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    Wives and Daughters
    Wives and Daughters
    Wives and Daughters
    Audiobook26 hours

    Wives and Daughters

    Written by Elizabeth Gaskell

    Narrated by Josephine Bailey

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel, is regarded by many as her masterpiece. Molly Gibson is the daughter of the doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford. Her widowed father marries a second time to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks, but until the arrival of Cynthia, her dazzling stepsister, Molly finds her situation hard to accept. Intertwined with the story of the Gibsons is that of Squire Hamley and his two sons. As Molly grows up and falls in love, she learns to judge people for what they are, not what they seem. Through Molly's observations the hierarchies, social values, and social changes of early-nineteenth-century English life are made vivid in a novel that is timeless in its representation of human relationships.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateFeb 17, 2011
    ISBN9781452670584
    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 Wives and Daughters

    4.5/5

    45 ratings35 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The novel opens with young Molly Gibson, who has been raised by her widowed father. Visiting the local 'great house', Molly feels tired so she is sent to rest in the former governess's room. The woman, Clare, makes noise about her kindness to Molly, but is actually careless and thoughtless of Molly's concerns. The afternoon passes and Clare forgets about Molly and she misses her ride home after the picnic. The little girl is distressed at the idea of staying the night away from home and is relieved when her father comes to collect her.

      Seven years later, Molly is now an attractive and rather unworldly young woman, which arouses the interest of one of her father's apprentices. Mr Gibson discovers the young man's secret affection and sends Molly to stay with the Hamleys of Hamley Hall, a gentry family that purportedly dates from the Heptarchy but whose circumstances are now reduced. There she finds a mother substitute in Mrs. Hamley, who embraces her almost as a daughter. Molly also becomes friends with the younger son, Roger. Molly is aware that, as the daughter of a professional man, she would not be considered a suitable match for Squire Hamley's sons. The elder son in particular, Osborne, is expected to make a brilliant marriage after an excellent career at Cambridge: he is handsome, clever and more fashionable than his brother. However, he has performed poorly at university, breaking the hearts of his parents. Molly also discovers his great secret: Osborne has married for love, to a French Roman Catholic ex-nursery maid, whom he has established in a secret cottage.

      Meanwhile, after a startlingly brief love affair (of which Molly knows nothing), Mr Gibson abruptly decides to remarry, less from his own inclination than from a perceived duty to provide Molly with a mother to guide her. He is seduced by Clare, the former governess whom Molly remembers with no affection. Dutiful Molly does her best, for her father's sake, to get on with her socially ambitious and selfish stepmother, but the home is not always happy. However, Molly immediately gets on well with her new stepsister, Cynthia, who is about the same age as Molly. The two girls are a study in contrasts: Cynthia is far more worldly and rebellious than Molly who is naive and slightly awkward. Cynthia has been educated in France, and it gradually becomes apparent that she and her mother have secrets in their past, involving the land agent from the great house, Mr. Preston.

      Osborne Hamley's failures make his invalid mother's illness worse and widens the divide between him and his father, which is amplified by the considerable debts Osborne has run up in maintaining his secret wife. Mrs Hamley dies, and the breach between the squire and his eldest son seems irreparable. Younger son, Roger, continues to work hard at university and ultimately gains the honours and rewards that were expected for his brother. Mrs. Gibson tries unsuccessfully to arrange a marriage between Cynthia and Osborne, as Clare's aspirations include having a daughter married to landed gentry. Molly, however, has always preferred Roger's good sense and honourable character and soon falls in love with him. Unfortunately, Roger falls in love with Cynthia and when Mrs. Gibson overhears that Osborne may be fatally ill, she begins promoting the match. Just before Roger leaves on a two-year scientific expedition to Africa, he asks for Cynthia's hand and she accepts, although she insists that their engagement should remain secret until Roger returns. Molly is heartbroken at this and struggles with her sorrow and the lack of affection that Cynthia feels for Roger.

