Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Cranford
    Unavailable
    Cranford
    Unavailable
    Cranford
    Ebook312 pages4 hours

    Cranford

    By Elizabeth Gaskell

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    ELIZABETH CLEGHORN GASKELL (1810 bis 1865) wurde als Tochter eines ehemaligen unitarischen Geistlichen
    in Chelsea, einem Vorort von London, geboren. Infolge des frühen Todes der Mutter wurde das Kind in die Obhut von Verwandten gegeben und in Knutsford, Cheshire, in der Nähe von Manchester, von ältlichen Tanten aufgezogen. In der ländlichen Stille und Abgeschiedenheit von Knutsford und Sandlebridge, in die, so scheint es, noch kein Hauch der aufgeregten Zeit gedrungen war, lernte sie den Hintergrund, die Atmosphäre und die Charaktere für ihre ländlichen Idyllen, insbesondere für 'Cranford' kennen. Hier wurde der Grundstein für ihre Liebe zur englischen Kleinstadt, zur unberührten Natur und zu den einfachen Menschen gelegt.
    'Cranford', im Jahre 1853 in Buchform veröffentlicht, ist kein Roman im eigentlichen Sinne des Wortes. Es gibt weder Helden noch eine Fabel. Wir haben es vielmehr mit einer Folge von teilweise abgeschlossenen Episoden zu tun. Eine Mischung von Humor, Sentimentalität und Tragik durchzieht das Buch. Diese Miniaturmalerei einer zurückgebliebenen Kleinstadt und ihrer schrulligen Bewohner erinnert an ein Spitzweg-Gemälde, an ein Idyll, das nicht frei ist von Pathos.
    LanguageDeutsch
    PublisherLibreka GmbH
    Release dateFeb 28, 2014
    ISBN9783868209648
    Unavailable
    Cranford
    Author

    Elizabeth Gaskell

    Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) was a British novelist and short-story writer. Her works were Victorian social histories across many strata of society. Her most famous works include Mary Barton, Cranford, North and South, and Wives and Daughters.

    Related to Cranford

    Related ebooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Wahn & Sinn

      Mar 21, 2024

      Wahn & Sinn
      4 min read

    • Article

      Das Spiel Vom Teufel

      Nov 27, 2023

      Das Spiel Vom Teufel
      7 min read

    • Article

      Zwischen Feuer und Eis

      Oct 28, 2021

      Bewegung ist wichtig, auch und gerade im Alter, heißt es. Um dem Ratschlag für eine gute Gesundheit nachzukommen, musste ich nicht lange grübeln: Maximale Bewegung bringt mir eine Flugreise. Da kommen mehr Kilometer zusammen, als ich jemals laufen kö

      4 min read

    • Article

      Das Kunstwerk

      Feb 22, 2024

      Meine Tochter, die kleinere mit der Stupsnase, hat aus Knetmasse einen dicken, ernstblickenden Vogel, groß wie ein dicker, ernstblickender Vogel, angefertigt. Sie hat ihn mit Wasserfarbe bemalt, im Gasherd gebacken, bis er goldbraun und knusprig war,

      5 min read

    • Article

      »Etwas Verlust Ist Immer«

      Jul 21, 2022

      »Wir nähern uns Bukarest, der Hauptstadt Bulgariens!«, krächzt Herr Krummholtz, der neben mir an der Reling steht, und weist mit zittriger Hand auf die Silhouette einer Stadt, die sich in der Ferne abzeichnet. »Bukarest ist doch nicht die Hauptstadt

      2 min read

    • Article

      Lustkatrine Und Die Bettschlange

      Jun 24, 2021

      Lustkatrine Und Die Bettschlange
      5 min read

    • Article

      Und Unter Uns Das Mittelmeer

      Aug 31, 2023

      Und Unter Uns Das Mittelmeer
      4 min read

    • Article

      Wahn & Sinn

      Feb 24, 2022

      Die Begegnung, so erklärten alle Teilnehmer übereinstimmend, finde in einer Zeit statt, die Anlass zu großer Besorgnis gebe. Bereits seit Wochen bestünden gravierende Meinungsverschiedenheiten, und es schwele ein Konflikt, dessen offenen Ausbruch man

      5 min read

    • Article

      Borschtsch Und Sauer- kraut

      Feb 22, 2024

      Borschtsch Und Sauer- kraut
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wahn & Sinn

