Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865)

• friend of Charles Dickens
• wrote the first biography of Charlotte Bronte

North and South

Characters:

• Margaret Hale
• John Thornton

Plot summary:

• social novel that tries to depict the conflicts in the industrial north in the mid-19th century by an outsider, a lady from the south
• Margaret Hale moves to the fictional industrial town of Milton after leaving the Church of England (Milton was modeled on Manchester)
• the change of lifestyle shocks Margaret, who sympathizes deeply with the poverty of the workers
• she comes into conflict with John Thornton, the owner of a local mill 
• Margaret Hale exposes herself in front of a group of strikers which leads John Thornton to confess his love for her
• Margaret, however, rejects his proposal of marriage, because she sees it as if it were out of obligation for what she has done
• Thornton sees Margaret with her brother and thinks he is her suitor, and quarrels with her for that
• Margaret, once she believes she has lost his affection, begins to see him in another light, and eventually they are reunited.