      Scandals begin to show themselves when it is revealed that several years before, Cynthia promised herself to Mr Preston for a loan of 20 pounds. Mr Preston is violently in love with Cynthia but she hates him. Molly intervenes on Cynthia's behalf and breaks off the engagement, giving rise to rumours of her involvement with Preston and endangering her own reputation. Cynthia breaks off her engagement to Roger, sustaining both family and public rebukes and insults for her inconstancy, then quickly accepts and marries Mr Henderson, a professional gentleman she met in London. Osborne, convinced that he will die soon, begs Molly to remember his wife and child when he is gone. Osborne dies shortly thereafter, and Molly reveals the secret to the grieving Squire Hamley. Osborne's widow, Aimee, arrives at Hamley Hall after receiving word that her husband is ill, bringing with her their little son, the heir to Hamley Hall. Roger has rushed home to be with his father, and his affection and good sense bring the squire to see the possible joy to be had in this new family, especially the grandson.

      As he resettles into the local scientific community, Roger begins to realise that his brotherly affection for Molly is really more. Aided by the kind interference of Lady Harriet, who has always recognized Molly's worth and charms, he finds himself pained at the thought of Molly with anyone else. Still, he hesitates at giving in to his feelings, feeling unworthy of her love after throwing away his affection on the fickle Cynthia. Before he returns to Africa, he confides his feelings to Mr Gibson, who heartily gives his blessing to the union. Tragically, Roger is thwarted, this time by a scarlet fever scare, and is unable to speak to Molly before he leaves. At this point, Gaskell's novel stops, unfinished at her death. She related to a friend that she had intended Roger to return and present Molly with a dried flower (a gift to him before his departure), as proof of his enduring love. This scene was never realised and the novel remains unfinished. In the BBC adaptation, an alternate ending was written, in which Roger is unable to leave Molly without speaking of his love, and they marry and return to Africa together.
    • 5/5
      Well, well, well. I've added Elizabeth Gaskell to the list as one of my favorite authors. This is the first book I've read by her, and I would highly recommend it. Her other books are going on my To Be Read List immediately.Wives and Daughters tells the quaint story of a widower who decides that since his daughter, Molly, is growing into a young lady, she needs a mother. He marries widow Hyacinth Clare who has a daughter of her own. That's where things get messy. This is the story of the two families melding together....sort of. There's very rich characterization in this novel. The new mother is distasteful, but not hated. The step-sisters get along great. All the characters have warts, some more than others. I won't tell more of the plot because you must read it.The author died before she finished the novel. But at 800 pages, she was nearly finished, and you really do know how the story ends. She characterizes small town England in the early 1800's, and in this sweeping saga, we have the pleasure of meeting lords and ladies, town gossips, the tenant farmers, the town doctor and his apprentices, and of course our dear Molly."It will be very dull when I shall have killed myself, as it were, and live only in trying to do, and to be as other people like. I don't see any end to it. I might as well never have lived.""I should hate to be managed," said Molly, indignantly. "I'll try and do what she wishes for papa's sake, if she'll only tell me outright; but I should dislike to be trapped into anything."
    • 4/5
      Long, but very good
    • 4/5
      This is the 3rd Gaskell book I've read and I enjoyed as much as the others. However, when I started it, I had no idea that it was her final book and she died before she finished it. The version I listened to had a final summary from her notes of what was intended, but it was sad to not hear it in her own words. One thing I enjoy about her books is that her characters are so believably real. They don't fall completely into the hero or the villain category. Even the mean stepmother of this story is not really 'evil'. She is self-absorbed and thinks way too highly of herself, but somehow, Gaskell still gives her enough redeeming characteristics that it is hard to completely dislike her. A fun and gentle book that shows the good in human nature.
    • 4/5
      I love how the characters are so complete. They are imperfect in a natural and non annoying way.I found myself reading bits to my husband, surprised at how her portrayal of human nature is still relevant today.
