Reviews for Cranford 1851

The average rating for Cranford 1851 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-05-11 00:00:00 Bruce Whatley Written as a series of vignettes about living in a small English town, Elizabeth Gaskell isn't bothered about any plot with Cranford (which was originally edited by Charles Dickens), she simply focuses on a small group of ladies and their adventures (or lack of), as they meander, yawn, and gossip their way through mid 19th century life. While it may not be the sort of book to keep you up half the night with clammy hands, it's pleasant and good old-fashioned nature is where it's power lies, which will have you reaching for the tea pot, rather than that bottle of wine. Harkening back to a relaxed and simpler time, before the mad stampede of boxing day sales, life crawled along like a snail on sedatives for the locals, they concern themselves less with who's sleeping with whom, or, does my bum look big in this? and just amuse themselves with their knitting of nice fluffy cardigans, charitable acts that were the norm, invitations for sunday tea and cake, polite card games that didn't result in drunkenness or violence, and trying on the lastest bonnet. A life that is unfathomable to the rapidly-shrinking world of today, which makes this all the more special for its portrayal of this historical era, a world far away from all the buzzing and ticking of modern day appliances. These are less like neatly organised narratives, and read more like the stories one would casually include in a letter to a friend. It isn't really a novel in the true sense, although characters like Miss matty or Miss Pole could quite easily have been plucked out of a number of other older British novels. Cranford, based on Knutsford, Cheshire, is a place where the gardens are full of flowers rather than weeds, and you can almost smell the scent of honey blossom blowing in the breeze. Put it this way, I would sooner be here than south central Los Angeles. Parts of Cranford are wonderfully funny, but it is also bathed in a poignant dream-like mood, that encapsulates the spirit of a by-gone era. From the landed gentry, professional men and the genteel widows, to the respectable poor and those on the brink of crime, the local hierarchy are vividly bought to life under the watchful eye of Gaskell, who writes with delight. There are a couple of main themes to touch on. Money worries, and the limitations and lack of options for women, especially unmarried women, at the time. Regardless of differing opinion, the fact of the matter is that single women over a certain age without family money or male companionship, found themselves in the awful situation of having very few socially acceptable options to provide an income upon which they could live. The ladies of Cranford are a resilient bunch, full of warmth and dignity, and have each other if the chips are down. The way that the women all banded together even though they were a mix of classes, purely because they all wanted to live the same way was so precious. I admit, I enjoyed this more than what I expected, and it was nice to return to a time when people didn't rely on gizmos and gadgets to function properly.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-12-22 00:00:00 Aron Timur "the humor is so sly. at times it's difficult to believe that this was written over 150 years ago. I guess that gentle social humor has always been with us." --- this was one of my status updates while reading Cranford, my first experience reading Elizabeth Gaskell. As I finished reading, I felt the same way: pleased with the experience, surprised at the wit and wisdom written so well so many years ago. But then I ask myself...Why am I surprised? There are always intelligent women and always intelligent women who find ways to make themselves heard even in less than enthusiastic societies. I need to keep looking for them! I had planned to include some of the truly wonderful quotes from various characters but instead I challenge you to read this book and discover them for yourself. I venture to say you will be glad you did.