North and South

By: Elizabeth Gaskell

Narrated by: Kate Petrie

Margaret Hale returns home to her family in the rural south of England, after living with a wealthy aunt for 10 years, learning how to become a proper young woman. She is not home for long before her life is uprooted and her family moves to a town called Milton, in Northern England, where her father intends to be a tutor, leaving their Pastoral life, and the Church of England behind.

One of Mr. Hale's pupils, Mr. Thornton, runs the cotton mill and has taken a keen interest in Margaret, who is disgusted by the amount of poverty around Milton and, also, by the way Mr. Thornton treats his employees. Although an uprising is brooding and Margaret sympathizes with the workers, she starts to become fond of Thornton and his ambition after living for 18 months in Milton.

Margaret is surrounded by tragedy and loss from her family's ailing health, and a secret she must never reveal. Her societal upbringing in the south begins to clash with the northern poverty and her morals are beginning to shift and polarize. When more death starts to intrude on Margaret's life, she leaves Milton to return south to her Aunt where Margaret learns of a fortunate change of circumstance awaiting her that changes everything, including her relationship with Mr. Thornton.

©2016 A.R.N. Publications (P)2016 A.R.N. Publications

Spectacular Story!

Elizabeth Gaskell has a unique talent for writing characters that will pull at your heartstrings, and ‘North and South’ is no different. Though not as famous as authors like Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austen, Gaskell’s writing skills are as good, if not better than, those traditionally studied in English literature classes. Her narratives challenge the norm in Victorian society, drawing readers into the drama.

North and South follows the story of Margaret Hale who returns to her rural home after spending time with her rich aunt to learn how to become a proper woman. However, shortly after she returns home, Margaret’s family is uprooted, and Margaret soon finds herself surrounded by a worker’s uprising. Through Margaret, Gaskell accurately portrays the workers’ conditions in Victorian England, painting a vivid picture in the listeners mind.

Many Victorian themes can be found in Gaskell’s work, but she is also known for the way she challenged traditions and societal expectations. Her portrayal of women and the poor during this time period go against general expectations, putting this in line with works like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. Gaskell’s smooth prose is definitely something that anyone studying Victorian or English literature should be exposed to.

The narrator for this particular version of North and South, Kate Petrie, adds to the overall nature of the novel. Her British accent accurately fits the speaker of the novel itself, giving the reader a full experience that is sure to engulf them in the narrative.

Thoroughly enjoyed

I wanted to read more! I had a difficult time trying to put the book down.

wish there was more, 7-Eleven..

the characters are excellent the lowest very similar to.
Pride and Prejudice. it's extremely enjoyable and hard to stop listening. I have read it many times

Brilliant

I couldn't stop listening. I love the storyline in general (and I'm not a big love story fanatic). The reading is well done and the author brilliant.

Romantic, and yet philosophical

I read Wives and Daughters a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. North and South seems to be Mrs. Gaskell's most popular book and I can understand why. The heroine is a strong, opinionated and headstrong but often gets herself into trouble because of those very admirable traits. Although it is a romance, it also is philosophical as it relates to capitalism and organized labor. It was excellent that although it is a bit left leaning, the book also supports the arguments of capitalism and property ownership fairly well.

This book could easily have been titled "Pride and Prejudice" if that title had not already been taken by another famous British author; there are many prejudices, misunderstandings and secrets. I loved all the characters - none of them perfect but all of them likeable. I ended up not being able to put the book down and so didn't get much done yesterday.

A note about this audio version. The narrator was Kate Petrie and she was excellent - especially when working class characters spoke - reading those parts were significantly more difficult than letting Ms. Petrie do her thing.

Victorian Style Romance with 20th Century Brains

Not usually one for female authors writing fiction from or about this period. I was surprised to find North and South a better story than expected for all it's romantic leaning. I do recommend it for those interested in 20th Century female novelists, romantic works about the 19th century, or even the differences in England's Trade and Leisure classes during the days of "those dark, satanic mills".

Great Listening From Start to Finish

Where does North and South rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among my top 20 percent of over 100 books.

What other book might you compare North and South to and why?

I would not wish to compare this book to others. But I would suggest The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

What about Kate Petrie’s performance did you like?

Excellent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Margaret stands up to Mrs.Thornton is entertaining.

Loooveeee this book.

Kate Petrie is wonderful. I always loved this book and she brought it to life in such a wonderful way.

Go Kate!!!

I love the story but terrible Narrator (Terrible)

Don't bother with this version the narrator is reading it like a text book. Aweful, aweful, aweful version of this beloved story.