      Jul 29, 2021

      Wenn in meiner Waschmaschine eine Socke verschwunden wäre, hätte mich das nicht gewundert. Das kennt man ja. Hat jeder schon mal erlebt. Doch ich hatte eine Socke zu viel. Und es war eindeutig nicht meine. Wie kam die in meine Waschmaschine? Ich über

      5 min read

    • Article

      Wahn & sinn

      May 25, 2022

      Ich hatte ja schon oft davon gehört, dass die Halbwertszeit unseres Wissens immer kürzer wird, dachte jedoch nie, dass mich das im Alltag betreffen könnte. Dennoch stand ich eines Morgens an der Tür meines Vorgartens und wusste nicht, in welche Richt

      6 min read

    • Article

      Einmal Top 30 ... det wär's!

      Sep 28, 2023

      Warum tue ich mir das hier eigentlich noch an? Wenn diese Frage hochkommt wie kalter Kaffee, dann ist in der Regel ein Arzt oder Alkohol angesagt. Aber bevor es suizidal wird, sollte man klaren, ob die Malaise am Leben generell oder an dem Leben hier

      3 min read

    • Article

      LMM 1600 … Leser machen mit

      Oct 27, 2022

      LMM 1600 … Leser machen mit
      2 min read

    • Article

      Noch mit Borsten

      Feb 25, 2021

      Noch mit Borsten
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wahn & Sinn

      Aug 25, 2022

      Nach meinen wundervollen Erfahrungen kann ich jedem Naturfreund nur wärmstens empfehlen, künftig bei der Insektenzählaktion des Nabu mitzuwirken! An zehn Tagen im Frühsommer habe ich in meinem Garten jeden Tag für eine Stunde alles mit Pestiziden ein

      5 min read

    • Article

      Wer Einmal Lügt

      Oct 26, 2023

      Wer Einmal Lügt
      5 min read

    • Article

      Fat2e Und Totten

      Jul 27, 2023

      Fat2e Und Totten
      4 min read

    • Article

      Der Reifenwechsel

      Mar 23, 2023

      Der Reifenwechsel
      4 min read

    • Article

      LMM 1583 … Leser machen mit

      May 27, 2021

      LMM 1583 … Leser machen mit
      2 min read

    • Article

      Die Paarungsfalle

      Jun 23, 2022

      Eintausend strahlende Sonnen, welch Milchwirtschaft!«, sagt Ernie weithin hörbar. Maßregelnd ramme ich ihm einen Ellenbogen in den Wanst, infolgedessen er untergeht wie ein Wackerstein. Nachdem ich ihn am Beckenboden ausfindig gemacht und zurück an d

      4 min read

    • Article

      Wahn & Sinn

      Sep 22, 2022

      Gert hat einen Fussel, den er jeden Abend aus seinem Bauchnabel puhlt, um ihn am nächsten Morgen wieder einzusetzen. Wie ein Ohrring. Ein Edelstein. Er achtet auf seinen Fussel. Hat einen Fusselkasten. Setzt ihn ganz sacht auf das Samtkissen. Seine A

      6 min read

    • Article

      LMM 1609 … Leser machen mit

      Jul 27, 2023

      LMM 1609 … Leser machen mit
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ich hasse Blumen

      Mar 25, 2021

      EULENSPIEGEL: Euer Hoheit, Ihr wisst wahrscheinlich, dass Ihr außerhalb Saudi-Arabiens und nicht zuletzt auch in Deutschland eine umstrittene Persönlichkeit seid … SALMAN (schmunzelnd): Ach, ist das so? Durchaus. Im Mannheimer Morgen seid Ihr als »Pr

      3 min read

    • Article

      Das Ich ALS Fremde

      Nov 24, 2021

      Das Ich ALS Fremde
      9 min read

    • Article

      Die Ameisen Und Wir

      Mar 24, 2022

      Die Ameisen Und Wir
      3 min read

    • Article

      »Wie im Krieg«

      Apr 21, 2022

      Irina M. (17), Tochter eines Sonnenblumenöl-Oligarchen, die mit ihren Eltern in einer 832 Zimmer großen Villa am Stadtrand von Moskau wohnt, klagt: Unsere Babuschka hat uns immer von den schlimmen Zeiten während des Großen Vaterländischen Kriegs vorg

