Wives and Daughters

Gaskell Elisabeth, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Wordsworth Editions, 1999 - Fiction - 624 pages

With an Introduction and Notes by Dinny Thorold, University of Westminster

Gaskell's last novel, widely considered her masterpiece, follows the fortunes of two families in nineteenth century rural England. At its core are family relationships - father, daughter and step-mother, father and sons, father and step-daughter - all tested and strained by the romantic entanglements that ensue.

Despite its underlying seriousness, the prevailing tone is one of comedy. Gaskell vividly portrays the world of the late 1820s and the forces of change within it, and her vision is always humane and progressive.

The story is full of acute observation and sympathetic character-study: the feudal squire clinging to old values, his naturalist son welcoming the new world of science, the local doctor and his scheming second wife, the two girls brought together by their parent's marriage...

Contents

• The Dawn of a Gala: 3
• 3: 25
• 4: 31
• 5: 40
• 6: 54
• Preparing for the Wedding: 123
• 13: 131
• 14: 141
• 15: 153
• 16: 160
• 17: 169
• 18: 179
• 19: 190
• Mrs Gibsons Visitors: 200
• The HalfSisters: 208
• The Old Squires Troubles: 220
• Osborne Hamley Reviews his Position: 230
• Mrs Gibsons Little Dinner: 238
• Hollingford in a Bustle: 244
• A Charity Ball: 252
• Father and Sons: 268
• Rivalry: 275
• BushFighting: 286
• Old Ways and New Ways: 298
• A Passive Coquette: 306
• Coming Events: 313
• Brightening Prospects: 326
• A Lovers Mistake: 332
• The Mothers Manoeuvre: 340
• Domestic Diplomacy: 353
• A Fluke and What Came of It: 358
• Mr Kirkpatrick QC: 370
• Secret Thoughts Ooze Out: 380
• Molly Gibson Breathes Freely: 391
• Gathering Clouds: 398
• The Storm Bursts: 409
• Cynthias Confession: 417
• Molly Gibson to the Rescue: 425
• Confidences: 434
• Hollingford Gossips: 442
• Scandal and its Victims: 450
• An Innocent Culprit: 460
• Molly Gibson Finds a Champion: 469
• Cynthia at Bay: 477
• Troubles Never Come Alone: 488
• Squire Hamleys Sorrow: 496
• Unlookedfor Arrivals: 506
• Molly Gibsons Worth is Discovered: 516
• An Absent Lover Returns: 526
• Off with the Old Love and on with the New: 534
• Bridal Visits and Adieux: 542
• Reviving Hopes and Brightening Prospects: 551
• Molly Gibson at Hamley Hall: 560
• Roger Hamleys Confession: 569
• Concluding Remarks: 581
• NOTES: 587

About the author

Elizabeth Gaskell was born on September 29, 1810 to a Unitarian clergyman, who was also a civil servant and journalist. Her mother died when she was young, and she was brought up by her aunt in Knutsford, a small village that was the prototype for Cranford, Hollingford and the setting for numerous other short stories. In 1832, she married William Gaskell, a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She participated in his ministry and collaborated with him to write the poem Sketches among the Poor in 1837. Our Society at Cranford was the first two chapters of Cranford and it appeared in Dickens' Household Words in 1851. Dickens liked it so much that he pressed Gaskell for more episodes, and she produced eight more of them between 1852 and 1853. She also wrote My Lady Ludlow and Lois the Witch, a novella that concerns the Salem witch trials. Wives and Daughters ran in Cornhill from August 1864 to January 1866. The final installment was never written but the ending was known and the novel exists now virtually complete. The story centers on a series of relationships between family groups in Hollingford. Most critics agree that her greatest achievement is the short novel Cousin Phillis. Gaskell was also followed by controversy. In 1853, she offended many readers with Ruth, which explored seduction and illegitimacy that led the "fallen woman" into ostracism and inevitable prostitution. The novel presents the social conduct in a small community when tolerance and morality clash. Critics praised the novel's moral lessons but Gaskell's own congregation burned the book and it was banned in many libraries. In 1857, The Life of Charlotte Brontë was published. The biography was initially praised but angry protests came from some of the people it dealt with. Gaskell was against any biographical notice of her being written during her lifetime. After her death on November 12, 1865, her family refused to make family letters or biographical data available.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Wives and Daughters; Wordsworth classics
• Authors: Gaskell Elisabeth, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
• Contributor: Dinny Thorold
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1999
• ISBN: 1840224169, 9781840224160
• Length: 624 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary