Cranford (Dover Thrift Editions)

Rating:
Summary: "Charming" Cranford
Review: I read this series of village sketches as an independent study and found that it is most commonly referred to as "charming." This so called charm is achieved through the humourous realism with which Gaskell depicts the citizens of the small, rural town of Cranford. The women presented are 'old maids' and though genteel, their economic status is far from certain. Perhaps the tender concern Gaskell shows for their welfare, and the friendship demonstrated for a friend in need is most pivotal in creating the charm of the novel. This book has the feel of a 'chick flick': no grand action necessarily, but little episodes of social excitement followed by periods of daily activity. The book provides both comic scenes and tear-jerkers and the method of storytelling could be likened to that of movies such as "Steel Magnolias" or "Fried Green Tomatoes".

Rating:
Summary: "Charming" Cranford
Review: I read this series of village sketches as an independent study and found that it is most commonly referred to as "charming." This so called charm is achieved through the humourous realism with which Gaskell depicts the citizens of the small, rural town of Cranford. The women presented are 'old maids' and though genteel, their economic status is far from certain. Perhaps the tender concern Gaskell shows for their welfare, and the friendship demonstrated for a friend in need is most pivotal in creating the charm of the novel. This book has the feel of a 'chick flick': no grand action necessarily, but little episodes of social excitement followed by periods of daily activity. The book provides both comic scenes and tear-jerkers and the method of storytelling could be likened to that of movies such as "Steel Magnolias" or "Fried Green Tomatoes".

Rating:
Summary: Victorian women
Review: Loosely linked stories (sometimes described as a novel) about a group of spinsters and widows living in a small English town in the first half of the nineteenth century. They have small private incomes (Matty has 127 pounds a year and a pound contained a third of an ounce of gold - a new silk dress costs five pounds) and observe lives constrained by etiquette and class distinction. It has been praised for its "gentle" humor (although I was chilled by the "Irish beggarwoman" saying her children were starving who gets the door shut in her face). I think you have to have a certain interest in how life was lived in 1850 to read it through. In this edition, with the explanatory note it is mine of information on domestic arrangements. The narrator often points out how old-fashioned these ladies are and what fasions are new and draws comparisons going back over fifty years. This adds an extra dimension. The train has arrived but sedan chairs are still used. Some of the explanatory notes are written in British English that needs more explanation to Americans. The introduction by Charlotte Mitchell says a lot more about the place of this book in feminist history. Basically it is something you'd read for historical interest rather than immediate entertainment. I did not laugh out loud or find it hard to stop turning the pages.

Rating:
Summary: very entertaining
Review: Orginally published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words, _Cranford_is in fact a collection of stories about the people (mostly women)'s lives in a city called Cranford in the 19th century. It is said to be Mrs. Gaskell's most popular book, and the only book that Mrs. Gaskell herself would want to re-read again. This book is indeed full of funny, ridiculous and heartwarming stories about some old-fashioned but really friendly and kind-hearted women (mostly old maids or widows) living in this little town called Cranford. I think Mrs. Gaskell did a good job in bring up themes like the confrontation of the old and new world, the comparsion between the life in an industrial city like Drumble (believed to be based on Manchester) and the little tranquil town Cranford. If you are interested in Victorian Literature, this is one of the few relaxing novels belonging to that period that is definitely worth a reading!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful bunch of little stories about life.
Review: These little stories are about life and love in the mid-nineteenth century. This book was first printed as serials as so many books were at that time. By the time Mrs. Gaskell wrote Cranford, she was extremely popular with the English people. This book is essentially a comedy of manners. The people in Cranford live genteelly and they are very proud of that fact even if they don't have much money. The book is about four old ladies and the life they lead. Mrs. Gaskell's characterizations are wonderful. Their lives consist of tea, cards and gossip. This is a book about ladies. There are very few men in it, but we certainly get a good description of the male species from the ladies' observations. It's a wonderful world that Mrs. Gaskell has created for us. Come and meet the wonderful ladies of Cranford.

Rating:
Summary: Almost unbearable poignant!
Review: To you scoffers who find this novel uneventful - I say read it again toward the close of your life. The stories of these genteel ladies with their 40 year old lost loves and their strong familial relationships is very moving. I also like the way the book is contructed in a series of vignettes. But most of all I am enchanted with the "feel" of the portrait of village life in the middle of the 19th century - such a contrast with the mores of today it's hard to believe we are the same species! If you like Mrs. Gaskell, be sure to read Barbara Pym for the 20th century version.

Rating:
Summary: Almost unbearable poignant!
Review: To you scoffers who find this novel uneventful - I say read it again toward the close of your life. The stories of these genteel ladies with their 40 year old lost loves and their strong familial relationships is very moving. I also like the way the book is contructed in a series of vignettes. But most of all I am enchanted with the "feel" of the portrait of village life in the middle of the 19th century - such a contrast with the mores of today it's hard to believe we are the same species! If you like Mrs. Gaskell, be sure to read Barbara Pym for the 20th century version.