      2 min read

    Reviews for Cranford

    4/5

    843 ratings63 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Yet another of those books that, now I've read it, I wonder why on earth I didn't pick it up before. A deeply amusing and poignant look at a certain domestic milieu in mid-nineteenth-century England, told through a series of short vignettes.
    • 5/5
      ”In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women. If a married couple come to settle in the town, somehow the gentleman disappears; he is either fairly frightened to death by being the only man in the Cranford evening parties, or he is accounted for by being with his regiment, his ship, or closely engaged in business all the week in the great neighbouring commercial town of Drumble, distant only twenty miles on a railroad. In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford.”Sweet, gentle satire of the ladies in a fictional Victorian village. We see their fight to stay “genteel” in the face of poverty, their alarms over possible theft and crime, regrets over lost loves, and through al,l their loyalty and kindness to each other. I listened to the audiobook read by Clare Wille, who did an excellent job.
    • 4/5
      Giving it four stars as it exceeded expectations and was genuinely funny in parts. Funniest book I've read all year in fact - although looking back, not a difficult achievement. Each chapter was really a vignette but the book was none the worse for this and there was a kind of plot that came together at the end. Poignant in places. Good to know that people's obsession with status and appearance was being satirised 150 years ago.
    • 3/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell continues to be a disappointment for me... her topics and the Victorian style of her novels should garner high marks from me because this is my favorite genre. However, I found "Cranford" like the other Gaskell novels I've read to be be kind of boring."Cranford" is a loose collection of stories about the older ladies of the community, especially Miss Matty Jenkyns, who goes through a number of tribulations. The stories were pretty slow moving and this felt like a much longer book than it actually was.
    • 5/5
      A delightful book of 193 pages taking place during the industrial revolution in England. It is the story of manners and local customs as mostly seen through the eyes of females. The life of a woman was hard and oft times unhappy; this book was no exception. A great read!
    • 4/5

      What a gorgeous book. After years of avoiding Victorian literature, in the past twelve months I've fallen in love with Gaskell's writing. This is a short work: more a series of episodes than a linear narrative. It centres on the lives of a group of women who dominate society in the small town of Cranford. They are united by being single - widows and spinsters - and by the fact that live in genteel poverty.

      Cranford is at times laugh-out-loud funny, at times deeply moving. Within five minutes of starting the novel I was laughing at the gentle satire on human foibles and life in a small town. Forty minutes later, I was crying about the death of one of the characters. The pattern of alternating laughter and tears continued until the very end. At least, the tears don't last quite till the end: it's a book which thankfully ends on a happy note. Cranford is sentimental, but not cloyingly so. The humour cuts through the sentiment, while making the sad moments even more poignant.

      The novel is a first person narrative in the form of a memoir. Relatively little is revealed about the narrator, although more becomes known about her as the novel progresses. The narrator is herself a lovely character, although the real star of the novel is the wonderful Miss Matty Jenkyns. I love Miss Matty and I loved spending time in Cranford. I'm particularly happy to have listened to the Naxos audiobook version, superbly narrated by Clare Wille. Now I have to watch the BBC television series and see how it measures up to the original. This is a 4-1/2 star read.
    • 4/5
      This novel was first published in 1853. But it isn't too bad. It moved, and it was indeed a "perfect idyll." Its humor was so innocent, its time so Victorian. I didn't mind it at all, and it read fast.
    • 5/5
      What an astonishing gift this book is! I'd not heard of Elizabeth Gaskell before seeing this book in an estate auction, and she is a remarkably capable author. I may seek out more books by her. This one is especially interesting, since it contains a preface written by William Makepeace Thackeray's daughter, Anne.Mrs. Gaskell excelled in portraits of the people of her time, and it's wonderful to have this insightful little volume.I bought it for the celluloid cover, which is in almost perfect condition (I have another book with this same after market cover, and have seen others). It still retains some of the original detail work, and even faint traces of the gilding.I am very happy to discover that the inside is just as lovely as the cover.
    • 4/5
      Absolutely delightful! There's no sweeping plot, but little happenings and the comings and goings of the little village ladies were so humorously and lovingly depicted, that I couldn't put the book down. The characters are so lovable, despite of (or thanks to?) their foibles because at the bottom, they care about each other. Funny that a book about elderly spinsters and widows would be so entertaining and engaging! I'm amazed that I'd never heard of Elizabeth Gaskell a long time ago.
    • 2/5
      Gaskell tried but unfortunately could not live up to the standards of Jane Austen, it picked up somewhat towards the end but still as a whole I found this book to be quite boring. 
    • 4/5
      Ever since seeing Cranford on Masterpiece (made by the BBC), I've been meaning to get to this work. The makers of the television series took a lot of liberties with the book, but I think that the book and the TV series feel the same, and they are both equally good.

