North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

This summary is also based on presentations made by fellow students in a 19th century English novel class.

North and South was first published as a serial in Charles Dickens' weekly, Household Words from September 1854 to January, 1855. In it, Gaskell presents the industrial life of Manchester, England by portraying the fictitious Milton. She had settled with her husband in Manchester so she had a first-hand account of this massive industrial city (based mostly on the cotton industry), using it as a backdrop of her industrial novels.  In 1847 trade slowed causing wage reduction and generated a strike.

Plot Summary:
Margaret Hale is an emotionally-strong young middle-classed woman. Her family moves from the prosperous south of England to the industrial north. There she meets John Thorton, the wealthy owner of the local mill. He exposes the struggles of industrialization from a businessman's perspective. She also makes friends with Bessy Higgins, from the working class, and from her learns of the harsh realities of the mill workers that are on strike. A love/hate relationship develops between John Thorton and Margaret as she attempts to make him aware of the strikers' needs and of their miserable living conditions.

Themes:
North of England vs. the South of England: The differing lifestyles of those living in northern England from those living in the south greatly caused great cultural differences among the two areas. Industrialization brings technology, factories and a burgeoning economy, but also diseases and pollution to Milton. Industrialization commoditized humans as dispensable workers.

Sickness and Death: Create a separation between the strong and the weak. Strong-minded characters (Margaret, John) survive in Milton despite the poor living conditions while weaker characters (Bessy and Mr. and Mrs. Hale) often get sick and die.

As a social/industrial novel, North and South reveals feminist concerns, addresses educational deficiencies, discusses some of the economical issues of colonialism, as well as putting the industrial revolution to the forefront.

This is a trailer of the 2004 BBC television series based on the novel:

Buy the book: