Mary Barton Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781543088144 Books
Download As PDF : Mary Barton Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781543088144 Books
Mary Barton is the first novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1848. The story is set in the English city of Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian lower class. It is subtitled 'A Tale of Manchester Life'.
Mary Barton Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781543088144 Books
Mary Barton may be a grueling, knotty read at times, but it nonetheless is a fine example of the Victorian novel, and it is well worth any intellectual effort required to read it. The author covers some of the same ground as Charles Dickens -- the ills associated with the industrialization of England -- as he did in Hard Times, but Gaskell does a far better job of inhabiting her characters, thus making them more vivid than any Dickens character. Gaskell gives her characters life like no other writer.The book is thematically rich and not merely a polemic against the evils of industrialization. It is a love story. It is a political story. It is an economics study. It is a story about class. It is a murder mystery. It is a story about the actual lives of working class people as they struggle with the industrialization of England.
Although Gaskell is guilty of following some of the Victorian tropisms -- stilted and tormented language, ornate sentence structure -- it is not obvious in this text. This book is one that should be read slowly so that the reader may benefit from the author's genius. The language at times is almost poetic.
This is a Norton Critical Edition, which I always recommend if it is available. The text of Mary Barton itself is 339 pages, but the volume adds some 200 additional pages of supplemental material. The critical apparatus is particularly strong in this volume including an early plan for Mary Barton written out by Elizabeth Gaskell, three plays based on the novel, and a wealth of contemporaneous and current criticism.
Product details
|
Tags : Mary Barton [Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Mary Barton is the first novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1848. The story is set in the English city of Manchester between 1839 and 1842,Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell,Mary Barton,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1543088147,General,HistoryGeneral,LITERARY COLLECTIONS General,Literary Collections,Literature: Classics
People also read other books :
- I Pledge Allegiance A Veteran Dream Annie Amerika 9781480023260 Books
- Seduced by An Old Fart Neighbor edition by Kelly Rosea Literature Fiction eBooks
- Caxton book a collection of essays poems tales and sketches W H 18221876 Rhodes 9781175912206 Books
- Dark Child The Awakening Episode 4 eBook Adina West
- Girl Power and Other ShortShort Stories Katie Cortese 9781942004172 Books
Mary Barton Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781543088144 Books Reviews
In this first novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, we follow the life of Mary Barton, daughter of a mill-worker and union man, growing up in Manchester during a time of unrest between workers and employers.
Depecting many of the well-known themes of all of Gaskell's works (rich vs. poor, relationships between children and parents), this is a deeply realistic novel. It's not a pleasant read, with all the sorrow going on in the story, but I think in her (Gaskell's) time this was a novel that should be written, clearly depicting the social problems of the mid-19th century. It is a very Victorian novel, with among others typical high (melo)drama and noble 'savages' playing an important part. Comparing it to other Gaskell books I've read, I wasn't surprised finding out this was her first novel. The prose is a bit rusty and I think in her later books she comes more into her own with more realistic character development and better story pacing.
Mary Barton, published in 1848, was Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel. Originally titled "John Barton," it's a book with many elements - starting out as a exploration of the lives of the poor in Manchester, England and ending as a more traditional love story with a focus on economic justice.
Mary is John's daughter, a young dressmaker who enters into a flirtation with the son of a factory owner. She hopes to marry him and rescue herself and her father from poverty. Jem, a factory foreman who is the son of one of her father's closest friends, is in love with Mary. As economic conditions worsen in Manchester, Mary's father is radicalized and drawn into Chartism (not incredibly well known now, this was a working class labor movement).
As all these elements come together, Gaskell mixes romance, a murder trial, a strike, and heartrending descriptions of poverty and death. There are a handful of characters who are economically well-off and they're not presented unsympathetically, but it's clear that Gaskell's heart was with the working class characters of this novel. Their dialect is carefully presented (with glosses in the text, provided by her husband) and her desire is clearly that her readers would understand - if not condone - how their lives are lived. Esther, an aunt of Mary's who has become a prostitute, is even given a chance to explain her actions and why she has made the choices that she has made.
While I did enjoy this book, parts of the second half did drag for me. Gaskell had not yet mastered the art of authorial injections and the constant breaking in began to feel a bit intrusive. There were also some bits of high-Victoriana I could have done without (a "fit of madness" that leaves one ill for a few weeks, etc). Wives and Daughters, from the end of her career, was a much stronger novel. However, there is still a great deal to enjoy here and I look forward to reading more novels by this unfairly underknown novelist.
I don't generally read Victorian fiction, but I do regularly visit Manchester and wanted to read some Elizabeth Gaskell. I had watched two BBC dramatizations of her work and opted to break the binding of MARY BARTON. It's a very strong and compellingly written piece, although much better with some of the social history than the eventual plot that focuses on a murder (come on, say it like John Houseman, "Muuuurder") and Mary Barton is the only one who fights for the truth to come out. The joy for me was Gaskell's brilliant portrayal of the northern English people. There are great scenes in Manchester and Liverpool. I do wish that the ending didn't wrap up so fairy tale neatly in the last page or two. Oh well, considering that I was entertained and educated for the other pages, I'd just have to say, "Luv, what a fine novel."
(I read a Norton Critical edition of the novel and have no idea about its faithful transfer to an ebook format.)
Mary Barton may be a grueling, knotty read at times, but it nonetheless is a fine example of the Victorian novel, and it is well worth any intellectual effort required to read it. The author covers some of the same ground as Charles Dickens -- the ills associated with the industrialization of England -- as he did in Hard Times, but Gaskell does a far better job of inhabiting her characters, thus making them more vivid than any Dickens character. Gaskell gives her characters life like no other writer.
The book is thematically rich and not merely a polemic against the evils of industrialization. It is a love story. It is a political story. It is an economics study. It is a story about class. It is a murder mystery. It is a story about the actual lives of working class people as they struggle with the industrialization of England.
Although Gaskell is guilty of following some of the Victorian tropisms -- stilted and tormented language, ornate sentence structure -- it is not obvious in this text. This book is one that should be read slowly so that the reader may benefit from the author's genius. The language at times is almost poetic.
This is a Norton Critical Edition, which I always recommend if it is available. The text of Mary Barton itself is 339 pages, but the volume adds some 200 additional pages of supplemental material. The critical apparatus is particularly strong in this volume including an early plan for Mary Barton written out by Elizabeth Gaskell, three plays based on the novel, and a wealth of contemporaneous and current criticism.
0 Response to "≫ PDF Free Mary Barton Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781543088144 Books"
Post a Comment