      I loved it - thought it was adorable and fun. It's a series of short stories tripping through a small town's life, a town whose society is largely populated with women (spinsters or widowers). There are no earth shattering stories, there is no huge plot. It's just a fun, little humorous look at small town society.
    • 3/5
      The first part of the book feels choppy and episodic; the latter half, after Miss Matty loses everything in the bank failure starts tying the different strands together with the end resolving everything. The recent Masterpiece Theater adaptation took GREAT liberties with the Capt. Brown and Miss Jenkyns story lines, and the novel actually covers a great period of time: I think 10-15 years is suggested by the statement that Flora Gordon (the daughter of Jessie Brown and Major Gordon) is nearly grown at the end of the book (when she hasn't even been born at the beginning). I really enjoy Gaskell's narrative voice for Mary Smith and like Austen she pays close attention to the social action. Miss Pole has to be the poster child for skeptics.

      On a personal note, I started this book with my mother in the hospital in January. I will forever regret not finishing reading it to her.
    • 3/5
      I swing between deciding Miss Matty's a doormat and loving her dearly. Gaskell's wit is delicious.
    • 4/5
      Cranford is a series of short stories about a charming country town in Victorian England that seems to be dominated by a close knit group of nosy spinsters. The stories revolve around the life of elderly Miss Maddie. Although the stories don't have detailed earth shattering plots, they ooze charm. I initially found the book to be a lighthearted and easy listen, but by the end of the book I had really become attached to the kind and generous Miss Maddie and the odd and whimsical residents of Cranford. Excellently narrated by Prunella Scales!
    • 4/5
      Charming, funny, lovely. It is hard to imagine anyone not enoying this book of snippets filled with women whom time is quickly passing by. This book is filled with spinsters and widows living in shabby gentility in the village of Cranford. Readers who enjoy Jane Austen are sure to enjoy this sly and funny book. No romance, but lots of great writing and well-camoflauged statements on class and gender politics in mid-19th century England. Good fun!
    • 3/5
      This book reads as if the author were a little distracted writing it; there are definite threads and themes, but not a lot of structure, and it ends rather abruptly, otherwise I would rate it higher.

      This is one of those books that takes you into the private homes and lives of another time. If you love Jane Austen, this book could be viewed as a portrait of the widows and spinsters so many of her less fortunate characters would be in another 20 years or more. Men are secondary characters, when they appear at all. "Elegant" ladies of limited means, described to us by a visiting younger woman relation, concerned with household economies, reputation, and social status, sparring with each other, supporting each other, showing painful strength of character, as many of them they face all their social constraints, disappointments, poverty, and personal loss. Despite all that it's often a cheerful and funny book.
    • 4/5
      4½ stars. I like the light humor & pathos in this novel, very similar in style to Jane Austen, Angela Thirkell or Miss Read. Much more of a fun read compared to Gaskell's North and South…

