Customer Reviews

Penguin Classics Cranford

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for my wife - but, after we both greatly enjoyed the BBC-1 miniseries, I ended up reading it myself as well. Compared to the miniseries, as expected, the book expands into more details and can be savored in many more levels.

Sometimes escapism may require an action page-turner. Other times the same effect can be achieved by a slow novel about middle-aged women and their daily troubles.

Pettiness and kindness, age and genders, nobles and lowborn, progress and tradition, all come together and weave the tapestry of rural middle England of the 1840's.

RECOMMENDED!

Cranford started out not as a novel, but as a series of related stories published in Household Words, a magazine published by Charles Dickens.

Cranford is unusual because it focuses on a world where there is no room for men, and where marriage is considered more of a nuisance than a blessing. The few male characters appearing in this novel are generally regarded either with suspicion or scorn. The bulk of the novel focuses on the life of Miss Matty Jenkyns, an aging spinster who takes in a frequent guest from a nearby town: unmarried Mary, who narrates the story. Miss Matty lives in the small town of Cranford, which is full of unmarried or widowed women. If a man moves into town, he somehow disappears. These women live quite happily in each other's society and are genteel despite their uncertain finances. The novel is full of gossip and intrigues - ways for the Cranford women to spend their time since it isn't occupied by other things.

Of course, in this remarkable little world of the Cranford ladies, something eventually must happen to one of their own. Miss Matty's bank goes under, and she finds herself bankrupt, deprived of the 127 pounds per annum that she had to live on. She takes it all in stride, but the other ladies of Cranford get together to help her in a very touching way that allows Miss Matty to maintain her lifestyle.

Marriage eventually finds a place in Cranford. Miss Matty's servant marries a charming young man, and the couple is very happy. The local surgeon marries one of the ladies in town who is above his station, a scandal that is endlessly discussed among the women; but despite the couple becoming outcasts, they seem very content.

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!

What a great little tale of wit and humor. I loved the series, but the cliche, "the book was better than the movie," holds true for Cranford as well. The original illustrations in this edition are a nice touch.

Let me just say the cloth cover is amazing. So beautiful and it really seems like something that will hold up over multiple readings. Cranford itself is a book I've never read and only really know about because I kept missing seeing the miniseries on PBS. I'm glad I picked up it up along with the other books in the cover series because it is delightful. It is LOL-ful, seriously. And bizarre, and heartbreaking, and silly and just so well written I can't get over how I'd missed this. I blame every teacher I ever had.

The supplemental material, especially the index and the footnotes, is good stuff.

If you enjoy reading period pieces that are wonderfully described, that you think you are there. You will certainly love this book. The characters are well defined and real to life. Great book for a lazy summer day or winter retreat.

A wonderful portrayal of British life in the country.
I loved the illustrations and though that the book was put together nicely. I highly recomend it to anyone who watched the BBC miniseries, or for people who want to read a great classic.

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".

This book has been called Gaskell's greatest, something I just cannot agree with. ok, so it provides an sharp insight into the small town life of the time. But there isn't much of a plot. Far more worthy are Mary Barton, North and South or her others, I can't comment on Ruth as I haven't read it yet.

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.