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    Cranford
    Cranford
    Cranford
    Audiobook6 hours

    Cranford

    Written by Elizabeth Gaskell

    Narrated by Clare Wille

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    In the village of Cranford, decorum is maintained at all times. Despite their poverty, the ladies are never vulgar about money (or their lack of it), and always follow the rules of propriety. But this discretion and gentility does not keep away tragedy; and when the worst happens, the Amazons of Cranford show the true strength of their honest affections. A masterpiece of social comedy, Cranford is as moving as it is funny, and as sharp as it is tender.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateMar 1, 2007
    ISBN9789629545321
    Author

    Elizabeth Gaskell

    Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) was a British novelist and short-story writer. Her works were Victorian social histories across many strata of society. Her most famous works include Mary Barton, Cranford, North and South, and Wives and Daughters.

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    Reviews for Cranford

    4/5

    109 ratings69 reviews

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    • 4/5
      In need of a bit of a comfort read after the sometimes-harrowing Bridge on the Drina
    • 4/5
      A lovely cozy book of a tiny quaint town and a sweetly happy ending...highly necessary for my poor frayed nerves these days.
    • 5/5
      Funny and just plane woderful. This is a classic in its own right. Elizabeth Gaskell was able to capture small town life from her time in a way that transcends time.
    • 4/5
      This book consists of a series of linked vignettes about life in a quiet country village. Its characters are primarily women living lives of gentile poverty. Episodes include a hero saving a child from being hit by a train, reappearances by long-lost lovers and long-lost relatives, gypsies, a crime wave, and how to act around the aristocracy. This is a quiet, gentle book. It has the feel of a book by Jane Austen or Barbara Pym.
    • 5/5
      Very impressive and enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      I read this as a teenager and found it dull. This time round I thought it witty and a delight! It is not a great Novel with a capital 'N', hardly surprising, as the first part was written as a one-off for Dicken's magazine, Fireside Friends, and she was persuaded to keep writing further episodes. This explains while so many good characters get killed off so early (cheerfully dispatched with painful and lingering illnesses).
    • 5/5
      A delightful book of 193 pages taking place during the industrial revolution in England. It is the story of manners and local customs as mostly seen through the eyes of females. The life of a woman was hard and oft times unhappy; this book was no exception. A great read!
    • 4/5
      Cranford details the tightly-drawn world of the upper-class citizens of a small English village. I definitely think E.F. Benson had the Cranford ladies in mind when he constructed his delightful societal struggles in the Mapp & Lucia books. Gaskell's world is set earlier and is necessarily gentler, but has a similar level of detail and observation. An enjoyable read, with subtle humor.
    • 4/5
      I suppose you probably want to know what exactly Cranford is about, eh? Well, there isn't really an overarching plot, rather, this is a series of connected, gentle vignettes about spinster ladies. I am pretty sure Cranford is to the 19th Century what Golden Girls are to my generation. It's geriatric girl power. The only real difference is Cranford's Blanche is a whole lot more chaste, her name is Miss Matilda, Mattie for short. She doesn't actually hook up with anyone, but has a run-in with an old suitor, therefore she gets to be Blanche.The ladies of Cranford are all genteel, and super fab friends. They respect economy and look down on people who are flashy with their wealth. They socialize, deal with deaths, gossip, and write letters. Oh and hang out at tea. I thought the cast of characters I have met so far all seem to be interesting and well-developed. You get to know certain quirks, which makes them feel like people I may know in real life. For example, there is one scene where the lady feeds her dog, Carlos cream in his tea instead of milk, because he can tell the difference, yet she gives her guests milk in their tea instead of precious cream. I definitely know people who treat their dogs like that.And I guess, I will conclude my impressions of the first half of this book saying I enjoy reading about elderly, sassy ladies. Gaskell has a very easy going style in Cranford that makes it wonderful, before bed sort of read.
    • 4/5
      "Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all of the holders of houses above a certain rent are women."Cranford is not exactly a novel, rather a series of short stories published in Dickens' Household Words taking place amongst the old maids and widows of the fictional (but seems to be a village in Lancashire) village of Cranford. Unlike Gaskell's other works it doesn't contain any of the social aspects of life in the Victorian age (apart from the social etiquette of when and which tea to serve), but it does focus on women; and although these women are genteel simple village women, they are as strong and independent as the Manchester heroines of North and South and Mary Barton. It's also hilariously funny in places - a gorgeous Sunday afternoon read.
    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable series of stories about the people of Cranford written as Victorian style comedy of manners.
    • 4/5
      A thoroughly enjoyable gem of a book. I like authors who play with language and complicated sentence structure, and I was not disappointed. Witty, subtle, and charming.
    • 5/5
      technical issue with incomplete chapters but as it's somewhat unrelated episodes it was still readable, and i absolutely loved the narrator
    • 4/5
      Absolutely delightful! There's no sweeping plot, but little happenings and the comings and goings of the little village ladies were so humorously and lovingly depicted, that I couldn't put the book down. The characters are so lovable, despite of (or thanks to?) their foibles because at the bottom, they care about each other. Funny that a book about elderly spinsters and widows would be so entertaining and engaging! I'm amazed that I'd never heard of Elizabeth Gaskell a long time ago.
    • 4/5
      Very pleasant glimpse into an unusual world--single aging women of the 19th century. Poor, but hiding their poverty. Gentle and genteel. None of the explosiveness of Dickens, but well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      The book itself was absolutely lovely. The reader did an incredibly effective job acting the different parts as well. But there were at least two chapters that were abruptly cut short, so I’m honestly not sure how much of the book I actually heard.
    • 5/5
