North and South

I was first made aware of Elizabeth Gaskell in a discussion about Jane Austen in which a good friend said that I should read Gaskell for truly great 19th century literature. I love Jane Austen, and that won't change, but I may come to love Gaskell too. This was my first novel by her, and it's fantastic! Having grown up very aware of the industrial revolution, it was fascinating to read about the north of England in this time. The characters are engaging, and the setting well described. My only complaint is that it was at times difficult to understand the workers, as they are written in dialect.