I started reading the classics because I've been disappointed with a lot of contemporary fiction. Elizabeth Gaskell's works are so wonderful: multi-layered plots, characters that are so real, imperfect, likeable. I appreciated these tips for reading Gaskell so much.
The Cranford adaptation was my introduction to Gaskell. I love when Imelda Staunton says something like, "Oooh, well SOMEbody doesn't like to get a crease in her silks!"
My introduction to Gaskell's work was when I found a wonderful hardbound copy of Cranford from the 1930s in a pile of books on sale for 50 PKR each (for reference that's the price of a pack of lays crisps) and I absolutely fell in love with her work. That book was my comfort book. I used to carry it in my coat pocket every day.
That’s a great point about being prepared for such difference in Gaskell’s novels. I remember Cranford was the first one I read and then when I read Cousin Phyllis right after I was disappointed it wasn’t funny. I would say out of her major novels my favorite is Wives and Daughters but I also love Nary Barton and North and South.
Thank for this great Gaskell post! My favorite author is Dickens but after participating in read alongs on Instagram I’ve grown to love Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope! Though I try different Victorian authors I find myself coming back to their novels over and over again. 🥰
"Subtly amazing" is just right. She is so varied. I am happy to have some of her work still to discover especially the novellas that I have only just dipped into as yet.
I didn't realize until recently how many shorter stories she had written. I thought I had read almost everything by her, and suddenly, I had a huge list left! I just finished A Dark Nights Work, and really enjoyed it.
Cranford is out of this world; a lovely story about a village frozen in time but in the process of thawing around the edges. You’re spot on: the BBC adaptation of 2007 is wonderful and was my introduction to the book. Thank you for this overview of how to approach Elizabeth Gaskell. You gave so many angles to come at her books that we have no reason not to read this fabulous author. As usual, Katie, another perfect, well thought out video!
I think Gaskell is my favourite Victorian author. I still have Ruth, Mary Barton and Sylvia's Lovers left of her main novels. I picked up North and South years ago as I was doing a challenge where I needed antonyms in the title and upon googling that it popped up. The Cranford mini series is one of my favourites of all time and just feels so charming and comforting.
Thanks for your tips. I read Mary Barton because of one of your other videos on Elizabeth Gaskell, and I think it may be one of my favorite novels of all time. I read it with a student I'm tutoring, and that experience has left me with some really incredible memories. What a book! Thank you.
Next Victober may be the year of Gaskell❤️ This year, it was Trollope and I’m hooked on him. Being a Hardy fan, I’m even more eager now to give her a try. Thank you, Katie!
North and South was one of the titles I read for a Victorian Literature paper that I have just completed. Wonderful woman who was also a great philanthropist. She was a prolific letter writer and her letters are well worth reading
I love her Gothic novellas and Cranford. I read Cousin Phillis this year. I appreciated it, but did not love it in the way I did the others. I need to move on to her novels next year. She is definitely one of my favorite Victorian writers.
Perfect! I'm in the U.S. It's 2 a.m. and I have twenty pages left in North and South. Wonderful book. Love Margaret Hale. I agree she truly is the most talented. ❤ her
Thank you -- I love this series and appreciate your tips. I was going to pick Cranford as my first Gaskell, but I think I will choose North and South instead. 🙂
Thank you. I have never read Cranford, but saw the two BBC series. We noticed the 2nd series Return seemed to have a change in emphasis on the importance of certain of the characters and to the main plot. This video explained why that is !
Thank you for clarifying clemming. I'm halfway through North and South and really didn't know what it meant. They're always mentioning clemming in the book.
Great video. I started with Cranford which I loved - hilarious, but also tragic; although uplifting at the end. I also enjoyed N&S although the abrupt ending took me by surprise - I would have loved a "Return to Milton" epilogue. I am wondering what to try next - perhaps Mary Barton as I build up to W&D. Thanks for the tips about her shorter work. I'll definitely include them. And, yes, the verb "to clem" stumped me and I had to look it up. Great word!
