Favourite Books 2: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

From a rural idyll to one of the new towns, Margaret Hale's life couldn't have changed more dramatically when her non-conformist minister father moves the family from a comfortable life in the south to a northern industrial town. What she finds there shocks her.

Gaskell uses her experiences of the poverty, neglect and hardship of northern industrial life to explore the differences in lives and relationships. This great Victorian novel is full of contrasts and comparisons; Margaret's view of the North and the Thornton's view of the South being the obvious example. As well as skilfully defining her characters and weaving in the small cultural differences that create misunderstandings, Gaskell gives us a gritty portrayal of life at the time. Britain was changing; people were moving from the land into the towns, mills and factories were appearing, and as always with these things, society was running to keep up.

Yet deftly laced through all the poverty and political unrest, social problems and difficulties, we have the burgeoning romance between Margaret and Mr Thornton. Complex and fascinating, Thornton is as lust-worthy and attractive as Mr Darcy!

This is book is a joy and a delight to read.