      It was a positive and uplifting book except getting all the way to the end and being so surprised at the abrupt ending. I was so startled I immediately googled the book to find out what happened. Turns out Mrs Gaskell died before finishing the book but left notes about the remainder of the story. My edition was completed by another author the publishing company hired. It was funny finding that out because I remember getting to a point near the end and thinking this sounds like a completely different writer.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful, satisfying book. So sad that Mrs Gaskell did not live long enough to complete it. But it's still one of the best reads ever.
    • 5/5
      It’s always difficult to portray genuinly good characters - they can easily come out flat and uninteresting - but I didn’t feel that with the heroine of this story, Molly Gibson - she has a good heart, truthful and sincere. Molly is confronted with secrets, mysteries, love entanglementss and gossip directed at her that put her into many moral difficulties, loyalty-issues and will test her character to the utmost. (Not unlikely that Gaskell has drawn some inspiration from Austen’s Fanny Price here).Molly Gibson is the daughter of a widowed country doctor. When he decides to marry the conceited and selfish Hyacinth Kirkpatrick Mollys life will change dramatically. Mrs. Gibson is not the wicked stepmother from the fairytales, but close. Although she’s not without a heart, she makes life really insufferable for everyone with her formality and many schemes to enter higher society - and get her daughter and stepdaughter married well. She’s one of Gaskells great inventions - as is her daughter Cynthia - the opposite of Molly - in all her beauty, folly and vanity she stirs up the Gibson household. And then there’s the squire at Hamley Hall and his two sons (one of wich Molly come to care deep about), the sweet sisters Miss Browning and Miss Phoebe and the gossiping Miss Hornblower and Mrs. Goodenough - and all the exciting life at Cumnor Hall.Great narration by Nadia May - she’s beginning to be one of my favorites - at 27 hours Gaskell’s masterpiece is a doorstopper, but the reader is rewarded with some memorable and nuanced characters.
    • 4/5
      so wish the author would have lived to finish the book, however it seemed it was about to end anyway. i think this is one classic that has been overlooked. gaskell's writing fits right in there with Austen and the Bronte sisters. such a charming book!
    • 5/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel is a classic story of English life in the mid-1800s. Heroine Molly Gibson is the daughter of a widowed doctor in the town of Hollingford. As a teenager she is sent on an extended visit with the Hamleys, one of two wealthy families in the area. Mrs. Hamley takes an instant liking to Molly, making her a companion of sorts. Molly also befriends the younger son Roger, and later meets his brother Osborne. Roger helps Molly work through feelings regarding her father's marriage to Clare, a local widow. Clare also has a teenage daughter, Cynthia, who has been schooled in France for many years. Cynthia and Molly become close friends, even though the two young women couldn't be more different. The story unfolds at a very slow and easy pace. Not much happens, and yet everything happens. People become sick, and some die. People visit London, and some travel further afield. Most people are inherently good, but there are one or two bad apples in Hollingford who, of course, get their comeuppance.Gaskell is well-known for exposing and exploring the social issues of her day (an earlier novel, North and South, centered on working conditions and class differences). On the surface Wives and Daughters is less daring, and more like Jane Austen's work in its depiction of romance and social strata. However, Gaskell directly challenges the traditional role of women in 19th-century English society. All of the male characters treat women as fragile children, incapable of managing their own affairs. In contrast, Molly is a strong female protagonist. She is respectful and kind, and yet uses a subtle strong will to steer events in the right direction. She comes to the aid of several characters, and proves herself indispensable during a crisis towards the end of the novel. The novel ends abruptly, because Gaskell died before it could be finished. This could have been a very bad thing indeed, but it appeared the story was close to wrapping up (and after 650 pages, shouldn't it?!). While some of the details are unknown, eventual outcomes are certain. While reading Wives and Daughters requires a significant time commitment, Gaskell writes beautifully and often with great wit, and this story held my interest to the very end.
    • 5/5
      My first time reading Elizabeth Gaskell although I've seen the mini-series adaptations of her novels. What a thoroughly enjoyable book despite it's length! It never dragged or proved uninteresting. I was just impatient for Roger to get over his infatuation with Cynthia! :) Loved it!
    • 3/5
      For the most part I enjoyed the characters in this book, especially Molly and Roger. The stepmother and stepdaughter were morally bankrupt, insipid characters and Molly had a lot of forbearance in dealing with them. I also like Gaskell's writing style. It is eloquent and draws the reader into the story.