      Nadia May does a good narration in this audiobook edition.
    • 4/5
      A pleasant story that ends with a bank bust. Lots of quirky ladies involved, mostly with good hearts, and what's not to love about Miss Matty. It takes a while to find out the name of the narrator, and then it's done with little fanfare. A friendly counterpoint to all the Dickens I've been reading, and well written too. Did I mention the tea business? After I finished the book I watched the recent miniseries. It seems a few other Gaskell stories were incorporated into Cranford, and some of the plots were tweaked. Read the book first.
    • 2/5
      I did not get into this book, The people were shallow, not the writing but the people and I never did manage to find the story line.However the characters were well wirtten and believable. I ended up with a real feeling for the life that they were leading. Just not my seen man.
    • 3/5
      I get the impression that Cranford is Gaskell's most beloved novel, but it's not my favorite. It's very charming and sweet, but I can't get over the sense of sadness and thwartedness that pervades.
    • 4/5
      In need of a bit of a comfort read after the sometimes-harrowing Bridge on the Drina
    • 4/5
      2009, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Nadia MayThe charming Victorian town of Cranford is populated by a host of venerable female lovelies. Among them: Mary Smith, the narrator, who stays frequently with Miss Matty Jenkyns, the amiable and good-natured, if rather timid, old spinster – and my favourite character; Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Miss Matty’s imperious older sister, who dies early on in the novel; Miss Pole, allegedly the most enlightened (though I beg to differ) of the Cranford ladies; Mrs Jamieson, a mostly lethargic widow with aristocratic connections and the owner of the beloved dog, Carlo. Male characters, few but nonetheless entertaining, include the poor Captain Brown, who moves to Cranford with his two daughters; a creepy butler; a surgeon; and a travelling magician.And what the ladies do get up to over tea! Miss Deoborah and Captain Brown engage in a positively pretentious literary disagreement over the merits of Dickens and Dr Johnson. Miss Deborah, who considers “it vulgar, and below the dignity of literature to publish in numbers” (Ch 1), is appalled at the Captain’s regard for the contemporary The Pickwick Papers. And when the ladies have themselves convinced that Cranford’s homes are being “attacked” by robbers, they work themselves up to confessions of greatest fear: ghosts; criminals; and Miss Matty’s hilarious account of the proverbial monster-under-the-bed. But at its heart, Cranford is most importantly a novel about love and friendship. When Miss Matty’s livelihood is erased by the bad investments of her late father, her friends, and indeed all Cranford, rally to ensure she will be able to remain in her home. A plan is mutually agreed upon where she will sell tea from her parlour (very discreetly, of course, lest anyone should think that Miss Matilda Jenkyns stoop to engaging in the baseness of trade). Now, if only Miss Matty would refrain from attempting to promote her own failure:“I left Miss Matty with a good heart. Her sales of tea during the first two days had surpassed my most sanguine expectations. The whole country round seemed to be all out of tea at once. The only alteration I could have desired in Miss Matty’s way of doing business was, that she should not have so plaintively entreated some of her customers not to buy green tea – running it down as a slow poison, sure to destroy the nerves, and produce all manner of evil. Their pertinacity in taking it, in spite of all her warnings, distressed her so much that I really thought she would relinquish the sale of it, and so lose half her custom; and I was driven to my wits’ end for instances of longevity entirely attributable to a persevering use of green tea.” (Ch 15)While North and South remains my absolute favourite of Gaskell’s work, I thoroughly enjoyed Cranford. It is positively charming. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Funny and just plane woderful. This is a classic in its own right. Elizabeth Gaskell was able to capture small town life from her time in a way that transcends time.
    • 4/5
      This is a weird little book. Picture a society made up mostly of women. In the fictional town of Cranford women run the show. If a new couple arrives in Cranford to settle down sooner or later the man of the house vanishes. This society simply doesn't need a man...until Captain Brown and his two daughters arrive on the scene. There is no central plot as this was originally published as a satirical serial. However, the entire story is told first person through the eyes of a visitor and most of the story centers on one particular character, Miss Matty (Matilda).
    • 4/5
      "Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all of the holders of houses above a certain rent are women."Cranford is not exactly a novel, rather a series of short stories published in Dickens' Household Words taking place amongst the old maids and widows of the fictional (but seems to be a village in Lancashire) village of Cranford. Unlike Gaskell's other works it doesn't contain any of the social aspects of life in the Victorian age (apart from the social etiquette of when and which tea to serve), but it does focus on women; and although these women are genteel simple village women, they are as strong and independent as the Manchester heroines of North and South and Mary Barton. It's also hilariously funny in places - a gorgeous Sunday afternoon read.
    • 3/5