North and South was also my first Gaskell book. I was so transported that when I finished it I immediately turned to the beginning to reread it all over again! It has not happened with any other book, But I like to reread all Gaskell's books.
I started with her Gothic Tales, and wasn't that impressed, then I read North and South and absolutely loved it. Now I'm in the middle of Cranford and am loving it, I can't wait to read the rest.
I love Elizabeth Gaskell. My favorite book, so far, by her is North and South. My husband and I both really love that book. I also agree, that while Jane Eyre is my personal favorite book of all time, that Elizabeth Gaskell is the best Victoria author. My husband and I really love the BBC adaptations that you mentioned and we watch them over and over, especially North and South. It's one of those movies that when we start it we have to finish it in one sitting.
I think I've really struggled to read Elizabeth Gaskell because I got off to a bad start. First, I tried to read Cranford way back before I knew anything at all about England. I just didn't get it and I was so lost and bored. Then I read her biography of Charlotte Bronte --- twice, I think, and then decided Charlotte was my least favorite sister (personality-wise, not talent-wise). All this was almost 20 years ago, but whenever I think of Gaskell, I think of Charlotte, and sort of cringe. (Even though I now think Gaskell's commentary on Bronte wasn't necessarily always accurate). After this video, I think I'd really love her. This video was super helpful and inspiring. I'm ready to give her another try!
I definitely recommend her other books - I love Cranford but it's a slightly different form, so not a great place to start. And her biography of Charlotte Bronte is a strange read, too, because it has so many letters in and biographies were just sort of different in those times. Do try North and South :)
I have read the main Gaskell books. Ruth and Mary Barton really get you into their story but in the end, it is all frustrated. I wanted to cry and throw the books. The ones I liked are North and South, Wives and daughters and Cranford. I'm reading the Moorland Cottage now. After finishing The Way We Live Now, and all it's excitement, This work is subdued and sweet, so far. The lives of the little children is sweet. It reminds me of Wives and daughters. It has many similarities. I love the Cranford adaptations. I'll have to go back and watch to see Moorland Cottage. The story is only 100 pages. So it should get to the main plot very soon. Regency writers dwell on the fantastical, while Victorian writers tear your heart out. Jane Austen came and changed regency forever. Her books were so completely different, it was like fresh air had been breathed into the regency novel.
These tips were marvelous! This year for Victober I read North and South. It was my introduction to Gaskell. This weekend I will be watching the BBC adaptation for the first time! 😊 I own the Cranford BBC series on DVD and dearly love those- I watch them every Christmas. I especially adore Francesca Annis as Lady Ludlow whom I think A.) Gives a brilliant acting performance and B.) Presents an underrated tragic female character worthy of greater discussion and consideration in English Literature classes.
My introduction to Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was the 1975 BBC adaptation of North and South which was the classic studio based with one locked off camera production I do love the 2005 version more as a piece but seeing Patrick Stewart as John Thornton saying "but I love her mother" in a Northern accent was a revelation to me. Can I say I like her writing better than Dickens? Though I have been in the last three Victobers been reading Dicken's non-fiction and I enjoy that more than his novels.
Just been given her biography of Charlotte Bronte having only recenty finished North & South which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also noticed there's a TV series of Cranford here on YT starring Judi Dench so will probably give that a watch in the not too distant future. Now, back to your tips.....
Great video, learnt loads of interesting stuff & as well as Cranford I shall be looking for the other adaptations you recommend. As well as reading whatever I can lay my hands on here in SE Asia. Great stuff; in the words of Van Morrison, thanks for the information......😃👍
I'm currently rereading Cranford (on audiobook) and enjoying it more this time. I think that when I first read it I expected it to follow closely the TV adaptation, not knowing that it is in fact adapted from 3 novels/novellas. I really like Gaskell, but I'd say that there is a big gap between my two favorite novels by her (Wives and Daughters and North and South, I prefer the first which is perfect, but the second is very close behind), Cranford which is kind of in the middle at moment and the works that I enjoyed far less, Ruth and Sylvia's Lovers. But as I don't overall like Hardy's books that much, I understand why I like them less. I totally agree about the three adaptations, they are excellent. The N&S one enabled me to discover Elizabeth Gaskell, and I fell instantly in love with the story and the atmosphere.
