Book description
Elizabeth Gaskell was a British author during the Victorian era. Gaskell's novels are notable for detailed descriptions of the different classes of society in 19th century Britain. Cranford is a novel about a fictional town modeled closely after one Gaskell was familiar with. The story features a series of episodes…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Cranford as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
It’s never the plot that draws me to a novel; it’s always other ingredients like people and place and, in these regards, Cranford is a stellar delight. The protagonist is a frequent house guest in the small town of Cranford, giving readers intimate access to the quirky social codes of its mostly female population. From the ones who care about social mores to the ones who care less, these wonderful vignettes document their attempts to outwit a visiting magician, or foil rumored night-burglars, or adapt to the losses of loved ones. Each woman has had a journey in some way…
From Kate's list on The best books with realistic female friendships in challenging times.
This book truly transported me to another world. We see a glimpse of a time, of a place that dissipated long before our grandparents were born through the eyes of a bemused young woman. Slice of life when it was written these short stories have long since faded into mythology. Life in the town of Cranford is thrown into chaos! An unmarried gentleman has arrived! He is loud. He is friendly! He is...a man. However he does save the life of Betty Barker’s cow, whether or not he intended to. So perhaps he isn’t all that bad. I go back…
From Betty's list on The best short story collections to give you a laugh at the absurdity of human nature.
If you love Cranford...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
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