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Penguin Classics (1984), Paperback, 496 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML: The first novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton was published in 1848. It tells of the plight of the lower class in Manchester during the 1830s and 1840s. Contrasting the gap between rich and poor, the first half of the novel tells of the humble lives of the Barton and Wilson families, the extreme poverty of the Davenports and the luxurious life of the Carsons. Symbolically, John Barton receives five shillings for selling most of his worldly possessions; Henry Carson has this as loose change in his pocket. The second half of the novel comes to grips with a plot to murder..
User reviews
LibraryThing member atimco
Mary Barton is, like Elizabeth Gaskell's more famous novel North and South, set in a manufacturing town and is concerned with the wide inequities between the working and master classes. Published in 1848, this is Gaskell's first novel and sets the stage for the major concerns she would highlight in
The descriptions of life among the poor in Manchester are appalling, and Gaskell explores the depths of human suffering in ways that grip the imagination. I suspect I will be haunted a little by these long-gone agonies, the "clemming" of children, the despair and utter helplessness of the parents. And the hard-heartedness of Parliament, that refused to even listen to the plea of the delegates from the working class. Gaskell is always at great pains to make it clear that she knows nothing of politics and economics, but she can't help abjuring the rich to help the poor; it seems to her the only possible solution.
I was saddened by the fate of Esther, counterpart to the much older and saintly Alice. Both die in end, but Alice with such a wonderful aura of peace and faith in God... Esther, the streetwalker and prostitute, in a ragged heap on the wet streets. There is a feeling of inevitability about Esther's death; is there ever a reclaimed, rejuvenated prostitute in any Victorian literature? How much more fascinating it would have been to see Esther escape her horrible life and come away with Jem and Mary to Canada. I don't know why Gaskell chose not to explore that possibility—she is certainly sympathetic toward the plight of the ruined woman—but Esther dies and is mourned in the way quite proper to the literature of the time. Ah well.
As with her characters in Wives and Daughters, Gaskell portrays very realistic people, especially in Mrs. Wilson, Jem's mother, who is of an irritable and scolding temper. Her mother-love, her best impulses, her moments of sacrifice are given full weight in the narrative, but we also see her littlenesses and the trifles that upset her. She's very human indeed. Mary, too, is not without her faults, most notably a slight vanity and propensity for flirting. I also really liked Job Legh, that simple old man with his love for natural history and science, and the crusty Mr. Sturgis and his kind wife. Interestingly enough, for those who are familiar with Gaskell's other work, there is a Molly Gibson referenced in the story (though she never appears). Apparently it was a good enough name to be reused.
Comparisons with Gaskell's better-known novels, especially North and South, are natural. It is clear that this is Gaskell's first novel; there are certain plot gaps, such as the gun (when it was clearly ascertained to be Jem's, why did no one ask him who had borrowed it of him?). And it's fairly clear who is responsible for the murder, right from the start. But this isn't meant to be a whodunit.
One theme that runs throughout the novel is the idea of culpability and blame, and how it may rest not only with the perpetrator of a crime, but also with the influences that made the criminal what he is. Gaskell's sympathy is strongly with the workers; she acknowledges their wildness and their violent crimes, but asks who it was that made them that way. It's the masters, of course, and though their deeds are wicked, so are those who brought them to such extremities. But the idea of culpability is not just for masses of people; it is also personal. Mary Barton feels the weight of it when she considers that it was her rash, angry words that may have spurred Jem to commit the murder of which he is accused. Mary thinks that she "made him" that desperate, and thereby takes some of the blame on herself. It's an interesting study in personal responsibility in the acts of others.
Gaskell is a very literate author, and I recognized many biblical quotations and other literary allusions (though I don't doubt that a great many went over my head, as well). Again and again Gaskell returns to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, once asking poignantly if the rich dwell on that story with the same intensity as the poor?
This was a compelling read, the sort that occasions annoyance with all the everyday responsibilities and duties that stand between the reader and the book. I gulped it down in two days, eager to know what was to come, notwithstanding Gaskell's wordy drawing-out of what is, after all, a fairly simple story. Though this is not Gaskell's best work, it has only improved my opinion of her, and I find her quite worthy to sit on the same shelf as Dickens.