      What ruined the book for me was the lack of ending. I was hesitant to read the book because I knew that Gaskell didn't finish it. But from the other reviews I read, many readers said that they still enjoyed the book. It was disappointing to read such a long book and come to an unsatisfactory ending.
    • 5/5
      I love to read the classics and this book was no exception. Wives and Daughters is a book full of romance and descriptive narrative, countryside life and social class. However as much as I enjoy reading a novel for the happy ending, the main love story, the heroine being acknowledged by the charming man, with this book I found myself captivated by the portrayal of the characters. Elizabeth Gaskell has an amazing skill at inventing and describing each character so that you feel as if you know them in real life. You feel as if you know what they are thinking before you have read their thoughts and you know how they will act on them. I enjoyed the element of comedy that she incorporated within some of her characters and the honesty in others. It is so unfortunate that Gaskell died before she finished Wives and Daughters as only a couple more chapters would have made it complete. All is not lost however as she did divulge her plans for the novel to friends and editions now include Gaskell's intended ending. This book for me is a study on human life of the 1820's and it is exciting, emotionally absorbing and thoroughly compelling.
    • 4/5
      Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell was not as satisfying or as interesting as the other two Gaskell's I've read, Cranford and North and South. I'm not sure what the plot was and I really didn't like many of the main characters. This was definitely a Victorian romance and I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars because this time period piece was generous with its Victorian manners, attitudes, and situations. Gaskell died before she finished the last chapter of this book; but I could write it! The reader will easily be able to predict/assume the ending of this novel. 766 pages 3 1/2 stars
    • 4/5
      2006, BBC Audiobooks, Read by Prunella Scales“The autumn drifted away through all its seasons. The golden corn-harvest, the walks through the stubble-fields, and rambles into hazel-copses in search of nuts; the stripping of the apple-orchards of their ruddy fruit, amid the joyous cries and shouts of watching children; and the gorgeous tulip-like colouring of the later time had now come on with the shortening days. There was comparative silence in the land, excepting for the distant shots, and the whirr of the partridges as they rose up from the field.” (Ch 42)When young Molly Gibson, being raised by her widowed father, attracts the attention of one of the doctor’s students, she is sent to stay with local gentry family, the Hamleys. She forms a close attachment with Mrs Hamley and befriends the younger son, Roger. The elder Hamley son, Osborne, is naturally expected to make a brilliant marriage following his career at Cambridge. But he performs poorly at university, and social expectations are thwarted. In the meantime, Roger has achieved the academic recognition that was to be his brother’s, and has become a renowned scientist. Mr Gibson remarries the widow (and social climber) Mrs Kirkpatrick; and she and her daughter, Cynthia, the same age as Molly, become a family. While Molly is delighted to have a sister, the two could not be more different: Molly naïve and slightly awkward; and Cynthia “pretty, pawky, a flirt, and a jilt.” The newlywed Mrs Gibson sets her sights on a match between Cynthia and Osborne Hamley. But, much to Molly’s heartbreak, it is Roger who asks for Cynthia’s hand. Alas, her hand is not free to give … it has been formerly promised to the scoundrel land agent, Mr Preston; and what’s worse, Molly is about to be dragged into Cynthia’s drama and become herself the subject of malicious gossip.As one would expect of Gaskell, Wives and Daughters is beautifully written and full of rich characters, both adorable and deplorable. I loved the story line, too, but Gaskell died before the novel could be finished, and its denouement, which she had allegedly related to a friend, remains unwritten. Interestingly, the BBC adaptation uses an alternate ending which I found very satisfying. In any case, Prunella Scales has done a wonderful job of narration here, and the novel is highly recommended, particularly to those who love the Victorian classics.
    • 5/5