Yes, I love Gaskell's variation across her body of work, but I think it does mean some people get on with some of her books but not the others! If you haven't read Mary Barton yet, that's well worth a read, too :)
Yes I've read it, and enjoyed it, but now that I've reread Cranford I would put this one before Mary Barton in my ranking (although they are very different).@@katiejlumsden
Always I'm eager for new reading recommendations, tho I fear that like most of us out here already my tbr is just too big! And as for adding a specific author, like Elizabeth Gaskill, well, as shameful my ignorance of her work may be, in my defense she is competing against the likes of Gillian Flynn and James Patterson. So, certainly I shall find a time to squeeze in at least one of her novels (likely North and South), based primarily on the strong recommendation received here, but the in-fighting on my tbr is too fierce to expect much more than that. :)
North and South is basically Victorian fan fiction of Pride and Prejudice. AND most people fail to see this, Wives and Daughters is very much Mansfield Park fan fiction. There are so many similarities, which I only discovered because I first reread MP and then straight away reread Wives and Daughters on accident. My mind was boggled! Molly is grave and highly moral, even though she is described as having a temper, occasionally, it is really righteous indignation and still rather sweet. She finds a mentor in the second son, Roger Hamley, falls secretly in love with him (socially speaking, she is not a suitable wife for him), but he initially falls head over heals for the beautiful, lively, and not very moral newcomer Cynthia (Mary Crawford). The new stepmother has certain Mrs Norris qualities while preteding to be more like a Lady Bertram. Molly has to suffer the wrath of her father (read as uncle) trying to protect her stepsister's (read as cousin Maria's) indiscretions. These indisdretions are pretty much a direct result of Mrs Norris/Lady Bertrams/Mrs Hyazinth Gibson's shortcomings. Maybe calling it fan fiction is a bit far fetched, but certainly there was inspiration. It feels like Elizabeth Gaskell took those stories and updated them into something more palatable to herself, and with more social commentary. And more darkness. And a character that is livelier and easier to love than Fanny Price. I love Gaskell, but as an Austen fan and Hardy hater I have so far stayed away from her darker books (Ruth etc.).
I like Gaskell's works, but i can't say that i find her to be the most talented victorian author. Or to be even in the top 3. But obviously, that's just my opinion. The order i read her books in : ▪︎ Cranford : sweet, but a little bit cloying at times. ▪︎ Ruth : The most annoying character ever, i had to DNF this one, since i couldn't take how little agency Ruth had. Compare her to Hardy's Tess or even Eliot's Hetty Sorrel, and she just seems unbelievably naive. ▪︎ Mary Barton : Much better, but all in all, not a very memorable work. ▪︎ North and South : I enjoyed it, but 5 deaths is 3 too many. It becomes emotionally manipulative at some point. Plus, the ending is beyond rushed and illogical. ▪︎ Sylvia's Lovers : My favourite so far. Philip Hepburn was a rather interesting character. I read it right after Trumpet Major, so it was even more intriguing. I enjoy her books, but in no world would i think that her talent surpasses that of Hardy's, Eliot's or Dickens'.
I started reading the classics because I've been disappointed with a lot of contemporary fiction. Elizabeth Gaskell's works are so wonderful: multi-layered plots, characters that are so real, imperfect, likeable. I appreciated these tips for reading Gaskell so much.
The Cranford adaptation was my introduction to Gaskell. I love when Imelda Staunton says something like, "Oooh, well SOMEbody doesn't like to get a crease in her silks!"
My introduction to Gaskell's work was when I found a wonderful hardbound copy of Cranford from the 1930s in a pile of books on sale for 50 PKR each (for reference that's the price of a pack of lays crisps) and I absolutely fell in love with her work. That book was my comfort book. I used to carry it in my coat pocket every day.
