Mary Barton

my penguin classics edition lied and i'm not happy about it.

(if you have the penguin classics 1996 edition, the synopsis on the back is awful and should be disregarded)

a sort of precursor to gaskell's most famous work, north and south, mary barton begins delving into the struggles of the impoverished working class in 1840's england with the story of mary barton and those around her. in terms of learning about just how difficult life was during this period in time, i much prefer reading this than to a lecture in a class where the professor displays a bunch of depressing pictures on the projector.

there's a lot that goes on in this novel, which made it hard for me to put down when i had a chance to read it. each character is well-developed and has their own motivations and arcs throughout the book. recommended for classic literature readers who are a little fatigued when it comes to english historical fiction.

A few spoilers below.

Mary Barton is the story of a young woman living in industrial Manchester. Her mother has died and her brother has starved to death and her father has been laid off and is living in despair over all the things he has lost. Mary herself is learning to be a seamstress and she is loved by two men, one rich and one poor, and she favors the rich one. Until she abruptly does not. And then the rich man is found dead and the poor one accused of his murder.

I found the story deeply melodramatic, with the good very, very good and the bad concerned only with themselves, but I liked how the story highlighted the terrible lives of the working man and woman of the time. The story was compelling though I came to expect that if something could go wrong, it would. The ending felt improbable but satisfying.

Siempre me gustará la manera de escribir de Elizabeth Gaskell y ya he dicho mi plan de leer todo lo que escribió. Esta es su primera novela, por lo que se puede entender que no esté a la altura de sus obras posteriores. Tal vez sea un poco por la historia y mucho por los personajes, ya que Mary Barton no es santo de mi devoción y las intervenciones de Jem son muy pocas, así que los vemos menos tiempo juntos todavía.

En este libro se toca el tema de obreros y patrones, que también se ve en Norte y Sur. Sin embargo aquí suceden cosas más graves, por lo que es difícil poder imaginar una conciliación, por lo que el final se siente un poco apresurado.

Pero al final me gustó, solo que no tanto como otros libros de la autora. Ahora solo queda ver con cual seguir.