Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies...

When her father has a crisis of conscious, Margaret Hale's life is turned upside down. Because her parents decide to move away from southern London, Margaret must leave behind the tranquil, rural life she's always known to settle in an industrial town called Milton. Though she does her best to assimilate, Margaret cannot help but feel trapped and hopeless in Milton, as she witnesses the brutal effects industrialization has on the environment and the...

When Paul Manning begins working as an engineer clerk for the railroad, he decides to move in with his mother's family on their farm. There, he is able to be closer to his job as the railroad paves the way for further industrialization of rural areas. While Paul is advancing in his career and settling in his new home, his attention is held by his cousin, Phillis. Paul and Phillis become quick friends and confidants. Worried for her, Paul keeps a close...

A writer of remarkably diverse talents, Elizabeth Gaskell produced fiction and non-fiction ranging from short stories that offered detailed cross-sections of Victorian life and society to a well-regarded biography of author Charlotte Bronte. The novel A Dark Night's Work is the engrossing apogee of Gaskell's foray into Gothic ghost stories and tales of horror. Fans of these genres won't be disappointed. As part of our mission to publish great works...

Lady Ludlow is a complex and fascinating character, who embodies the contradictions and tensions of her time. On the one hand, she is a deeply traditional and conservative figure, who believes in the strict hierarchy and social codes of her class. On the other hand, she is also a compassionate and caring woman, who is committed to helping the poor and vulnerable members of her community. As the story unfolds, Lady Ludlow becomes embroiled in a series...

Set in a coastal English town during the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars in the 1790s, Sylvia's Lovers follows the complicated love life of a young woman. Sylvia Robson lives a very happy life with her parents on a farm. Her cousin, a kind but dull Quaker man named Philip, loves her dearly, but Sylvia's heart is captured by a handsome sailor named Charlie. As they grow closer, Charlie and Sylvia become secretly engaged. However, when Charlie is...

A lawyer's search for a missing heir has him dealing with curses, demons, and nuns in this chilling gothic tale by the author of Mary Barton. A London lawyer is hired to locate the rightful heir to a sizeable estate in Ireland. His search leads him to Bridget Fitzgerald, a lonely Catholic housekeeper with an affinity for magic. Then he meets a beautiful young woman named Lucy who lives a pious life on the moors. When the lawyer becomes smitten and...

A farmer in nineteenth-century England is torn between love and her sense of duty in this novella by the author of Wives and Daughters and Cranford. Susan Dixon is a hardworking, respected farmer living alone in the Westmorland Dales in northwest England. But that wasn't always the case. She was once surrounded by her father and mother, her brother, and her beloved, the handsome Michael Hurst. Time and time again, Susan is put to the test as tragedy...

The Life of Charlotte Bronte, by Elizabeth Gaskell, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies...

A mother searches for her missing daughter in this short tale of love and Victorian morality from the author of Cranford and North and South. Eager to see the world, young Lizzie Leigh leaves her childhood home behind to work in Manchester, England. Sadly, she is soon led astray and finds herself pregnant with an illegitimate child. After she abandons her job, her family discovers what she has done. Her father, James, is ashamed and declares her...