Book description
North and South is a social novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. With Wives and Daughters (1865) and Cranford (1853), it is one of her best-known novels and was adapted for television twice (1975 and 2004). The later version renewed interest in the novel and attracted a wider readership. Gaskell's…
Why read it?
1 author picked North and South as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This wonderful novel explores the industrial revolution in the north of England, the conditions of factory owners and workers, and the education of a young woman from a slightly more genteel background who learns to navigate it as her eyes are opened throughout the course of the book.
The BBC adaptation of this is also completely delightful—I can watch the ending scene over and over again. I love the wonderful sparring between heroine and hero—another woman who remains resolutely herself as she grows her understanding about herself and the truth of the world and the people around her.
From Tracy's list on 19th century women characters to spill the tea with.
If you love North and South...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like North and South?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 93 books like North and South.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,395
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like North and South, you might also like...
Need to Know
The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.
Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…
Tsunami
On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…
