Springville Library Book Nook

North and SouthBy Elizabeth Gaskell

This novel, written by Elizabeth Gaskell, deals with the Hale family, in particular, the daughter, Margaret. The Hales have moved from the southern part of England, from their longtime home at Helstone to Milton, a northern industrial city. The northern ways are very different for the Hale family. They are used the slower, more gentile lifestyle of their beloved Helstone, and Milton and it's focus on trade and industry are prove bewildering and at times overpowering. The town is separated into two groups, the masters who owe the cotton mills and the poor laborers. Margaret Hale finds herself between both groups when her family is befriended by a mill owner, John Thornton. and she befriends the family of Nicholas Higgins, a laborer and union leader. The plight of both groups is examined as the city heads into unrest with a strike.
This story deals with many topics. It examines familiar topics of pride and prejudice, and love and romance. It also deals with groups of people learning to communicate and compromise. The romantic relationship between Margaret and John Thornton is tried and tested through out the novel. In the end, Margaret has changed and compromised and realized that she has come to love the North, while realizing that her perceptions of the South have also changed.
The discussions of business, economy and politics seem relevent even in our modern day world, since Elizabeth Gaskell wrote "North and South" in 1855.
Sarah Ferrin