      Why has it taken me so long to finally read this wonderful novel? I bought the Penguin edition when I was in my 20s, read a page or two, put it down and didn't pick it up again. The book sat on my shelf for years. For all I know, it could be there still. However, after university I went right off Victorian literature and it's only been in the last twelve months or so that I've felt the desire to tackle it again. And now I've fallen in love with Elizabeth Gaskell's writing.

      In brief, the novel is set in the English Midlands in the 1830s and focuses on Molly Gibson, who lives in a small town with her widowed father, the local medical practitioner. Concerned to acquire an appropriate chaperone and guide for his teenage daughter, Mr Gibson re-marries the vain, self-absorbed and manipulative Hyacinth Kirkpatrick, who has a teenage daughter of her own, Cynthia. The story of Molly and Cynthia is a tale of love, friendship, secrets and scandal. Central to the narrative are the changes in English society, where class distinctions are slowly becoming blurred.

      The best thing about this novel are its characters. There is kind, loving Molly, her sarcastic and undemonstrative but deeply caring father, her truly awful stepmother and the "fascinating, faulty" Cynthia, who is probably the most complex and interesting character in the novel. There is also the aristocratic Cumnor family, the conflicted family of Squire Hamley, and the chorus of ladies from the town. Gaskell breathed life into all of these characters. None are perfect - even the closest to perfect amongst them, Molly and Roger Hamley, demonstrate some flaws. None are mere caricatures, not even Hyacinth, in spite of her her quite breath-taking shallowness and the fact that she is the butt of much of Gaskell's highly-developed sense of irony.

      This is a novel with plenty of wit and humour, as well as melodrama and pathos. First published in serial form between August 1864 and January 1866, Gaskell died before the novel was finished. The final section, said to have been written by journalist and editor Frederick Greenwood, explains how Gaskell meant to conclude the final chapter. While it is sad that Gaskell's death left the book unfinished, it's not difficult to see where the narrative was going even without the final section. The excellence of the novel is not diminished by it being unfinished.

      I listened to an audiobook edition narrated by Josephine Bailey, who is truly superb. Every character is wonderfully realised, each with a distinct and appropriate voice.

