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Wives and Daughters is Elizabeth 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... Review: Great read - Excellent book at good price. Review: Great novel with romance, family, set in 1820s in rural England - Wives and Daughters is one of the best novels I have read, and I read a lot. If you are like me you will fall in love with Molly, who is about 18 in most of this book. Set in the 1820s (and published in 1865) Molly is the devoted daughter of the widowed Mr. Gibson, the respected local doctor for a small town and neighboring farms and The Towers where Lord and Lady Cumnor live, and in a lesser level, Squire Hamley lives with his two sons, Osborne and Roger. Mr. Gibson feels Molly needs a mother as she enters the age of finding a husband, and he marries an attractive widow who brings her daughter, Cynthia, into the home. Cynthia eventually has marriage proposals from 3 gentlemen while Molly enjoys a quiet life without suitors. Someone marries an unsuitable spouse (read the book to find out), and the kind Molly is rudely gossiped about when she innocently helps Cynthia by delivering notes to a suitor of Cynthia’s. All of the characters are well developed, including the Squire, his two sons, Lady Harriet, Cynthia and Molly, and some potential suitors for the young ladies. I liked this novel so much I read on and on while at the same time I did not want it to ever end. A very satisfying book. There is a sad note about the author but it did not interfere with the ending of this novel or my enjoyment of it.

| Best Sellers Rank | #94,593 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3,499 in Classic Literature & Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 204 Reviews |
C**S
Great read
Excellent book at good price.
T**A
Great novel with romance, family, set in 1820s in rural England
Wives and Daughters is one of the best novels I have read, and I read a lot. If you are like me you will fall in love with Molly, who is about 18 in most of this book. Set in the 1820s (and published in 1865) Molly is the devoted daughter of the widowed Mr. Gibson, the respected local doctor for a small town and neighboring farms and The Towers where Lord and Lady Cumnor live, and in a lesser level, Squire Hamley lives with his two sons, Osborne and Roger. Mr. Gibson feels Molly needs a mother as she enters the age of finding a husband, and he marries an attractive widow who brings her daughter, Cynthia, into the home. Cynthia eventually has marriage proposals from 3 gentlemen while Molly enjoys a quiet life without suitors. Someone marries an unsuitable spouse (read the book to find out), and the kind Molly is rudely gossiped about when she innocently helps Cynthia by delivering notes to a suitor of Cynthia’s. All of the characters are well developed, including the Squire, his two sons, Lady Harriet, Cynthia and Molly, and some potential suitors for the young ladies. I liked this novel so much I read on and on while at the same time I did not want it to ever end. A very satisfying book. There is a sad note about the author but it did not interfere with the ending of this novel or my enjoyment of it.
H**Y
A truly engaging book and a true picture of life in mid-1800 Britain.
Ellizabeth Caskell wrote many books of the period and this was her last book. All worth reading. It is 585 pages with comments by others who knew her for it was published after her death. I saw the TV Series before I read the book and I recommend reverse order, for I kept expecting it to be the TV Series, which I found on Netflix Hence I purchased the book for more "time with the story", for there is always so much removed to make a movie or TV. I'm glad I did. Very enjoyable,
S**H
Physical Book review
Cover art great. Preserving classics is important. Solid physical book. Story itself was not to my liking.
J**.
A literary delight
I'm in the middle of this book and enjoying every minute. Published in 1866, it "follows the fortunes of two families in nineteenth century rural England." I'm finding it delightful....
T**E
Wonderful book.
Good paperback, and my favorite of Gaskell's novels. <3
C**R
Good Read!
I saw the DVD from PBS and then wanted to read the book. The book is wonderful! I just wanted more when it was finished ...
A**I
Wives and Daughters
Il libro l'ho regalato a mia moglie che adora il genere e specialmente Elizabeth Gaskell. Mi ha riferito che è molto bello ed avvincente. Anche se scritto in inglese classico è comunque facilmente comprensibile. Un libro assolutamente da avere.
R**N
very happy with the copy
was the entire proper version, very happy with the copy, thanks much
M**H
A classic favourite
I've now read W&D several times, and it has become one of my favourite books. There's something about it that reminds me a little of both 'Emma' and 'Mansfield Park'. Molly Gibson is a sympathetic heroine, generally quiet and modest, devoted to her father, but not afraid to stand up for herself when required. The book is set nearly 200 years ago, but the characters are so beautifully drawn and you feel you know people like Cynthia Kirkpatrick and Mr and Mrs Gibson in real life. Not wishing to give too much away, but the plot revolves around Molly Gibson and the second marriage of her father to Hyacinth Kirkpatrick (nee Clare), which brings Molly a dazzling step-sister in the shape of Cynthia Kirkpatrick. The fortunes of the family are tied up with not only the town of Hollingford in which they live and which is inhabited by the spinster sisters, the Miss Brownings and twice-widowed Mrs Goodenough, but the Earl and Countess and Lady Harriet at Cumnor Towers and the family of Hamley at Hamley Hall. If there is a disappointment in W&D it is that it is unfortunately unfinished. Another chapter would probably have done it, but unfortunately Mrs Gaskell died before its completion. You can pretty much guess at what is going to happen, and the note from the editor of Cornhill magazine enlarged upon Mrs Gaskell's plans. If you are truly unsatisfied with the abrupt breaking off of the story, could I point you in the direction of the BBC TV version? It's very faithful too the book, although I think Osborne Hamley is made more sympathetic, and gives a satisfactory conclusion to the piece, even if not quite what may have been intended.