That’s a great point about being prepared for such difference in Gaskell’s novels. I remember Cranford was the first one I read and then when I read Cousin Phyllis right after I was disappointed it wasn’t funny. I would say out of her major novels my favorite is Wives and Daughters but I also love Nary Barton and North and South.
They really are all so different.
Thank for this great Gaskell post! My favorite author is Dickens but after participating in read alongs on Instagram I’ve grown to love Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope! Though I try different Victorian authors I find myself coming back to their novels over and over again. 🥰
"Subtly amazing" is just right. She is so varied. I am happy to have some of her work still to discover especially the novellas that I have only just dipped into as yet.
She's just wonderful :) And yes, the novellas are amazing!
I love this. I have read Cranford and North and South but I can imagine her becoming a favourite. I can't wait to experience her breadth
I didn't realize until recently how many shorter stories she had written. I thought I had read almost everything by her, and suddenly, I had a huge list left! I just finished A Dark Nights Work, and really enjoyed it.
Cranford is out of this world; a lovely story about a village frozen in time but in the process of thawing around the edges. You’re spot on: the BBC adaptation of 2007 is wonderful and was my introduction to the book. Thank you for this overview of how to approach Elizabeth Gaskell. You gave so many angles to come at her books that we have no reason not to read this fabulous author. As usual, Katie, another perfect, well thought out video!
Thanks, Larry :)
Thank you for this talk. I did just purchase Cranford, my first Gaskell. I’m so looking forward to it.
I think Gaskell is my favourite Victorian author. I still have Ruth, Mary Barton and Sylvia's Lovers left of her main novels. I picked up North and South years ago as I was doing a challenge where I needed antonyms in the title and upon googling that it popped up. The Cranford mini series is one of my favourites of all time and just feels so charming and comforting.
Thanks for your tips. I read Mary Barton because of one of your other videos on Elizabeth Gaskell, and I think it may be one of my favorite novels of all time. I read it with a student I'm tutoring, and that experience has left me with some really incredible memories. What a book! Thank you.
That's so lovely to hear!
Next Victober may be the year of Gaskell❤️ This year, it was Trollope and I’m hooked on him. Being a Hardy fan, I’m even more eager now to give her a try. Thank you, Katie!
If you're a bit Hardy fan, definitely try Sylvia's Lovers :)
North and South was one of the titles I read for a Victorian Literature paper that I have just completed. Wonderful woman who was also a great philanthropist. She was a prolific letter writer and her letters are well worth reading
Ready to read Gaskell, so glad I found this video with all of your wonderful tips!
(Melanie here) Another very helpful video. I love Elizabeth Gaskell and have read many of her works.
I love her Gothic novellas and Cranford. I read Cousin Phillis this year. I appreciated it, but did not love it in the way I did the others. I need to move on to her novels next year. She is definitely one of my favorite Victorian writers.
I listened to Wives and Daughters in audiobook last spring and absolutely loved it. My next one will be North and South.
Perfect! I'm in the U.S. It's 2 a.m. and I have twenty pages left in North and South. Wonderful book. Love Margaret Hale. I agree she truly is the most talented. ❤ her
Thank you -- I love this series and appreciate your tips. I was going to pick Cranford as my first Gaskell, but I think I will choose North and South instead. 🙂
I am looking forward to reading Elizabeth Gaskell.
Thank you. I have never read Cranford, but saw the two BBC series. We noticed the 2nd series Return seemed to have a change in emphasis on the importance of certain of the characters and to the main plot. This video explained why that is !
Thank you for clarifying clemming. I'm halfway through North and South and really didn't know what it meant. They're always mentioning clemming in the book.
Great video. I started with Cranford which I loved - hilarious, but also tragic; although uplifting at the end. I also enjoyed N&S although the abrupt ending took me by surprise - I would have loved a "Return to Milton" epilogue. I am wondering what to try next - perhaps Mary Barton as I build up to W&D. Thanks for the tips about her shorter work. I'll definitely include them.