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her work. This story follows Mary Barton, a young woman of the working class in the industrial town of Manchester, whose father is a vocal advocate of better conditions for the poor. Mary has two lovers: Jem Wilson, a man of the working class, and Henry Carson, the son of a prominent mill owner. When murder is done, Mary must see through her illusions and save the man she loves. But what if it is at the expense of another person she loves? The descriptions of life among the poor in Manchester are appalling, and Gaskell explores the depths of human suffering in ways that grip the imagination. I suspect I will be haunted a little by these long-gone agonies, the "clemming" of children, the despair and utter helplessness of the parents. And the hard-heartedness of Parliament, that refused to even listen to the plea of the delegates from the working class. Gaskell is always at great pains to make it clear that she knows nothing of politics and economics, but she can't help abjuring the rich to help the poor; it seems to her the only possible solution.
I was saddened by the fate of Esther, counterpart to the much older and saintly Alice. Both die in end, but Alice with such a wonderful aura of peace and faith in God... Esther, the streetwalker and prostitute, in a ragged heap on the wet streets. There is a feeling of inevitability about Esther's death; is there ever a reclaimed, rejuvenated prostitute in any Victorian literature? How much more fascinating it would have been to see Esther escape her horrible life and come away with Jem and Mary to Canada. I don't know why Gaskell chose not to explore that possibility—she is certainly sympathetic toward the plight of the ruined woman—but Esther dies and is mourned in the way quite proper to the literature of the time. Ah well.
As with her characters in Wives and Daughters, Gaskell portrays very realistic people, especially in Mrs. Wilson, Jem's mother, who is of an irritable and scolding temper. Her mother-love, her best impulses, her moments of sacrifice are given full weight in the narrative, but we also see her littlenesses and the trifles that upset her. She's very human indeed. Mary, too, is not without her faults, most notably a slight vanity and propensity for flirting. I also really liked Job Legh, that simple old man with his love for natural history and science, and the crusty Mr. Sturgis and his kind wife. Interestingly enough, for those who are familiar with Gaskell's other work, there is a Molly Gibson referenced in the story (though she never appears). Apparently it was a good enough name to be reused.
Comparisons with Gaskell's better-known novels, especially North and South, are natural. It is clear that this is Gaskell's first novel; there are certain plot gaps, such as the gun (when it was clearly ascertained to be Jem's, why did no one ask him who had borrowed it of him?). And it's fairly clear who is responsible for the murder, right from the start. But this isn't meant to be a whodunit.
One theme that runs throughout the novel is the idea of culpability and blame, and how it may rest not only with the perpetrator of a crime, but also with the influences that made the criminal what he is. Gaskell's sympathy is strongly with the workers; she acknowledges their wildness and their violent crimes, but asks who it was that made them that way. It's the masters, of course, and though their deeds are wicked, so are those who brought them to such extremities. But the idea of culpability is not just for masses of people; it is also personal. Mary Barton feels the weight of it when she considers that it was her rash, angry words that may have spurred Jem to commit the murder of which he is accused. Mary thinks that she "made him" that desperate, and thereby takes some of the blame on herself. It's an interesting study in personal responsibility in the acts of others.
Gaskell is a very literate author, and I recognized many biblical quotations and other literary allusions (though I don't doubt that a great many went over my head, as well). Again and again Gaskell returns to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, once asking poignantly if the rich dwell on that story with the same intensity as the poor?
This was a compelling read, the sort that occasions annoyance with all the everyday responsibilities and duties that stand between the reader and the book. I gulped it down in two days, eager to know what was to come, notwithstanding Gaskell's wordy drawing-out of what is, after all, a fairly simple story. Though this is not Gaskell's best work, it has only improved my opinion of her, and I find her quite worthy to sit on the same shelf as Dickens.
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LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
I will forgive Elizabeth Gaskell this melodramatic tome, for love of 'North and South' and because this was her first novel. Otherwise, I would probably have given up on Mary Barton halfway through!
The eponymous heroine of this moralistic potboiler is a typically Gaskell model of womanhood -
There are some likeable characters - wise old Job Legh, ebullient Will Wilson, even Charley the landlady's cocky young son - but the main protagonists lack both life and nuance. An omniscient narrator binds all together, flipping between scenes and backtracking to explain developments, and there is little mystery as to the 'real' murderer. In fact, there are so many deaths in the first half of the book - wives, mothers, husbands, children - that the fatal shooting when it happens is rather anticlimactic.
From a pale imitation of Dickens, lecturing on social conscience and industrial disputes, Gaskell's first work turns into a florid Victorian potboiler halfway through, in which everyone and everything is termed 'dear old', women and children 'totter' a lot, and Mary suddenly starts bursting into floods of tears and delivering 'woe is me' speeches ('I am so helpless, so weak - but a poor girl after all! How can I tell what is right?). Grating to say the least!
