Showing results by author "Elizabeth Gaskell" in All Categories

Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.

Margaret Hale returns home to her family in the rural south of England, after living with a wealthy aunt for 10 years, learning how to become a proper young woman. She is not home for long before her life is uprooted and her family moves to a town called Milton, in Northern England, where her father intends to be a tutor, leaving their Pastoral life, and the Church of England behind.

In this original collection from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Elizabeth Gaskell showcases the height of gothic fiction's ability to delight in the otherworldly and to dig deep into what truly haunts us. Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials, "Lois the Witch" reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America.

The narrator - the old nurse of the title - is an old family retainer who has worked in the service of the same family for three generations. She tells the young children about a dark incident that she experienced in the company of the children’s mother, when she was a young woman and visiting her mother’s ancestral home.

A "Bluebeard" story in which a young woman marries a man whom she discovers has killed his previous wives and is trying to kill her as well.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Gibson worships her widowed father. But when he decides to remarry, Molly’s life is thrown off course by the arrival of her vain, shallow, and selfish stepmother. There is some solace in the shape of her new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, sophisticated and irresistible to every man she meets. Soon the girls become close, and Molly finds herself cajoled into becoming a go-between in Cynthia’s love affairs. But in doing so, Molly risks ruining her reputation in the gossiping village of Hollingford - and jeopardizing everything with the man she is secretly in love with.

The tale of a rural habitation in the late 19th Century and the effect of industrialisation on the local community.Seventeen year old Phillis lives on Hope Farm with her parents Minister Ebenezer Holman and his simple wife. Her second cousin Paul Manning, at first reluctantly, comes to visit. He is the son of a rising inventor from Birmingham and is employed as a clerk to Edward Holdsworth, the managing engineer of a railway company laying a line close to the farm.

Twelve dramatisations of the best love stories ever written, performed by star casts. Treat yourself to this stunning collection of classic stories of love, loss, obstacles overcome and desperate attraction. This is a beautiful, moving and at times thrilling listen which takes you on a journey through the greatest tales of romance ever told. These unmissable, dramatised novels feature stellar performances from fantastic casts including Vanessa Kirby, Hiftu Quasem, Kate Philips, Rory Kinnear, Toby Jones, John Hurt and David Tennant.

When a crisis of faith prompts his departure from the Church of England, Margaret Hale’s father moves his family north to bleak, industrial Milton. At first, Margaret is put off by the town’s grit and poverty - a stark contrast to her rural southern hometown. But when she is awakened to the suffering of Milton’s hardworking citizens, she makes it her mission to improve their lives. However, Margaret soon finds herself at odds with the man she is falling in love with - the handsome, bullheaded industrialist John Thornton.

Great Horror Stories is a vintage collection of some of the finest ghost tales, horror stories, and supernatural legends ever written, by the best writers the genre has to offer.

This is the story of Margaret Hale, a young English woman who accompanies her family's move from rural southern England to the industrial north. It proves to be a difficult change, with all the attendant social conflicts and cultural misunderstandings consequent to such situations. It is a study in contrasts. Mrs. Gaskell created one of the Victorian era's greatest heroines in Margaret Hale, a young lady of passionate intensity.

"Explore the poignant and powerful world of 'Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life' by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. Set against the backdrop of the bustling city of Manchester during the industrial revolution, this novel takes you on a compelling journey through the lives of the working class in the 19th century. Gaskell's writing is a vivid window into the struggles and triumphs of the ordinary people during a time of social and economic upheaval.

England inmitten der industriellen Revolution: Die ebenso selbstbewusste wie prinzipientreue Pfarrerstochter Margaret Hale zieht mit ihren Eltern vom ländlichen Süden in eine aufstrebende Metropole im Norden. Nur langsam gewöhnt sie sich an den Rauch, den Lärm und den rauen Umgangston. Als sie den erfolgreichen Fabrikbesitzer John Thornton kennenlernt, wird er zur Zielscheibe ihrer Vorurteile. Noch ahnt sie nicht, welch einflussreiche Rolle er bald in ihrem Leben spielen wird.

Margaret Hale, a 19-year-old girl, is returning to her family’s village after living with her aunt for nearly a decade. Her life is quickly thrown into upheaval upon her return, as her father leaves his vocation as a pastor in the Church of England, and their family is scorned for dissenting.

The Essential Classics: Volume 7 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Jonathan Keeble, Kristin Atherton, Emma Gregory, and Matt Bates. From the charming and compassionate world of Cranford to the ambitious and tragic tale of Jude the Obscure, this volume is a rich tapestry of human experience. Daniel Deronda challenges notions of identity, morality, and destiny, while Evelina offers a sharp yet humorous commentary on social class and manners.

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that if you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chill, that foreboding of dread, that feeling that in an empty house we are not quite alone and that sometimes the sharp, sheer shock of what just happened is upon us then look no further than ‘The Victorian Ghost Story’ for your listening pleasure.

On Christmas Eve, a party of friends descends on a purportedly haunted country retreat, charged with the task of discovering evidence of the supernatural. Sequestered in their rooms for the holiday, the friends reconvene on Twelfth Night at a great feast and share their stories of spectral encounters.

In this volume we examine Gothic short stories from the woman’s point of view. More usually in this genre the main examples are almost always given as male. Well, in this volume we prove that view needs severely testing. Here we explore works by classic women authors who, with the sheer breadth of their talents and narratives, can make mere men seem tame by comparison.

Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel, is regarded by many as her masterpiece. Molly Gibson is the daughter of the doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford. Her widowed father marries a second time to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks, but until the arrival of Cynthia, her dazzling stepsister, Molly finds her situation hard to accept. Intertwined with the story of the Gibsons is that of Squire Hamley and his two sons.

The eleven stories in this Gaskell collection illustrate the author’s mastery in capturing the innate drama that is present even in the most mundane situations.