Book description
Mary Barton is beautiful but has been born poor. Her father fights for
the rights of his fellow workers, but Mary wants to make a better life
for them both. She rashly decides to reject her lover Jem, a struggling
engineer, in the hope of marrying the rich mill-owner's son Henry Carson
and securing a safe future. But when Henry is shot down in the street
and Jem becomes the main suspect, Mary finds herself hopelessly torn
between them. She also discovers an unpleasant truth - one that could
bring tragedy upon everyone, and threatens to destroy her. Elizabeth
Gaskell (1810 - 65) was born in London, but grew up in the north of
England in the village of Knutsford. In 1832 she married the Rev.
William Gaskell and had four daughters, and one son who died in infancy.
Her first novel,
Mary Barton
, was published in 1848 and won the attention of Charles Dickens and
most of her later work was publish in his journals. She was also a
lifelong friend of Charlotte Bronte, whose biography she wrote, as well
as her many novels and short stories.