R**)
Merveilleuse découverte d'une auteure intelligente au style inégalable
J'ai découvert ce chef d'oeuvre par hasard, après avoir vu la très bonne adaptation de la BBC Wives And Daughters [Import anglais ]... Je suis une admiratrice de Jane Austen et des soeurs Brontë... Aussi, j'ai envie de dire tout naturellement , je me suis procurée ce livre... MAGNIFIQUE 5 étoiles Pourquoi? - Parce que vous y trouverez une description détaillée, intelligente de cette Angleterre victorienne ; de la condition des femmes... qui n'ont à l'époque que peu de choix... Le mariage... Ou pour celles qui ont reçu une certaine éducation la fonction de gouvernante ( excellemment décrite dans le roman de Anne Brontë Agnès Grey Agnes Grey (Classics) [Paperback] by BrontÙ, Anne; Goreau, Angeline ; Mais aussi une critique intelligente et affûtée de la construction par "caste" de cette société. - Pour le talent extraordinaire que possède Elisabeth Gaskell à croquer au fur et à mesure des lignes des portraits psychologiques d'une grande acuité et d'une grande diversité. Dans ce livre Elisabeth Gaskell, nous dépeint des personnes aussi variées que la veuve qui veut fuir sa condition par un second mariage, la jeune fille intègre qui intériorise tout ses sentiments ( douleurs, joie, trahison...) à savoir la merveilleuse Molly Gibson, son père Médecin de profession, père attentif... Mais soucieux après de nombreuses années de veuvage de se remarier pour donner une nouvelle "mama" à sa fille jeune femme... Aucun des personnages n'est "bâclé"... au contraire ! E. Gaskell était une auteure qui travaillait avec ardeur, reprenant sans cesse ses notes pour approfondir son oeuvre... Les portraits des deux vieilles filles... sont irrésistibles... ET que dire de Lady Hariet... héritière d'une grande famille qui ose dans cette société s'affranchir des codes : elle refuse le mariage, elle s'exprime librement, décide de nouer une amitié avec quelqu'un "d'en bas"... La fille du docteur... Je n'oublie pas la step-sister de Molly (la fille de la seconde femme de son père) Cynthia... Personnage très complexe, que cache-t-elle sous ses airs frivoles? est-elle ce qu'elle donne à voir?... BREF UN CHAPELET DE PERSONNAGES SCULPTES AVEC FINESSE POUR NOUS RÉVÉLER LA PSYCHOLOGIE DE CHACUN; - Les paysannes : E. Gaskell, nous offre des pages d'une grande poésie lorsqu'elle décrit les paysages, il faut dire qu'elle a passé la plus grande partie de sa vie dans des villes de province. Elle connait cette campagne, les personnes qui y vivent. - Pour le regard d'une femme très impliquée et intéressée par les mouvements de réformes en cours dans cette Angleterre. Elisabeth Gaskell fréquente des cercles religieux et intellectuels de dissidents, de réformateurs... (non de révolutionnaire, quelques phrases placées dans la bouche de ses personnages le disent clairement). Mais cette ouverture d'esprit surtout concernant la condition de la femme est évident dans cette OEUVRE ULTIME... Car E.Gaskell est morte subitement le 12 novembre 1865 en prenant le thé au milieu d'une phrase... Juste avant d'achever le dernier chapitre de ce roman.... MAIS HEUREUSEMENT LES NOTES QU'ELLE AVAIT TRAVAILLÉES ONT PERMIS A SON ÉDITEUR DE NOUS DONNER LES 2 OU 3 ÉLÉMENTS QUI DEVAIENT CONCLURE CE ROMAN. Pour conclure, dans cet ultime roman Elisabeth Gaskell nous laisse des petits cailloux blancs de sa propre existence : - orpheline de mère dès ses premières années comme Molly - envoyée très tôt dans une école pour devenir gouvernante ... Cynthia? - une vie d'enfant à la campagne chez une tante (soeur de sa mère)... son père s'étant remarié très vite... Est-ce pour cela qu'elle offre à Molly un père aimant, protecteur, fidèle à l'image de sa femme? Si Elisabeth Gaskell est devenue auteure, c'est grâce à son mari... Il la poussa à écrire pour surmonter la mort de son fils unique à l'âge de 9 mois de la rougeole... Malgré ses 4 autres filles, elle n'arrivait pas surmonter ce deuil... Alors MERCI à Mr Gaskell d'avoir inciter sa femme à écrire... ainsi une AUTEURE EXTRAORDINAIRE est née pour notre plus grand plaisir P.S : Maintenant que j'ai découvert qu'elle était une amie très proche de Charlotte Brontë et qu'elle rédigea la première biographie de cette grande dame de la littérature Anglaise... Je vais pouvoir allier un double plaisir dans un seul livre!
B**N
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A**N
wonderful condition.
received as expected...wonderful condition...as for the content it is a first class novel.
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