And yet for all that, Gaskell certainly had an ear for the local dialect of Manchester, and sympathy for the poverty-stricken workers who did have to watch their young families die from lack of food and basic needs. Although she is far more forgiving and less sanctimonius in 'North and South', her motives are no less genuine and helpful, her writing insightful and instructive.
The eponymous heroine of this moralistic potboiler is a typically Gaskell model of womanhood -
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'sweet faulty, impulsive, lovable creature' - except that she arouses neither love nor sympathy in the reader. Margaret Hale in 'North and South' (the comparison is unavoidable) matures from a naive, snobbish girl into a noble and generous woman, but Mary Barton beggars belief from start to finish. Her extraordinary vanity and fickleness nearly leads to her sweetheart's execution for murder, but somehow she is not to blame and must be pitied. Everybody loves her, although it's not clear why - I'm not even sure what event or discovery it was that lead to her selfish revelation that she loves Jem and not Henry Carson, the mill owner's son. True, she repairs the damage caused by herself and her family, almost at cost of her life, but I still couldn't bring myself to like her. And Jem, the honest, hard-working boy she later sets her heart on (after rejecting his proposal, like Margaret Hale), is a vapid caricature of a love interest, and certainly nothing to compare with John Thornton! In fact, even combining Jem and Henry Carson, to create a wealthy yet industrious suitor, Mrs Gaskell had a long way to go before creating the perfect hero.There are some likeable characters - wise old Job Legh, ebullient Will Wilson, even Charley the landlady's cocky young son - but the main protagonists lack both life and nuance. An omniscient narrator binds all together, flipping between scenes and backtracking to explain developments, and there is little mystery as to the 'real' murderer. In fact, there are so many deaths in the first half of the book - wives, mothers, husbands, children - that the fatal shooting when it happens is rather anticlimactic.
From a pale imitation of Dickens, lecturing on social conscience and industrial disputes, Gaskell's first work turns into a florid Victorian potboiler halfway through, in which everyone and everything is termed 'dear old', women and children 'totter' a lot, and Mary suddenly starts bursting into floods of tears and delivering 'woe is me' speeches ('I am so helpless, so weak - but a poor girl after all! How can I tell what is right?). Grating to say the least!
And yet for all that, Gaskell certainly had an ear for the local dialect of Manchester, and sympathy for the poverty-stricken workers who did have to watch their young families die from lack of food and basic needs. Although she is far more forgiving and less sanctimonius in 'North and South', her motives are no less genuine and helpful, her writing insightful and instructive.
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LibraryThing member alexdaw
Mary Barton is a love story and a murder mystery but as Elizabeth Gaskell writes, the real motivation for telling the story was "to give some utterance to the agony which, from time to time, convulses this dumb people; the agony of suffering without the sympathy of the happy, or of erroneously
It could be a dull and dreary read but the characters are drawn so beautifully and despite the 'clemming" (starving) and the death and the distress...there is a dry humour carved into some of the character descriptions. I particularly liked the character of Job, someone we would refer to these days as having a bit of an OCD. Job is at heart a botanist and likes to collect specimens of all descriptions. The account of Will Wilson, a sailor, courting Job's grand-daughter Margaret is very amusing...the bargaining chips being exotic specimens of dried fish and other sundry items from far off lands!! "Job wanted to prove his gratitude, and was puzzled how to do it. He feared the young man would not appreciate any of his duplicate Araneides; not even the great American Mygale, one of his most precious treasures; or else he would gladly have bestowed any duplicate on the donor of a real dried Exocetus. What could he do for him? He could ask Margaret to sing."
This book isn't for everyone I'm sure. It may at times seem over-blown or over-done in its sentimentality. At times I felt it was a guilty pleasure - a bit like "Neighbours" for the soul. That didn't seem to worry me for some reason. I was just captivated by the account of life in Manchester in the 1840s and the characters' struggle to make their way in the face of unemployment, starvation and everything else you can think of. There is true pathos in this book. Death is a regular visitor to the point of ridiculousness - but any family historian will tell you that it sometimes seems a miracle that any of us are here today, if you study the lives of your ancestors.
For my money, it was worth every cent and more. I loved it.
