Customer Reviews

North and South

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I prefer hardcover over paperback and I wasn't too impressed with this edition, the only one available in hardcover. It's full of typos, some of which obviously are due to the fact that some machine scanned the text from the first edition and no human eye ever went over the text once again. Thus, "being bold" becomes "being hold", "he lives there with his ilk" becomes "he lives there with his milk" etc. First I thought those were archaic forms of English or some obscure dialect but no, it was just the machine... There is absolutely no "bonus material", no annotations, explanations, preface or anything else. No comparison with the carefully done Barnes and Noble Classics editions. Then again, at least the book is physically solid, good binding, decent paper, not too thin, not transparent.

I discovered Elizabeth Gaskell 3 years ago when I stumbled across the adaptation of this book on You Tube (also available here on Amazon), and quickly this became my all time favorite work of fiction.

If you are a fan of Period Dramas, like Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, then you will enjoy this book. Instead of the quiet peaceful of the English countryside, this story is set in the heart of the industrial revolution. It initially follows the life of Margaret Hale who was born and raised in the bright southern towns of Helstone and London. Margaret is forced to leave her comfortable life and move North when her father decides to change professions. The family settles in the (fictional) industrial town of Milton, located in (fictional) Darkshire. There she encounters life as she has never experienced before. A cold dark climate, the bustle and demands of industry, and the clash of society between the factory workers and the Mill Masters. It is also here that she discovers the dark and smoldering John Thornton, Master of Marlborough Mills. Unlike Austen or Bronte, Mrs. Gaskell explores the heart and mind of her hero, Mr. Thornton. By the end of the book you will have experienced a beautiful transformation of both major characters as well as several of the minor characters.

At it's heart, it is a classic romance but as others more wise than I have stated, it's a love story with a eye on the issues of the time in which it is placed.

Highly recommended! (I can not recommend it highly enough) As well as the adaptation of the same name, staring Richard Armitage and Daniella Denby-Ashe. (which can also be found here on Amazon!)

I have never written a review before, but I can't restrain my contempt for Norilana. This book happens to be the beautiful, poignant love story I have ever had the pleasure to read. However, this particular text has been so badly printed that it absolutely overflows, if I can use that word in relation to a book, with typos! It is so obvious that the text was never proofread! Norilana should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for corrupting the text of this beautiful book to the extent that I was practically wincing every few minutes as I discovered another mistake. I dislike buying paperbacks, but I would rather have a paperback with the pure text than wade through another Norilana edition of anything again.

I love this book. I saw the movie before I even knew the book existed, and when I found out that there was a book, I got very excited. The story is amazing; I love both the hero and heroine. They make a perfect couple, and it is a cute story of how they make it into one another's arms. It is because of reading this book, that I wanted to read more by Elizabeth Gaskell, who has become one of my favorite authors.

Since I loved the PBS series "Cranford," I wanted more. The series are supposed to be based on a couple of Gaskell's books, so I bought Cranford and this one. There was nothing of the TV series that came from "North and South." The book was pretty slow going at first, but since I loved Cranford, I stuck with it. I'm not sure that to enjoy the ending you really needed all of the little details. There is a family prominent to the story that added nothing and wasted a lot of pages, in my opinion. But I guess they are there to illustrate both sides of the economic life. It's not a book I would read again. But the ending made up for all the slogging through I had to do to get there. Now that I've read what I wrote, I'd have to say that it really wasn't worth all the time I spent reading it.

I first saw the DVD and than purchased the book. The DVD has become my favorite over Pride and Prejudice. The acting is superb and the story line, athough not quite accurate to the book, is very well told. The plot kept my interest throughout the 4 hours of viewing. I would recommend anyone who enjoys the English period pictures to watch this movie.