And, yes, the verb "to clem" stumped me and I had to look it up. Great word!
North and South was also my first Gaskell book. I was so transported that when I finished it I immediately turned to the beginning to reread it all over again! It has not happened with any other book, But I like to reread all Gaskell's books.
I started with her Gothic Tales, and wasn't that impressed, then I read North and South and absolutely loved it. Now I'm in the middle of Cranford and am loving it, I can't wait to read the rest.
Gaskell is amazing :)
I love Elizabeth Gaskell. My favorite book, so far, by her is North and South. My husband and I both really love that book.
I also agree, that while Jane Eyre is my personal favorite book of all time, that Elizabeth Gaskell is the best Victoria author.
My husband and I really love the BBC adaptations that you mentioned and we watch them over and over, especially North and South. It's one of those movies that when we start it we have to finish it in one sitting.
I think I've really struggled to read Elizabeth Gaskell because I got off to a bad start. First, I tried to read Cranford way back before I knew anything at all about England. I just didn't get it and I was so lost and bored. Then I read her biography of Charlotte Bronte --- twice, I think, and then decided Charlotte was my least favorite sister (personality-wise, not talent-wise). All this was almost 20 years ago, but whenever I think of Gaskell, I think of Charlotte, and sort of cringe. (Even though I now think Gaskell's commentary on Bronte wasn't necessarily always accurate). After this video, I think I'd really love her. This video was super helpful and inspiring. I'm ready to give her another try!
I definitely recommend her other books - I love Cranford but it's a slightly different form, so not a great place to start. And her biography of Charlotte Bronte is a strange read, too, because it has so many letters in and biographies were just sort of different in those times. Do try North and South :)
I have read the main Gaskell books. Ruth and Mary Barton really get you into their story but in the end, it is all frustrated. I wanted to cry and throw the books. The ones I liked are North and South, Wives and daughters and Cranford. I'm reading the Moorland Cottage now. After finishing The Way We Live Now, and all it's excitement, This work is subdued and sweet, so far. The lives of the little children is sweet. It reminds me of Wives and daughters. It has many similarities. I love the Cranford adaptations. I'll have to go back and watch to see Moorland Cottage. The story is only 100 pages. So it should get to the main plot very soon. Regency writers dwell on the fantastical, while Victorian writers tear your heart out. Jane Austen came and changed regency forever. Her books were so completely different, it was like fresh air had been breathed into the regency novel.
These tips were marvelous! This year for Victober I read North and South. It was my introduction to Gaskell. This weekend I will be watching the BBC adaptation for the first time! 😊 I own the Cranford BBC series on DVD and dearly love those- I watch them every Christmas. I especially adore Francesca Annis as Lady Ludlow whom I think A.) Gives a brilliant acting performance and B.) Presents an underrated tragic female character worthy of greater discussion and consideration in English Literature classes.
Thanks very much :) I must rewatch Cranford soon - it's so fun.
@@katiejlumsden I love the Doctor's story, that Casa Nova! Whoops, my typo, Cranford not Crawford. : ) Have a great week.
another Great video
My introduction to Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
was the 1975 BBC adaptation of North and South
which was the classic studio based
with one locked off camera production
I do love the 2005 version more as a piece
but seeing Patrick Stewart as John Thornton
saying "but I love her mother" in a Northern accent
was a revelation to me.
Can I say I like her writing better than Dickens?
Though I have been in the last three Victobers
been reading Dicken's non-fiction and I enjoy that more
than his novels.
@larrymilliken well said! This young lady got me into ready the classics. I will be looking for the BBC adaptation here in the US.
Just been given her biography of Charlotte Bronte having only recenty finished North & South which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also noticed there's a TV series of Cranford here on YT starring Judi Dench so will probably give that a watch in the not too distant future. Now, back to your tips.....
