North and South

By: Elizabeth Gaskell

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

This is the story of Margaret Hale, a young English woman who accompanies her family's move from rural southern England to the industrial north. It proves to be a difficult change, with all the attendant social conflicts and cultural misunderstandings consequent to such situations. It is a study in contrasts. Mrs. Gaskell created one of the Victorian era's greatest heroines in Margaret Hale, a young lady of passionate intensity. Always filled with a fiery sense of justice, she feels herself, nevertheless, spiritually isolated from society.

Margaret finds her new surroundings shocking. Though appalled by the dirt, noise and the gruffness of the mercantile city, she reserves her greatest contempt for the mill owners themselves. When charismatic mill owner John Thornton begins to take classics lessons from her father, Margaret's distaste for this vulgar "new class" of industrial magnates crystallizes.

Over time, Margaret's opinion of the mill workers begins to soften, though not toward the owners - which makes her strange attraction to John Thornton all the more remarkable. The wrenching series of labor problems and deaths that occur as the story progresses serves as a background to the inner struggles Margaret endures...the turmoil of private family life in contrast to the struggle against the overt poverty and deprivation she witnesses around her.

Listen to one of the greatest of all Victorian novels and let the artistry of Elizabeth Gaskell sweep you away to another time and place. Considered her finest work, North and South will keep you listening breathlessly to the very end.

Public Domain (P)2007 Audio Connoisseur

A better read than a listen

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell's exploration of the cultures of the north and south of England in the late 19th century is still fresh, if somewhat poorly served by a well enunciated if lack-luster reading.

Okay

Is there anything you would change about this book?

At first I was a bit put off that the story was narrated by a man, even though it is definitely a story about a woman. Overall though, the narration was quite good.

Would you recommend North and South to your friends? Why or why not?

Not really. It was okay, but I would first recommend Portrait of a Lady or Anna Karenina

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Okay .

Could you see North and South being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Possibly.

Any additional comments?

Not the best classic I've listened to. It took a while to get into the story. Overall it was an average story. The best part is that Gaskell brought to view the woman's point of view at that time iin history. Her writing was probably quite cutting edge for her time.

I wanted to like it, but...

I really <b>wanted</b> to like this novel: <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> tries to meet <i>Shirley</i> in George Eliot's England, but Gaskell isn't Austen or a Bronte or Eliot. Worse--the narrator (who must otherwise be competent since he's credited with 96 books on this site) reads the text as if it's Dr. Seuss.

If you're running out of 19th century novels and must download this, at least get the Nadia May vesion. I think her narration (or any woman's voice) would draw less attention to the novel's flaws.

I still give it three stars - I'm not sure why!

Great Literature, OK Reader

I enjoy reading old novels such as this, as it always gives an interesting perspective on what life was like - more than a simple history textbook can do. And this novel is no exception. Gaskell's writing delves really into the thought processes of her characters. Occasionally this piece can be a little too melodramatic for my tastes, but that does come with the territory of being a 19th C social novel. Overall, I highly enjoyed the work and would recommend it to anyone how enjoys this genre.

My only negative comment is that the narrator is - more often than not - too dragging to enjoy getting into the work. He specializes is reading classic literature (as I surmise from his list of credits) but his need to emphasize every word or sentence is quite draggy and often made me tune out his monotonous voice. I felt that he captured the essence of the older characters such as Mr. Hale or Mr. Bell; but his other characters did not have the right kind of energy for me. Be wary of this reader, unless you prefer long, drawn out readings and a performance that often did not feel like it lived up to the author's intended conveyance of her words.

Also, on a technical note about the reader, I felt that during long passages of dialog, the characters' voices were not consistent. This is my opinion - as one who deals with sound professionally - so please take or leave this criticism.

Reader Disaster

I finished this book, but there were times when I really was tempted to stop. It was an interesting tale, but the main problem with the recording is the reader. I had listened a bit before I bought, but the part I heard was a male voice, the problem was when the reader had to use a female voice. I was really relieved when one character died so that I didn't have to hear him speak for her anymore. A reader really can make or break a book, and I would say this reader almost ruined a classic.

Recommended

Fans of Jane Austen, Dickens or George Eliot will enjoy this story. Mr. Thornton isn't Mr. Darcy - but he comes pretty close. Once you get used to the annoying falsetto simpering voice the reader uses for Margaret Hale and the unusual intonation he uses for chapter headings, the story makes you forget the shortcomings of the narration.

Wonderful book, poor voice for Margeret

The book itself is very good. The narration, however is poor for the main character, Margaret. All of the other narration is good. He does a good job imitating different English accents.

AWESOME

I almost didn't get this version for the complaints about the reader. I found he was incredibly good and felt like he differentiated speakers very adeptly. I cannot imagine a better book or a better reader...I finished it in a week or so because I couldn't "put it down". LOVE IT! Better than the BBC movie, although it's worth seeing too.

I inhaled this book

I have listened to many audiobooks that I enjoyed and would recommend, but I still noticed every effortful 30 min or hour that went by. Those books were work to get through. This book I inhaled! I enjoyed every minute, looked forward to listening every day, and got anxious when I was too busy with other things to have time for the audiobook. I'm not sure why this book enthralled me (Mr. Thornton?)--I read a paper copy of Wives and Daughters and loved it, but this was better. Elizabeth Gaskell is great at detail so that you really enter her Victorian setting. Also, the examination of class and poverty in the book was honest and complex and very interesting to me. Of course, what really sucked me in was the romantic storyline. The negatives would be several long slow death scenes with terribly cheesy dialogue, and also sometimes the narrator's accent was difficult to understand. Yet I INHALED this book.

No ending!

What did you like best about North and South? What did you like least?

i LIKED THE SETTINGS

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Gaskell again?

PROBABLY NOT

Was North and South worth the listening time?

NO...THERE WAS NO ENDING! i FELT LIKE I WAS MISSING A TAPE.

Any additional comments?

DISAPPOINTING!