      All in all, listening to this novel has been a wonderful experience. I'm looking forward to going back to its world in the not too distant future. And of course, I now have the BBC television adaptation to look forward to.
    • 5/5
      I can't remember the last time I read a more perfect book. The book itself has but one flaw, though, it is INCOMPLETE. I knew this when I started, but I was still not prepared for it to end.Elizabeth Gaskell is a genius at making a town and its inhabitants come to life. From the vain, intolerable Mrs. Gibson to the flaky Cynthia to the mischievous and witty lady Harriet to the kindhearted Molly, the characterization is impeccable.I can't see how I went so long into my life without the wit of Elizabeth Gaskell. Thank goodness there is much more of her work to read.
    • 5/5
      Where I got the book: free on the Kindle. Although I think I should pick up an annotated edition one of these days. It's not often I finish a book with a big smile on my face, despite the teasing ending (which had me seriously worried that my free Kindle version had something missing, but then I decided it was entirely consistent with the story). Update: Thanks to more informed friends, I now know that Mrs. Gaskell died before finishing the book, which is the biggest bummer I can possibly think of for a writer. This was my first Mrs. Gaskell and I'm now wondering, where has she been all my life? I think I learned more about the social mores of small-town England in the early 19th century (1830s according to Wikipedia) than I would have done from any number of history books. Mrs. Gaskell paints her details with a fine brush, wrapped up in an entertaining story with an undercurrent of wry humor. The narrative, for those who need reminding, tells the story of Molly Gibson, the daughter of the doctor in the aforesaid small town (or possibly large village). What's interesting to me is that the Gibsons, being of the professional class, occupy a kind of social gray area between the ordinary folk of the village and both the nobility, represented by the Earl of Cumnor's family, and the gentry, represented by the Hamleys. Not to forget a new class of Victorian gentleman ready to risk all in the name of exploration and Empire, given shape in Roger Hamley the squire's son. This means that Molly manages to achieve a degree of social mobility that would definitely have been quite startling at the time. To drive home the point, Mr. (never Dr.) Gibson goes and marries a shallow, self-centered social climber with the wonderful name of Hyacinth (Bucket, anyone?) who brings along her daughter Cynthia. We then have a family split neatly down the middle between the honest, traditional values of Olde England and the nouveau riche pretensions of an up-and-coming class who see the established gentry as a target for marriage (if only they have money to back up their good name). A nicely complicated plot ensues, with romance, secrets, scandals, and reconciliations. Really great stuff. I felt as if I should have been annoyed at Molly and Roger for being perfect to the point of saintly and the Embodiment of Honest English Virtues, but somehow I never was and found myself cheering them both on.
    • 4/5
      Molly Gibson is a kind-hearted, intelligent, sensitive girl who is thrown into society when her father, the equally sensible but far more sarcastic Mr.Gibson, marries. His new wife is flighty, hypocritical, and manipulative, but all in such a soft, pliant way that it is difficult to oppose her. With her comes her daughter Cynthia Fitzpatrick, who is Molly's own age but beautiful where Molly is pretty, and socially brilliant where Molly is genuine. Cynthia and Molly immediately become best friends, but Cynthia is so constantly charming young men that (by trying to help her get out of scrapes) Molly's own reputation suffers.

