North and South

I participated in Ticket To Anywhere's Read-a-Long of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I have never read this book, but have seen the BBC Mini-series in my Netflix Instant Queue.  When I found out about the read-a-long, I figured it was a perfect time to read the books and then watch the series. 

North and South is a novel about rebellion. Moving from the industrial riots of discontented mill workers through to the unsought passions of a middle-class woman, and from religious crises of conscience to the ethics of naval mutiny, it poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Through the story of Margaret Hale, the middle-class southerner who moves to the northern industrial town of Milton, Gaskell skilfully explores issues of class and gender in the conflict between Margaret’s ready sympathy with the workers and her growing attraction to the charismatic mill owner, John Thornton.

I enjoyed the contrast of the South's agricultural and the North's industrialization way of life with their social differences. We watch Margaret as she goes from one to the other bringing her prejudices along and then finding an appreciation for their way of life and admiration for the residents of Milton as well as for Mr Thornton, whom she starts out disliking. I thought that the ending of the book was way too rushed as I wanted to savor it.  I watched the mini-series right after finished the book and thought it was a good adaptation and loved how the ending was portrayed, so romantic!

Thank you to Ticket to Anywhere for hosting this read-a-long, as I would not have picked up this book.