North and South

North and South is a romance novel written by Elizabeth Gaskell in 1854.

Margaret Hale is a 19-year-old girl who lives with her father, a vicar, in a small, quiet village in the south of England. With a mainly agricultural economy, the atmosphere is peaceful and idyllic, and Margaret spends her entire childhood there.

However, after a crisis of faith, her father is forced to leave the Anglican Church and is forced to find work as a teacher. He thinks his best bet is Milton, an industrial town in the north of the country.

The city, in the midst of industrialisation, is busy, dirty and full of factories. This strong contrast will provoke a great rejection in the protagonist, who will not welcome the change and will be possessed by a feeling of melancholy for her old home.

Through Margaret's encounters with a series of characters throughout the novel, the story shows the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in a very detailed way. A very complete vision is offered, as we see it from the point of view of the workers, child labour or industrial accidents. A must read for anyone who wants to experience the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in England.

"Wooed and married and a’.”
Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!”But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons. If Titania had ever been dressed in white muslin and blue ribbons, and had fallen asleep on a crimson damask sofa in a back drawing-room, Edith might have been taken for her."