      Elizabeth Gaskell is not Jane Austen. That being said, it was entertaining ut noth something I will read or watch again. I do like Judy Dench in this role.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely lovely book!!! I loved every second of it and I was sad to leave Cranford when it was over. The village of Cranford is a place that is oddly overpopulated with middle age women. The women here would not dare think of themselves as equal to men, they believe themselves superior to men!! The women for the most part are all "genteel poor", as in they all have a claim to some form of respectability. Their lack of funds is never spoken of and to broach such a subject would be considered vulgar. This book is a delight and I would highly recommend it especially to anyone who liked Gaskell's other work, North and South. This book is much "lighter" than North and South in its subject matter and deals peripherally with the coming industrial revolution.
    • 4/5
      "In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women.I love the first line of this book. The reader knows from the beginning that this is going to be a fun book. Elizabeth Gaskell doesn't disappoint. There are some men in the story, but they remain on the sidelines. They are not essential to the story. In fact, that's quite the premise of the book -- men aren't necessary. Considering that Gaskell wrote this book in the early 1850s, this is quite shocking. During her day, women were expected to be dependent upon men for everything. So, Gaskell does something quite out of character within the Victorian period by fleshing out these eccentric women who are quite independent. The book was first written and published in installments in Charles Dickens' Household Words beginning in December 1851. The book is written as a series of vignettes as we follow the women throughout their lives. There really is not much of a plot, but rather brief glimpses into the lives of these women.The women all abide by a very strict code of propriety. For example, visiting hours are strictly kept to after twelve noon. It would be unheard of to come to a neighbor's home before this time. The women also practice what is called "elegant economy." They feel it vulgar to discuss money, and everyone pretends that they have more than they do. For instance, they pretend that they walk instead of getting a buggy because it's a beautiful night -- not because it's expensive. They want to keep at bay any appearance of impropriety, which also extends to their household help. The maids are forbidden to have "followers" or boyfriends. One exception to this is later in the book when Miss Matty is older and her sister has died. She allows her maid Martha to have a follower, although it still bothers her. It's as if these women are holding out against the changing times. But, eventually they begin to see that change comes to all of us no matter how hard we try to hold it at bay. This is a delightful little book. The women are eccentric, kind, funny, strong and yet vulnerable. I highly recommend this one.
    • 4/5
      I read this as a teenager and found it dull. This time round I thought it witty and a delight! It is not a great Novel with a capital 'N', hardly surprising, as the first part was written as a one-off for Dicken's magazine, Fireside Friends, and she was persuaded to keep writing further episodes. This explains while so many good characters get killed off so early (cheerfully dispatched with painful and lingering illnesses).
    • 5/5
      Cranford is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in 1851 as a serial in the magazine Household Words, which was edited by Charles Dickens. The fictional town of Cranford is closely modelled on Knutsford in Cheshire, which Mrs. Gaskell knew well. The book has little in the way of plot and is more a series of episodes in the lives of Mary Smith and her friends, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two spinster sisters. But what is it about Cranford and its deceptively simple tales of country life that makes the work so appealing? It has been aptly described as ‘a piece of exquisite social painting’ … ‘tender’ and ‘delicate.’ Narrated by Mary Smith, a friend of Miss Matty and frequent visitor to Cranford, the lives, loves, tragedies, and triumphs of the inhabitants of Cranford are woven together seamlessly to create a tapestry portraying timeless emotions and choices.The petty social bickering, cold shouldering and jockeying for importance in the village’s pecking order are outlined in a humorous yet pointed way—the author loves her characters, with all their faults, and is tolerant of their foibles while holding them up to gentle ridicule. In every community there is an arbiter of good taste, a setter of trends, a leader of public opinion, and all the other social whimsies that make up this colourful collection of characters. It is not easy to keep secrets in this closed environment, and as Mary Smith remarks, “It was impossible to live a month at Cranford, and not know the daily habits of each resident ….” Despite the squabbles and occasional ‘no speaks,’ the ladies of Cranford would rather die than see one of their own fall by the wayside. It is the community spirit that inspires Miss Matty’s friends to decide to donate a portion of their annual income to sustain their beloved friend when an investment goes sour. As a different kind of history book and one that very possibly the author did not set out to write as such, Cranford is actually an analysis of an early Victorian country town. The inhabitants are shaken and disturbed by inevitable changes such as industrialization, the advent of the railway and other events that force an inescapable transition into an increasingly modern world.The appeal of Cranford cannot be better described than in the popularity of the BBC drama series. The teleplay by Heidi Thomas was adapted from three novellas by Elizabeth Gaskell published between 1849 and 1858: Cranford, My Lady Ludlow, and Mr. Harrison's Confessions. (The Last Generation in England was also used as a source.)A gentle, charming read, Cranford has much more to offer the discerning reader than a unassuming look at country life.