      It has been awhile since I have read a book that has given me nothing but sheer delight.  This is what Cranford did for me.  It runs a gamut of emotions - funny, sad, exciting - without any sense of syrupy melodrama and was a joy to read from beginning to end.Cranford is a small English village comprised mostly of women.   This story concerns some older spinsters and widows - a pair of sisters (Misses Deborah and Mattie Jenkyns) and some of their friends (Miss Pole, Mrs.  Barker, Mrs. Jamieson, and Mrs. Forrester) -  who try very hard to hold onto their sense of gentility and their way of life in a world that is rapidly changing before their eyes.  The narrator remains nameless through most of the book, but it is clear it is a younger female, one who lives in a nearby village and has close ties to the Cranford women.  The men in Cranford (Captain Brown, Mr. Holbrook, Peter, Signor Brunoni, and Mr. Hoggins)  are, for the most part, transient characters.  They come in and out of Cranford and rarely stay for long.  The narrator makes this clear at the very beginning:"In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent, are women.  If a married couple comes to settle in the town, somehow the gentleman disappears; he is either fairly frightened to death by being the only man in the Cranford evening parties, or he is accounted for by being with his regiment, his ship, or closely engaged in business all the week ...In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford.  What could they do if they were there?" (pg. 1)Cranford was originally published in a serial format in Charles Dickens' Household Words.  It is a series of vignettes told by the narrator to the reader in an intimate tone.  That tone, while often gossipy in nature, is without malice or meanness.  It is much more like catching up on news with an old friend.  Most importantly, though, the vignettes portray women adapting to circumstances and change beyond their control with strength and ingenuity. 
    • 4/5
      Cranford is a series of short stories about a charming country town in Victorian England that seems to be dominated by a close knit group of nosy spinsters. The stories revolve around the life of elderly Miss Maddie. Although the stories don't have detailed earth shattering plots, they ooze charm. I initially found the book to be a lighthearted and easy listen, but by the end of the book I had really become attached to the kind and generous Miss Maddie and the odd and whimsical residents of Cranford. Excellently narrated by Prunella Scales!
    • 4/5
      This is a weird little book. Picture a society made up mostly of women. In the fictional town of Cranford women run the show. If a new couple arrives in Cranford to settle down sooner or later the man of the house vanishes. This society simply doesn't need a man...until Captain Brown and his two daughters arrive on the scene. There is no central plot as this was originally published as a satirical serial. However, the entire story is told first person through the eyes of a visitor and most of the story centers on one particular character, Miss Matty (Matilda).
    • 3/5
      I get the impression that Cranford is Gaskell's most beloved novel, but it's not my favorite. It's very charming and sweet, but I can't get over the sense of sadness and thwartedness that pervades.
    • 5/5
      Cranford is a story that is hard to describe. The little town of Cranford is populated mainly by older women, mostly single or widowed. There are a few men about, but they are largely of a lower class, whereas many of the women consider themselves of gentle birth and do their best to act accordingly, especially Mrs. Jamieson, the town’s matriarch. The book revolves around Mary Smith, a frequent visitor to Cranford who often stays with the Jenkyns sisters, two unmarried older women who enjoy some status as children of the late rector. Most of the chapters, however, center in on Miss Matty, the younger of the sisters, whose gentle heart endears her to the entire town.This was not at all what I’d expected from it, and not in a bad way at all. My previous experiences with Gaskell consisted of North and South and Mary Barton, which are both very concerned with the rise of industrialism in the north. Cranford is much more a picture of genteel life as it might have been during Gaskell’s lifetime, in a small town where women rule all. Each of the women is made distinct by her own actions as they socialize, like Mrs. Jamieson who is a complete snob, the elder Miss Jenkyns whose sternness overrides any other aspects of her personality, and Miss Matty, a sweet woman who is too easily led by everyone around her.There is no real plot here. The chapters can almost be seen as a series of little stories regarding the inhabitants of Cranford, tied together by Miss Matty’s presence. There is a general movement towards what happens at the end but it isn’t compelling reading; this is a book to live in, to get to know the characters, to begin to care about what happens to them. It’s short, but it accomplishes these goals with ease and opens a window into life as it was. I was reminded mainly of a more sedate Jane Austen, less concerned with irony and overall plot but still depicting a genuine picture of an upper class society and its ills. She does still use humor to depict the ridiculousness of their situations; my favorite is when one of characters is complimented on her lace and launches into a story of how it had a little trip through her cat’s digestive system! I liked the book and I was completely charmed by it, but this isn’t a book for the impatient among us.Cranford reminded me of how much I adore nineteenth century literature. There is something so inherently appealing in Gaskell’s style, in the modest but earnest ways of her characters, and in the quiet community life that they all share. I can’t say this is a world I’d ever want to live in, but I definitely loved visiting.
    • 2/5
      Gaskell tried but unfortunately could not live up to the standards of Jane Austen, it picked up somewhat towards the end but still as a whole I found this book to be quite boring. 
    • 3/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell is not Jane Austen. That being said, it was entertaining ut noth something I will read or watch again. I do like Judy Dench in this role.
    • 3/5
      The first part of the book feels choppy and episodic; the latter half, after Miss Matty loses everything in the bank failure starts tying the different strands together with the end resolving everything. The recent Masterpiece Theater adaptation took GREAT liberties with the Capt. Brown and Miss Jenkyns story lines, and the novel actually covers a great period of time: I think 10-15 years is suggested by the statement that Flora Gordon (the daughter of Jessie Brown and Major Gordon) is nearly grown at the end of the book (when she hasn't even been born at the beginning). I really enjoy Gaskell's narrative voice for Mary Smith and like Austen she pays close attention to the social action. Miss Pole has to be the poster child for skeptics.