      Easily one of the most charming, romantic Victorian novels I've ever read. Victorian novels generally put so much emphasis on morals or virtues that I find alien and silly, or are so long-winded in their explanations, descriptions, and dialog, that I grow quite out of patience with them. Instead, Gaskell seems to have a good deal of sympathy for characters like Cynthia, who would have been treated very severely by authors like Trollop or Bradden, and quietly pokes fun at the sexist, classist, xenophobic notions of her main characters. She seems to like her characters, and want to explain them to her readers, instead of trying to use them as puppets to force her readers into higher morals. Gaskell is nearly as witty as Dickens, but turns her attention in much the same direction as Austen, with that same satirical edge to her domestic descriptions. Gaskell is particularly adept at portraying characters' personalities and interests through dialog alone. I quite loved this, and was horrified to learn, when I was 75% done and utterly wrapt up in the story, that it was never finished. It ends on a satisfying note, however, so though one does not get to actually read the resolution, one is not left without hope that it did take place. In a way, by ending this novel before the hero and heroine confess their love for each other, one is left to resolve it in the manner most satisfactory to oneself, and not bound to the author's choices.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful!! Clearly a mature work, with beautifully-created, multi-faceted characters. I'm especially impressed with the depiction of Cynthia, in that she doesn't come across as merely a caricature of a beautiful and careless? young woman. She may be weak in certain ways, but she isn't bad or evil; she has characteristics that are endearing too, and in the end, one can't help but like her...as do all those in the book. I'm so sad that Mrs Gaskell died before she could finish it, even if we know what was going to happen at the end!
    • 5/5
      Lovely. Similar to an Austen novel.
    • 4/5
      It is interesting that in this day of instant gratification and quick fixes, a novel like this one could still be appealing. This is definitely a testimony to Gaskell's story-telling abilities: throughout the 600-some pages, the reader is drawn not only into the pace but also into the plot, carefully crafted to drop little hints without revealing too much. The characters themselves are well fleshed out without being too cliché and while the ending is predictable, it simply reassures the modern reader that tradition can still be fashionable.A lovely engaging read.
    • 5/5
      Comparisons between Elizabeth Gaskell and Jane Austen are warranted, for Ms. Gaskell's irony is similarly delicate and incisive. Mrs. Gibson's speeches are reminiscent of Austen's more foolish characters. Molly Gibson herself, however, has a straightforward sweetness that much more echoes a Jane than a Lizzy or Emma. Still, despite lacking the tartness or wit of an Austen heroine, Molly is saved from being too dully good by her clear-sighted perceptions of others. Now I'm just frustrated because I didn't realize this was an unfinished novel!
    • 4/5
      so wish the author would have lived to finish the book, however it seemed it was about to end anyway. i think this is one classic that has been overlooked. gaskell's writing fits right in there with Austen and the Bronte sisters. such a charming book!
    • 3/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell is a fine writer, who penned admirable heroines and sensitive heroes, but she definitely peaked with 'North and South' - 'Mary Barton', her first novel, is far too melodramatic, and I'm afraid I found 'Wives and Daughters', her final (and unfinished) work, too slow. I class this sort of Austenesque pastoral satire as 'Sunday evening fodder', the sort of gentle, harmless period drama that is a staple production of the BBC around autumn, when the nights are drawing in and the weather is terrible. Like 'Cranford' (which I won't be adding to my Gaskell library), these adaptations usually feature Dame Judi Dench in a bonnet and conclude with a wedding or two. I much prefer Gaskell's 'northern' novels, which are a more engaging and instructive blend of humour, romance and social commentary - the body count is usually considerably higher (imagine, only one death in 'Wives and Daughters'!), but on the plus side, there are fewer old women in bonnets.That said, I did persevere with this story, because the central characters are well drawn and Gaskell knows how to pace a domestic drama with teasers - what is Cynthia's secret? When will Obsbourne's father find out what his son has been up to? Molly Gibson, the pure and selfless heroine, is far too good for my liking, but I loved Cynthia's 'Estella Syndrome', as I termed her fickle behaviour (now there's a girl who knows how to keep her options open!) Cynthia Kirkpatrick is my favourite type of heroine, or perhaps anti-heroine - beautiful, charming, sharp as tack, and ruthless! She knows that men of every age and station find her irresistible, and employs her natural talents to bait them and then reel them in - but only if they can be of advantage to her. And she's so thoroughly attractive that everyone forgives her for using them! Wonderful. Molly truly fell flat compared to her wicked stepsister. And I felt sorry for the oily Mr Preston, but not Roger Hamley, who must have been either gullible or shallow.From the supporting cast of thousands, I adored Mr Gibson, who marries in haste and repents at leisure, and Squire Hamley, and found in Lady Harriet the strength lacked by Molly and the generosity missing in Cynthia. The rest of the caricatures - Cynthia's sycophantic and self-centred mother, and her aristocratic match Lady Cumnor, ailing Osbourne and blockhead Roger, and of course the usual gaggle of spinsters - were mildly entertaining but only pale imitations of Austen's stock-in-trade. Although some of the characters and devices reminded me of 'North and South' - a dark-haired heroine with 'soft grey eyes' who dotes on her father, invalid mothers, brothers with secret wives, many misunderstandings, and even a Dr Donaldson! - I missed the earnest grounding in social concerns of real importance that give meaning and impact to Gaskell's 'northern' novels. If I wanted to read about the romantic entanglements of swooning girls in white dresses, I would choose 'Sense and Sensibility'. And if Gaskell used the phrase 'tete-a-tete' once, she must have used it a thousand times - the constant repetition made me laugh at first, and then slowly started to annoy me.All in all, a pleasant, if rather lengthy, comedy of manners, for fans of Austen and Heyer.