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believing that such is the case." So Mary Barton is ultimately a study of workplace relations, of the uneasy relationship between the working class and the factory owners. Gaskell builds a detailed picture of how a dispute over wages in the mills escalates: "So class distrusted class, and their want of mutual confidence wrought sorrow to both. The masters would not be bullied, and compelled to reveal why they felt it wisest and best to offer only such low wages; they would not be made to tell that they were even sacrificing capital to obtain a decisive victory over the continental manufacturers. And the workmen sat silent and stern with folded hands refusing to work for such pay. There was a strike in Manchester."It could be a dull and dreary read but the characters are drawn so beautifully and despite the 'clemming" (starving) and the death and the distress...there is a dry humour carved into some of the character descriptions. I particularly liked the character of Job, someone we would refer to these days as having a bit of an OCD. Job is at heart a botanist and likes to collect specimens of all descriptions. The account of Will Wilson, a sailor, courting Job's grand-daughter Margaret is very amusing...the bargaining chips being exotic specimens of dried fish and other sundry items from far off lands!! "Job wanted to prove his gratitude, and was puzzled how to do it. He feared the young man would not appreciate any of his duplicate Araneides; not even the great American Mygale, one of his most precious treasures; or else he would gladly have bestowed any duplicate on the donor of a real dried Exocetus. What could he do for him? He could ask Margaret to sing."
This book isn't for everyone I'm sure. It may at times seem over-blown or over-done in its sentimentality. At times I felt it was a guilty pleasure - a bit like "Neighbours" for the soul. That didn't seem to worry me for some reason. I was just captivated by the account of life in Manchester in the 1840s and the characters' struggle to make their way in the face of unemployment, starvation and everything else you can think of. There is true pathos in this book. Death is a regular visitor to the point of ridiculousness - but any family historian will tell you that it sometimes seems a miracle that any of us are here today, if you study the lives of your ancestors.
For my money, it was worth every cent and more. I loved it.
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LibraryThing member Herenya
Mary Barton is all about the difficulties confronting the working class in Manchester in the 1840s in "a period of industrial unrest and extreme deprivation". There is much that one could say about this (and much that I shall say if I write essays on it) but this is more a reader's opinion than a
The story is about a mill-worker, John Barton, his daughter Mary and their friends (the Wilson family, and Job Legh and his granddaughter Margaret.) John is a self-sacrificing man, prepared to give his last mouthful to help a dying acquaintance. But he is no stranger to death, starvation, disappointment, unemployment and poverty, and doesn't have the affluence to alleviate the suffering around him as he would like. Grieving for the loss of his wife and son, and disillusioned about the plight of the working class, he becomes involved with Trade Unionism and the Chartist's petition to Parliament for political representation.
Mary works as a seamstress and is flattered when she attracts the attention of Henry Carson, the son of a wealthy mill-owner. She hopes her beauty will be a passage to the middle class and an easier life. However, a "brutal murder forces her to confront her true feelings and allegiances".
Gaskell paints a vivid, finely detailed and depressing account of Manchester 19th century life - the suffering and hardships, the prevalence of illness and death, and the class conflict between masters and workers. As a portrayal of how life was for these people alone, it's powerful and fascinating. But much of this is shown, not in sweeping scenes, through the lives of three (or so) families, and more specifically, through the lives of the Bartons. Mary Barton is a mystery and a romance; it's about a murder, a court case and courtship. Some sections of it are surprisingly suspenseful. Mary proves herself to be a strong, admirable heroine with a lot of agency (and goes to considerable lengths to prove an alibi to protect another).
The story is moving, thought-provoking, and wonderfully written - I enjoyed her prose, her intelligent use of language and her insight.
At times Gaskell at times occupies an awkward position in her relationship with the working class - being incredibly sympathetic towards them and yet at times scared of what they may do - but she's not didactic. Mary Barton appears to want to highlight problems rather than propose solutions, but the solutions Gaskell does present (and she never pretends that they are easy or all-encompassing) are interesting - concerning the need to forgive and have compassion, and how suffering can be a universal experience people can relate to. I think it walks successfully line between being true to Gaskell's beliefs without becoming "preachy"... although I'm not exactly unbiased. I admired her characters' fortitude, their resilience and humility.
(I feel I'm not doing the best job of adequately articulating all of this...)
It's not all perfect. There are moments when Mary reminded me very much of Margaret Hale (of North and South, not Mary's friend Margaret), whether through her actions or how she is described. There are a scene (or two) which I have to admit didn't surprise me. Gaskell also proves to have a lack of originality when it comes to names and I giggled when I got to the references to a "Molly Gibson". There are issues with the ending but (wearing my Lit student hat), but these relate to the problems of giving a happy ending to a realist novel about a wider social problem which cannot be so easily solved.