Great video, learnt loads of interesting stuff & as well as Cranford I shall be looking for the other adaptations you recommend. As well as reading whatever I can lay my hands on here in SE Asia. Great stuff; in the words of Van Morrison, thanks for the information......😃👍
Thanks very much :)
I'm currently rereading Cranford (on audiobook) and enjoying it more this time. I think that when I first read it I expected it to follow closely the TV adaptation, not knowing that it is in fact adapted from 3 novels/novellas.
I really like Gaskell, but I'd say that there is a big gap between my two favorite novels by her (Wives and Daughters and North and South, I prefer the first which is perfect, but the second is very close behind), Cranford which is kind of in the middle at moment and the works that I enjoyed far less, Ruth and Sylvia's Lovers. But as I don't overall like Hardy's books that much, I understand why I like them less. I totally agree about the three adaptations, they are excellent. The N&S one enabled me to discover Elizabeth Gaskell, and I fell instantly in love with the story and the atmosphere.
Yes, I love Gaskell's variation across her body of work, but I think it does mean some people get on with some of her books but not the others! If you haven't read Mary Barton yet, that's well worth a read, too :)
Yes I've read it, and enjoyed it,
but now that I've reread Cranford I would put this one before Mary Barton in my ranking (although they are very different).@@katiejlumsden
Always I'm eager for new reading recommendations, tho I fear that like most of us out here already my tbr is just too big! And as for adding a specific author, like Elizabeth Gaskill, well, as shameful my ignorance of her work may be, in my defense she is competing against the likes of Gillian Flynn and James Patterson. So, certainly I shall find a time to squeeze in at least one of her novels (likely North and South), based primarily on the strong recommendation received here, but the in-fighting on my tbr is too fierce to expect much more than that. :)
She's well worth a read :)
North and South is basically Victorian fan fiction of Pride and Prejudice. AND most people fail to see this, Wives and Daughters is very much Mansfield Park fan fiction. There are so many similarities, which I only discovered because I first reread MP and then straight away reread Wives and Daughters on accident. My mind was boggled!
Molly is grave and highly moral, even though she is described as having a temper, occasionally, it is really righteous indignation and still rather sweet. She finds a mentor in the second son, Roger Hamley, falls secretly in love with him (socially speaking, she is not a suitable wife for him), but he initially falls head over heals for the beautiful, lively, and not very moral newcomer Cynthia (Mary Crawford). The new stepmother has certain Mrs Norris qualities while preteding to be more like a Lady Bertram. Molly has to suffer the wrath of her father (read as uncle) trying to protect her stepsister's (read as cousin Maria's) indiscretions. These indisdretions are pretty much a direct result of Mrs Norris/Lady Bertrams/Mrs Hyazinth Gibson's shortcomings.
Maybe calling it fan fiction is a bit far fetched, but certainly there was inspiration. It feels like Elizabeth Gaskell took those stories and updated them into something more palatable to herself, and with more social commentary. And more darkness. And a character that is livelier and easier to love than Fanny Price.
I love Gaskell, but as an Austen fan and Hardy hater I have so far stayed away from her darker books (Ruth etc.).
Yes, I don't think it's quite close enough to be fan fiction, but I definitely think she was inspired by Austen.
👋❤️
I like Gaskell's works, but i can't say that i find her to be the most talented victorian author. Or to be even in the top 3. But obviously, that's just my opinion.
The order i read her books in :
▪︎ Cranford : sweet, but a little bit cloying at times.
▪︎ Ruth : The most annoying character ever, i had to DNF this one, since i couldn't take how little agency Ruth had. Compare her to Hardy's Tess or even Eliot's Hetty Sorrel, and she just seems unbelievably naive.
▪︎ Mary Barton : Much better, but all in all, not a very memorable work.
▪︎ North and South : I enjoyed it, but 5 deaths is 3 too many. It becomes emotionally manipulative at some point. Plus, the ending is beyond rushed and illogical.
▪︎ Sylvia's Lovers : My favourite so far. Philip Hepburn was a rather interesting character. I read it right after Trumpet Major, so it was even more intriguing.
I enjoy her books, but in no world would i think that her talent surpasses that of Hardy's, Eliot's or Dickens'.