When John Barton's wife dies, he is forced to raise his daughter, Mary, alone, while he grieves the love of his life. Though he is a hard-working man, John struggles to provide for his family. Realizing how unfair his financial situation is, John becomes very resentful towards the unethical distribution of wealth between the social classes. Against John's wishes, when Mary comes of age, she decides to help support their family by working in a dressmaking...

This is Mrs. Gaskell's last, and for many, her best novel. The heroine Molly Gibson passes from childhood to maturity in a process that, though often painful for her, is yet sharply and humorously observed. Set in a provincial English town in the early nineteenth century, the novel is a subtle representation of historical change explored in human terms. This edition draws on a full coalition of the manuscript to present the most accurate text so far...

Follows the lives of the people in the English town of Cranford over the course of two years.

Cranford: For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue. A handsome new doctor, Frank Harrison, has arrived from London, a retired Army captain and his daughters have moved into a house opposite the sisters, and the preparations for Lady Ludlow's garden party are under way. Everyone -- from charming rogue Dr. Marshland to mean Mrs. Jamieson and her lap dog -- talks,...