There's also no Mr Thornton, but as I said to someone, "You can't have everything". In themes, Mary Barton goes hand-in-hand with North and South - they both explore the conflict between "masters and men", the difficulties of life in mill-towns and the plight of the working class. As well they focus much more on factory people than factories themselves - Gaskell is more interested in the domestic than exactly what goes on inside the factory gates.
Mary Barton hasn't usurped North and South's place as first in my affections, but it is nevertheless a wonderful novel, one I'm really glad I read.
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literature student's. If the two can be separated.The story is about a mill-worker, John Barton, his daughter Mary and their friends (the Wilson family, and Job Legh and his granddaughter Margaret.) John is a self-sacrificing man, prepared to give his last mouthful to help a dying acquaintance. But he is no stranger to death, starvation, disappointment, unemployment and poverty, and doesn't have the affluence to alleviate the suffering around him as he would like. Grieving for the loss of his wife and son, and disillusioned about the plight of the working class, he becomes involved with Trade Unionism and the Chartist's petition to Parliament for political representation.
Mary works as a seamstress and is flattered when she attracts the attention of Henry Carson, the son of a wealthy mill-owner. She hopes her beauty will be a passage to the middle class and an easier life. However, a "brutal murder forces her to confront her true feelings and allegiances".
Gaskell paints a vivid, finely detailed and depressing account of Manchester 19th century life - the suffering and hardships, the prevalence of illness and death, and the class conflict between masters and workers. As a portrayal of how life was for these people alone, it's powerful and fascinating. But much of this is shown, not in sweeping scenes, through the lives of three (or so) families, and more specifically, through the lives of the Bartons. Mary Barton is a mystery and a romance; it's about a murder, a court case and courtship. Some sections of it are surprisingly suspenseful. Mary proves herself to be a strong, admirable heroine with a lot of agency (and goes to considerable lengths to prove an alibi to protect another).
The story is moving, thought-provoking, and wonderfully written - I enjoyed her prose, her intelligent use of language and her insight.
At times Gaskell at times occupies an awkward position in her relationship with the working class - being incredibly sympathetic towards them and yet at times scared of what they may do - but she's not didactic. Mary Barton appears to want to highlight problems rather than propose solutions, but the solutions Gaskell does present (and she never pretends that they are easy or all-encompassing) are interesting - concerning the need to forgive and have compassion, and how suffering can be a universal experience people can relate to. I think it walks successfully line between being true to Gaskell's beliefs without becoming "preachy"... although I'm not exactly unbiased. I admired her characters' fortitude, their resilience and humility.
(I feel I'm not doing the best job of adequately articulating all of this...)
It's not all perfect. There are moments when Mary reminded me very much of Margaret Hale (of North and South, not Mary's friend Margaret), whether through her actions or how she is described. There are a scene (or two) which I have to admit didn't surprise me. Gaskell also proves to have a lack of originality when it comes to names and I giggled when I got to the references to a "Molly Gibson". There are issues with the ending but (wearing my Lit student hat), but these relate to the problems of giving a happy ending to a realist novel about a wider social problem which cannot be so easily solved.
There's also no Mr Thornton, but as I said to someone, "You can't have everything". In themes, Mary Barton goes hand-in-hand with North and South - they both explore the conflict between "masters and men", the difficulties of life in mill-towns and the plight of the working class. As well they focus much more on factory people than factories themselves - Gaskell is more interested in the domestic than exactly what goes on inside the factory gates.
Mary Barton hasn't usurped North and South's place as first in my affections, but it is nevertheless a wonderful novel, one I'm really glad I read.
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LibraryThing member lit_chick
2011, AudioGO Audiobooks, Read by Juliet Stevenson
Mary Barton is set in 1840s working-class Manchester. The young heroine, who lives alone with her hardened and bitter trade-unionist father, John, has attracted the attention of two suitors. Jem Wilson, also working class, is an intelligent,
Gaskell’s portrayal of working-class Manchester is ingenuous. She writes vividly of a society governed by labour strife, social strife, and extreme poverty. Mill workers and their families are destitute, keenly aware of the ever-widening inequality between themselves and their wealthy capitalist employers.
“For three years past trade had been getting worse and worse, and the price of provisions higher and higher. This disparity between the amount of the earnings of the working classes and the price of their food, occasioned, in more cases than could well be imagined, disease and death. Whole families went through a gradual starvation … The most deplorable and enduring evil that arose out of the period of commercial depression to which I refer, was this feeling of alienation between the different classes of society.” (Ch 8)
I enjoyed Mary Barton, but found it over-long and prone to lags in plot. To be fair, it is also Gaskells’ first novel. And criticism aside, it is a worthy read, and one I recommend without hesitation to classics’ lovers and those interested in the social history of the Industrial Revolution. Finally, about the fabulousness that is Juliet Stevenson, there are not words.