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel (she died just before she finished the book) is a gentle comedy of manners very much in the style of Jane Austen and was serialized in The Cornhill magazine from 1864 to 1865 Molly Gibson is the only child of widowed doctor living in a provincial English town in the 1830s. She is attractive, but also innocent and unworldly. When her father marries the widowed Mrs. Kirkpatrick to provide Molly a mother, she is unhappy at the event, but warms to the inevitability when she meets Mr.s Kirkpatrick's daughter, Cynthia, to whom she forms an instant friendship.The two girls couldn't be more different: Cynthia is far more worldly and rebellious than Molly, who is naive and slightly awkward. Cynthia has been educated in France, and it gradually becomes apparent that she and her mother have secrets in their past, involving the land agent from the great house, Mr. Preston, who is rumored to be a gambler and a scoundrel. Nevertheless, they are loyal to each other & often conspire to elude both Cynthia's mother and Molly's father.Molly has harbored a secret love for Roger Hamley, the younger son of the local squire. Unfortunately, Roger falls in love with Cynthia and when Mrs. Gibson overhears that Osborne may be fatally ill, she begins promoting the match. Just before Roger leaves on a two-year scientific expedition to Africa, he asks for Cynthia's hand and she accepts, although she insists that their engagement should remain secret until Roger returns. Molly is heartbroken, and struggles with her sorrow and her knowledge that Cynthia lacks affection for Roger.In true Victorian novel fashion, Molly must eventually win Roger, but first must go through a series of trials, missteps and misunderstandings made worse by the local small town gossips. You know how it is going to end, but Gaskell makes all the twists and turns enjoyable reading.
    • 4/5
      I love how the characters are so complete. They are imperfect in a natural and non annoying way.I found myself reading bits to my husband, surprised at how her portrayal of human nature is still relevant today.
      It was a positive and uplifting book except getting all the way to the end and being so surprised at the abrupt ending. I was so startled I immediately googled the book to find out what happened. Turns out Mrs Gaskell died before finishing the book but left notes about the remainder of the story. My edition was completed by another author the publishing company hired. It was funny finding that out because I remember getting to a point near the end and thinking this sounds like a completely different writer.
    • 5/5
      Simply delightful! Loved it, but I didn't know until the end that Gaskell died before she finished it! The audiobook fills in from the author's outline.
    • 5/5
      What a beautiful story! This is a tremendously long book, but the story sucks you in to the point that you can finish it in a day. It is light-hearted and real. The anticipation of love realized is the best part of the story. Reading it is like watching a romantic comedy. The hardest part was knowing the entire time that my beloved author dies before finishing the book. Her editor "finished" it - and he was a man.
    • 4/5
      Themes: Love, family, classSetting: Victorian EnglandTwo years ago I was flipping channels when I found this costume drama on PBS and I couldn't turn away. Never mind that I came in near the end and had no idea who any of the characters were. Never mind that I didn't even know the title of the movie or what it was about. Something kept me riveted right to the end of the show. Once I had discovered the title, I knew I had to read this one. I finished it yesterday, and it was a perfect antidote to a very stressful week.Molly Gibson is an only child of a widowed surgeon, living in a quiet English village. Her life moves at a sedate pace until she goes on a visit to the Hamleys nearby. While she is staying there, her father decides to remarry, and Molly's life is turned upside down. She is pleased to be getting a new stepsister, but her stepmother is a different story. Cynthia, the new sister, and Molly, grow up, attend dances, fall in love, and share some secrets.This is not a quick read - it was over 600 pages, and it wasn't even finished! I'm glad I knew that before I got to the end, or I would have been pretty upset to have read that far and then had to imagine my happy ending. But I really enjoyed it. It just swept me up into the world of the story and I didn't want to leave.
    • 2/5
      I thought the book would be right up my alley, but try as I might, I could not become engaged in it. Instead of Austen or one of the Brontes, I was more reminded of Miss Laetitia Prism from The Importance of Being Earnest, whose motto ("The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.") summed up these 600+ pages for me.Scholars tell us that Gaskell's observations of the middle class of the period were spot on; they also praise her for taking on social issues such as the role of women. All true. I also agree that Gaskell developed the relationships between the characters in a nuanced and realistic way. Still, I couldn't help feeling a little as if I were reading a 19th century Judy Blume. Or maybe I am just allergic to mean step-mother stories.