Book description
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'We're their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up their fortunes
with the sweat of our brows, and yet we are to live as separate as if we
were in two worlds…'
Set in the industrial unrest of 1840s Manchester, Mary Barton is a
factory-worker's daughter living a working-class life in Victorian
England. She soon attracts the attentions of the mill-owner's son, Harry
Carson, and in the hope that marrying him will improve her prospects and
help her to transcend class boundaries, she rejects her former lover Jem Wilson.
However, when Harry is shot the main suspect is Jem and Mary finds
herself torn between the two men. At the same time, she discovers that
her father, John Barton, who has been active in fighting for the rights
of his fellow workers is implicated in the murder. Gaskell's exploration
of the class division and the oppression of the working-class is
demonstrated effectively through the character of Mary, highlighting how
lack of communication and mistrust can arise through such vast
differences in lifestyle and wealth.
