance to redeem himself) provided some enjoyment.I see a lot of people comparing North and South with Jane Austen's work, but I don't think that is possible. Margaret and Thornton are far from perfect characters. They have real, believable faults (unlike Austen's characters who's faults are very forgivable, if they have any at all. Looking at you, Elizabeth and Elinor and Fanny). Margaret is very opinionated, often about things that she doesn't really understand. She's naive and doesn't know what she wants. Thornton is too proud for his own good and in his own way, very sensitive. These are not the type of characters we see in Austen's work and they appear to annoy a lot of people. I found them real and honest.The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is because I would've liked to see a better resolution. As I understand, there were some external factors that forced Gaskell to cut the ending short. It really is a shame because the build-up is so dramatic. The ending was perfectly adequate but I would've liked to see one worthy of Margaret's and Thornton's passionate, combative relationship. They spend so much of the time disagreeing and thinking ill of one another that I hoped there would be a conversation where some of the misunderstandings are cleared away for good. As it is, a lot of the 'clearing away' happens off-screen.Another thing that surprised me in this book was the alarming number of people close to Margaret who died. I didn't see the point of her father or Mr Bell dying at all. Quite possibly Gaskell wanted to do something more with the fact that she was so alone in the world, but had to follow another course when she had to end the book so suddenly. As it is, it feels as if Mr Bell had to die simply to make Margaret rich so that she could go on and finally declare her feelings for Thornton on the next page.All in all, this book made me feel a whole range of emotions and it has joined the pile of books that I wish I could forget only for the pleasure of discovering them again.