      On a personal note, I started this book with my mother in the hospital in January. I will forever regret not finishing reading it to her.
    • 4/5
      Last winter, I rented Cranford, the BBC miniseries (starring Judi Dench), from Netflix—and that got me interested in the book on which that’s based. The book is a series of vignettes about the ladies of the town of Cranford, many of whom are elderly spinsters like Miss Matty Jenkyns and her sister Deborah, or Miss Pole (much as I tried not to, I kept seeing Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton in the roles of Miss Matty and Miss Pole).This short story differs significantly from the miniseries; the miniseries focuses a lot on the encroachment of the railways on the town of Cranford, and there’s a romantic subplot going on there. The book is much more centered on the middle-aged and elderly ladies of the town, as seen through a semi-outsider, Miss Mary Smith, the daughter of a family friend of the Jenkynses.As another reviewer said on Librarything, reading about the ladies of Cranford is a lot like reading about the Golden Girls. This is a very lighthearted, funny book in many places, but still very touching. The ladies are very provincial, focused on the mundane details of their lives—but very loyal to one another, as seen when Matty looses her money and her friends conspire to help her out. It took a few pages for me to get into the story, but once I did, I was fully engaged in the lives of the characters in this book.
    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable series of stories about the people of Cranford written as Victorian style comedy of manners.
    • 5/5
      Great story! The chapter cut short in the recording, bummer.
    • 4/5
      I was inspired to read Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell after watching the PBS/BBC miniseries last year. The town of Cranford is dominated by women. There are relatively few men, at least in the social circle of the characters in this book. The main characters are all single, either spinsters or widows, and they fiercely guard their way of life.The book, originally published serially in 1853 in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words, is a series of vignettes of the daily life of Miss Mathilda Jenkyns. This book is definitely character driven and starts off slow. Nothing truly exciting ever happens in Cranford and you have to get to know the characters before you understand how small disruptions can make huge waves in their lives. Gaskell manages to convey how important small events are to these characters. You get the sense that if anything big ever happened they'd die from the shock. The narrator, Mary Smith, a frequent (and slightly more worldly) visitor to the town tries to keep molehills from turning into mountains and for the most part is successful. But, sometimes even she gets sucked into the daily drama.Fans of the miniseries might be disappointed with the book. Many of the funniest storylines from the series are added. But, the loyalty and friendship the characters display towards each other should endear this book to all but the most jaded reader.
    • 3/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell continues to be a disappointment for me... her topics and the Victorian style of her novels should garner high marks from me because this is my favorite genre. However, I found "Cranford" like the other Gaskell novels I've read to be be kind of boring."Cranford" is a loose collection of stories about the older ladies of the community, especially Miss Matty Jenkyns, who goes through a number of tribulations. The stories were pretty slow moving and this felt like a much longer book than it actually was.
    • 5/5
      Though the subject of the novel is a group of quaint, elderly ladies bent on manners and morality, the wit is sharp, the storytelling endearing, and the humor raucously funny. In fact, the humor took me completely by surprise. From the clueless old woman who take advice given in jest literally and dresses up her cow in grey flannel, to the maid forbidden to take followers who insists she never takes on more than one at a time, every page presents one hilarious comment and eccentricity after another. But the novel doesn't cross the line and mocks its own characters; it balances well sweet, endearing moments with the laughter.The town of Cranford is "ruled" by spinster sisters Deborah and Matty Jenkins, Miss Pole, and widows Mrs. Jamieson and Mrs. Forrester. The women live in genteel poverty, valuing their social positions above monetary wealth. Wearing an outdated dress is no matter, but heaven help a woman who marries below her station!The book moves along in chronological order without a major plot. Instead, we are given 16 chapters of Cranford life: their highs, their lows, their triumphs,and their faults. We are left with a charming portraiture of village life and of characters we would not mind knowing better.An absolute must-read. I knew before I finished the fist chapter that this book would be a favorite.