Book description
Ruth Hilton is an orphaned young seamstress who catches the eye of a
gentleman, Henry Bellingham, who is captivated by her simplicity and
beauty. When she loses her job and home, he offers her comfort and
shelter, only to cruelly desert her soon after. Nearly dead with grief
and shame, Ruth is offered the chance of a new life among people who
give her love and respect, even though they are at first unaware of her
secret - an illegitimate child. When Henry enters her life again,
however, Ruth must make the impossible choice between social acceptance
and personal pride. In writing Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell daringly
confronted prevailing views about sin and illegitimacy with her
compassionate and honest portrait of a 'fallen woman'.
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-65) wrote her first novel, MARY BARTON, in
1848 as a distraction from her sorrow at the death of her only son in
infancy. It won the attention of Dickens and was followed by 5 other
full-length novels as well as numerous short stories and novellas.
Angus Easson is Professor of English at Salford University. He has
written widely on Elizabeth Gaskell.