Mary Barton is set in 1840s working-class Manchester. The young heroine, who lives alone with her hardened and bitter trade-unionist father, John, has attracted the attention of two suitors. Jem Wilson, also working class, is an intelligent,
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hardworking young man who loves Mary deeply and wishes to marry her. Henry Carson, privileged son of a wealthy mill owner, also has an eye for Mary, though his intentions are decidedly less honourable. Mary, naively thinking to secure a comfortable life for herself and her father by marrying her wealthy suitor, turns Jem down. But immediately following her refusal, she realizes how deeply she loves him. Shortly thereafter, Carson is found murdered, and Jem is arrested and charged. Mary, set on proving his innocence, inadvertently discovers that the true murderer is John Barton. She is faced with saving her lover without disclosing her father’s guilt.Gaskell’s portrayal of working-class Manchester is ingenuous. She writes vividly of a society governed by labour strife, social strife, and extreme poverty. Mill workers and their families are destitute, keenly aware of the ever-widening inequality between themselves and their wealthy capitalist employers.
“For three years past trade had been getting worse and worse, and the price of provisions higher and higher. This disparity between the amount of the earnings of the working classes and the price of their food, occasioned, in more cases than could well be imagined, disease and death. Whole families went through a gradual starvation … The most deplorable and enduring evil that arose out of the period of commercial depression to which I refer, was this feeling of alienation between the different classes of society.” (Ch 8)
I enjoyed Mary Barton, but found it over-long and prone to lags in plot. To be fair, it is also Gaskells’ first novel. And criticism aside, it is a worthy read, and one I recommend without hesitation to classics’ lovers and those interested in the social history of the Industrial Revolution. Finally, about the fabulousness that is Juliet Stevenson, there are not words.
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LibraryThing member heidijane
I have mixed feelings about this book. Some bits were really thrilling and exciting - particularly the murder trial and Mary's efforts to track down the alibi to try and clear an innocent man's name. However, the rest of it surrounding felt quite pedestrian and plodding, despite the large number of
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deaths due to poverty and starvation in the first few chapters. More could have been made of the worker's strike, and the injustices etc. But the central story is still enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member evertrap
Like a bad soap opera, this story is based on ridiculous situations that are depressing to the extreme.
LibraryThing member Shuffy2
Two men love the Mary Barton- one she has known her entire life being from the same poor neighborhood as her while the other is from a wealthy family. What should she do?
Mary Barton's life doesn't go according to plan and her life is changed forever! Set in the 1840's during the industrial upheaval
As a fan of Austen as well as Glaskell's 'North and South' and 'Wives and Daughters', I enjoyed this book and it did not disappoint- could not put it down! A real page turner!!
Mary Barton's life doesn't go according to plan and her life is changed forever! Set in the 1840's during the industrial upheaval
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in England, Glaskell takes the reader on a journey through love, loss, social restrictions, death, murder, and redemption. Great cast of characters that come together to create a well written and moving story- the beautiful Mary, faithful Margret, devoted Jem, simple Job, doting John, and meddling Esther, to name a few. As a fan of Austen as well as Glaskell's 'North and South' and 'Wives and Daughters', I enjoyed this book and it did not disappoint- could not put it down! A real page turner!!
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LibraryThing member Bodagirl
It was sitting on my bedside table for over a month and I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. Really depressing, almost Dickensian.
LibraryThing member Luli81
After having read "North and South" quite a long time ago I had forgotten why this woman was a master in storytelling.
Because it seems impossible that a novel written in the classic way, with long sentences and a "stiff" structure with ancient vocabulary and dealing with the pros and conts of the
Even with all these formal constraints Gaskell manages to transmit such contained emotion that sometimes I didn't realise I had stopped breathing with anxiety.
Mary Barton is a working class girl, daughter of an impoverished widowed man. Her pretty face catches the attention of Mr. Carson one of the wealthy lads of Manchester and the possibility of seeing the end of their meagre existence leads her to dismiss her true love, Jem Wilson with dreadful consequences for all of them.
Partly historical and sociological thriller which portrays the situation of a whole generation and the start of what we call progress in the working system. Deeply meaningful characters who will stick to your mind long after you have closed the book.
