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Cranford

By Elizabeth Gaskell
Series: Oxford World's Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Cranford offers a vivid and affectionate portrayal of a provincial town in early Victorian England, centred on a community of refined and independent women. The ladies, led by Miss Matty and her sister Deborah, navigate poverty, personal tragedy, and the social changes ushered in by the railway and new commercial practices. Through social comedy and moments of generous reconciliation, the story reveals how different social worlds can learn from one another, valuing the past while embracing the future.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$4000

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in classic British literature, social history, and stories about female resilience and community in the Victorian era.

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Cranford is a vivid and affectionate portrait of a provincial town in early Victorian England, dominated by its independent and refined women, a blend of social comedy and astute observation. This edition includes two related short works by Gaskell and contemporary comment on the novel, household management, fashion, and financial scandals.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A man ... is so in the way in the house!

A vivid and affectionate portrait of a provincial town in early Victorian England, Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women. Undaunted by poverty, but dismayed by changes brought by the railway and by new commercial practices, the ladies of Cranford respond to disruption with both suspicion and courage. Miss Matty and her sister Deborah uphold standards and survive personal tragedy and everyday dramas; innovation may bring loss, but it also brings growth, and welcome freedoms.

Cranford suggests that representatives of different and apparently hostile social worlds, their minds opened by sympathy and suffering, can learn from each other. Its social comedy develops into a study of generous reconciliation, of a kind that will value the past as it actively shapes the future.

This edition includes two related short pieces by Gaskell, 'The Last Generation in England' and 'The Cage at Cranford', as well as a selection from the diverse literary and social contexts in which the Cranford tales take their place.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780199558308

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 June 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Oxford University Press

Contributors:

  • Revised by Elizabeth Porges Watson
  • Introduction and notes by Dinah Birch

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 141.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 195g

Pages: 256

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Elizabeth Gaskell Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Series: Oxford World's Classics

About the Author

Dinah Birch has written widely on Ruskin, and edited his Selected Writings for Oxford World's Classics. She writes regularly for the TLS and the London Review of Books, and is the General Editor of the Oxford Companion to English Literature.

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