Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell

This is a pleasant read, of a humble town and it's gossiping, but true ladies in residence. It's a delicately written, economic collection of anecdotes. From Lady Glenmire to the tragic spinster Miss Matty, Miss Smith narrates her long running acquaintance with country life.

There's all the versatility and characters that would make a small community, with just the subtle dramas that made the day to day life of the women, all along the scale from servant class to lady spinsters. It's all bound together by their locality. Unlike Dickens, Gaskell does not segregate or polarize the ladies by class. That doesn't mean they can't gossip between themselves, though; and that element of the narrative, their gossip and conversation makes for the most telling. Not to mention the most fun! Next on my docket by this author is Wives and Daughters, so I'll be interested to see how Gaskell keeps such a brick paced after this novella.

Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
ISBN: 0486426815 


I'll be at the beach this weekend, so there may not be a lot of posts going on... having said that, I'm excited to announce a guest post in the near future! Stay tuned!