Loved it!
Because it seems impossible that a novel written in the classic way, with long sentences and a "stiff" structure with ancient vocabulary and dealing with the pros and conts of the
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revolutionary working class in the industrial England of the late XIXth century, might engage the reader the way that "Mary Barton" does.Even with all these formal constraints Gaskell manages to transmit such contained emotion that sometimes I didn't realise I had stopped breathing with anxiety.
Mary Barton is a working class girl, daughter of an impoverished widowed man. Her pretty face catches the attention of Mr. Carson one of the wealthy lads of Manchester and the possibility of seeing the end of their meagre existence leads her to dismiss her true love, Jem Wilson with dreadful consequences for all of them.
Partly historical and sociological thriller which portrays the situation of a whole generation and the start of what we call progress in the working system. Deeply meaningful characters who will stick to your mind long after you have closed the book.
Loved it!
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LibraryThing member MichelleCH
If you are interested in social injustice and the history of worker's rights then this is a nice fit. In the beginning of the story, we meet Mary Barton, who although pretty doesn't appear to have a lot of depth; she is easily distracted by attention to her beauty which plays out in not such a good
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way. Her father is a union leader and struggles to keep his family fed in a contentious environment for workers and mill owners. The novel started at a fairly good clip but in the middle it does bog down a bit. Happily there is a rally at the end and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Will true love be saved?
I felt like Mary matured throughout the novel, leaving her shallow self behind, and coming out stronger as a person. Her friend Margaret (and grandfather Job) were my favorites in the story. They seemed to provide the sense and grounding that Mary lacked.
This is my first book by Gaskell and I enjoyed her style of writing. Gaskell is able to give great insight into the working class and the individuals who must surely have been part of the landscape during that time. There are many tragedies in each family's story and it really is amazing how resilient humans can be in terrible conditions. There is also the language of the day woven throughout; my edition gave definitions which was really helpful. One of my favorites is the word "disremember" - it seems a natural way of speaking although no one would ever use it today.
On to reading more of her work!
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
Ms Gaskell's debut novel of life in Manchester, the seat of industrial life in England in the 1840s. Ms Gaskell endeavors to write a story that takes no sides as she compares life of the worker and the factory owners. The story is told through the life of Mary Barton, daughter of John Barton. John
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Barton is a member of the working class and a unionist. The story is also a romance novel as Mary struggles with inner conflict between a childhood friend and a son of one of the factory owners. Show Less
LibraryThing member jessicariddoch
I think that I simply was not in the correct frame of mind to be able to read this novel or perhaps it was the conditions that these people were living in that just made me feel unsatisfied.
The writing however did draw me into the world that they inhabited and I could believe all that was
In the end it was a will written book, which believable characters and a strong story line, that i simply happened not to appreaiate.
would still be happy to recomend it howeve
The writing however did draw me into the world that they inhabited and I could believe all that was
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happening. In the end it was a will written book, which believable characters and a strong story line, that i simply happened not to appreaiate.
would still be happy to recomend it howeve
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
This is Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel. Although it has many elements, such as the plight of workers in the manufacturing towns, that are seen in her later books, like North and South, it was missing some of the depth of character and charm in her later books. Based in Manchester, England, the
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town is suffering when a lack of demand for cloth forces the closure of many mills. People already barely eking out a living slowly see their lives deteriorate. Mary Barton, an apprentice to a milliner, lives with her father who is unemployed. He becomes a spokesman for the mill workers. Like so many Victorian heroines, Mary is very pretty and attracts the attention of Jem Wilson, her childhood friend as well as the rich and spoiled son of a mill owner. There is the typical marriage plot in this story, but there is a much deeper conflict between the wealthy mill owners and workers. Overall, a good story, but not my favorite by this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member lindawwilson
Not as good as North and South or Wives and Daughters; the conflicts between workers and masters was a bit trite and the poems at the beginning of the chapters were not that good and it was not as well written as a Hardy or Trollope novel, by any means.
LibraryThing member debbieaheaton
In Gaskell’s classic novel, Mary Barton is the daughter of a disillusioned trade unionist. Rejecting her lover, Jem, she sets her sights on a mill owner’s son, Henry Carson. When Henry is shot and Jem becomes the prime suspect, Mary finds herself torn between the two men. Mary’s dilemma
A pioneering novel set during the great division between the wealth and poverty.
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powerfully illustrates the class divisions of the “hungry forties.” A pioneering novel set during the great division between the wealth and poverty.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
Yet another book by Gaskell that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is Gaskell's first novel and, like North and South, focuses on the plight of the working poor in the Manchester mills. I think I liked this book even better, though, as I felt a deeper connection to the characters than I did in N&S. This
The focus is Mary bArton, a young woman whose love interests parallel her growth as a person. There is a lot of drama, including a murder, and I found this 19th century novel a real page turner.
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book really keeps the focus on the lower classes and finds a beautiful love story there. The family relationships are also deep and fleshed out.The focus is Mary bArton, a young woman whose love interests parallel her growth as a person. There is a lot of drama, including a murder, and I found this 19th century novel a real page turner.
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LibraryThing member thatotter
Rather long, draggy, melodramatic, and didactic--and all without having an especially engaging plot or characters. It would be easier to list the characters who didn't die of starvation rather than to list those who did.
LibraryThing member leslie.98
An exciting blend of social commentary, romance, and murder somewhat reminiscent of early Dickens.
LibraryThing member shemthepenman
Really enjoyed the first half of the novel, found the second half a slog. I wish Gaskell had been less quick to forgive the 'masters'!
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
I enjoyed this depiction of the life of a factory girl in Manchester in the mid 19th century. It portrayed all classes of society, and clearly depicted the travails of the working class, and the privileges of the factory owner. Mary was a lovely character, developing from a naive young girl to a
3 1/2 stars
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self-sufficient woman. I can't put my finger on why, but I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I generally enjoy books by George Eliot or Charles Dickens. This is only the second work by Elizabeth Gaskell I have read, and it is her first novel, so I hope to read more by her, as I have a few more of her books on my Kindle. Still, a worthwhile read.3 1/2 stars
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LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is a novel about the life of two working class families, the Bartons and the Wilsons, in early 19th century Manchester. It tells vividly of the poverty they experience, and the precariousness of their lives, depending on the success of their "masters", dropping down into destitution and
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starvation when work is lacking. A lot of people in both families die through illness and the effects of destitution in this novel and the depiction of poverty, alcoholism and prostitution (named here as such) is much more vivid than the circumlocutions and vague allusions that often appear in literature of this period. The core plot of the novel revolves around the murder of rich young Harry Carson, who is pursuing and wooing the eponymous daughter of a factory worker, John Barton; and she is also loved by Jem Wilson, with whom she grew up as a friend. Wilson is arrested and tried for the murder. There is a search for a person who can provide an alibi, and the trial itself is a very tense and dramatic piece of writing, unfortunately tarnished by the verdict of the trial appearing in the title of the relevant chapter. Following that verdict, the last few chapters provide a fairly satisfying tying up of loose ends and some final disputation between employers and employees about the causes of and possible solutions for poverty; Gaskell has quite a good way of presenting the arguments of both sides in a way that isn't crudely partisan, while the themes of the novel show that her basic sympathies are with the poor. A stirring novel, with some interesting characters (though as so often the title character isn't really one of the more interesting characters). Show Less
LibraryThing member electrascaife
Set in mid-1800s industrial Manchester, the story is both a romance and a political commentary on the working classes vs. the wealthy owners of industry. Where the two parts of the tale meet, the potential for tragedy lives.
So much bleaker than Cranford, and therefore not quite as enjoyable for me,
So much bleaker than Cranford, and therefore not quite as enjoyable for me,
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but still an interesting and groundbreaking novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
Essential elements are all present for a good melodrama, namely, a murder, love misunderstood, moral dilemmas, last minute repentance and salvation. Yep, it is all happening in Manchester, England in the 1840s. Abject poverty is juxtaposed with wealthy factory owners' lives of luxury (ringing any
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bells?), and unions just beginning to seek ways to equalize the two classes to a greater degree. Our Mary Barton, with heart bgg of gold, is dead center to all of it. This is the author's debut novel. Her growth can certainly be seen if you read the marvelous "North and South". So, if you enjoy a good period piece and some melodrama, you will thoroughly enjoy this. Show Less
LibraryThing member wiremonkey
A contemporary of Dickens, Gaskell portrays the horrors of the disenfranchised poor working class.Although she can't get away from the prejudices of her own time (she tends to talk about the poor as if they were a different species and is all amazement and wonderment when they are able to reatian
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their dignity) she creates some surprisignly strong, flawed and interesting female characters. I really enjored this book despite for the neatly wrapped up threads at the end (a blind girl suddenly gets "fixed". Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1848
Physical description
496 p.; 7 inches
ISBN
0140430539 / 9780140430530
Local notes
The Penguin English Library