It's impossible to summarize the plot of this book. It's not quite a romance and it doesn't have the grand political statement of North and South but it does have some romance, some drama, some comedy and the backdrop of the idyllic English countryside. Sue Birdwhistle, the producer of the mini series sums up the story well : "[It's about] where love comes from, how it grows, how it can break our hearts, how it can bring happiness and fulfillment. It's about the mistakes we make and the secrets we have to keep." I had a hard time getting into the book at first, having seen the miniseries. It was difficult to go forward knowing what would happen but there were subtle differences and things I didn't remember which made me want to read on. The prose is mostly very modern. The book doesn't read like a typical 19th century domestic novel at all. Some of the language and situations places the book in the 19th century but the overall narrative and the characters exist anywhere. There are some subtle messages here about class consciousness, trying to be someone you're not, the worth of a man, and the downside of having too much pride and extreme (unfounded) prejudices. Gaskell doesn't spell it out and hit you on the head with her messages but allows her characters to slowly change and grow over time to accept changes in their lives. There's a good deal of subtle humor in the story too. The minor characters, the Misses Browning are the types of spinster ladies who populate Gaskell's famous Cranford chronicles. Also Lady Cumnor is (unintentionally on her part) funny. Her husband is intentionally funny, at least he thinks he is. The humor adds a lot to the story and delivers a message without a punch. It's a testament to Gaskell's writing that she could pull it all off. Though she died before she finished the novel completely, she left notes on what happens in the next and final chapter. Molly Gibson, a country doctor's daughter, is a bit too noble and good for my tastes. Occasionally she shows bursts of temper but she never completely loses her cool. She does deliberately disobey when the occasion requires it. She's sort of like a priest, being the peacemaker and privy to everyone's secrets. Despite her goodness, she is a sympathetic character and I wanted her to be happy. Molly's father, Gibson, was not my idea of a good father. He was in some ways close to his daughter yet he never really stopped to think about her feelings. He let her be raised in innocence and ignorance by others and continually has his head in the sand when it comes to Molly. He does not want to get involved in domestic relations and he does not want Molly to grow up. He mishandles all his domestic affairs and it all falls on Molly's shoulders to bear the burdens alone. Osborne and Roger Hamley are about as different as brothers can be. I wasn't crazy about Osborne. He's more of a typical Victorian town gentleman and his manners are too polished. Yet, he's very realistic because he feels the weight of his parents' expectations and the burden of keeping a big secret. Roger is the typical younger son. He better fits the country squire mold than his brother but his parents do not have high hopes for him. He's quiet and kind and too good. He makes one mistake, one most men do and that makes him a bit more human. I found him endearing though, for the most part. The Kirkpatrick women are complex characters. Hyacinth is horrible and completely unfeeling yet at one point I felt a little sorry for her because she's not too bright and the thought never occurred to her that others don't have the same lack of moral code she does. Her daughter Cynthia is more complicated. On the surface she seems a lot like her mother but fortunately she was shunted off to school at a young age and didn't see her mother very often. She has more depth of feeling and consciousness than her mother. She recognizes her mother's faults and I enjoyed her quick witty barbs directed at her mother. Cynthia wants to be good like Molly but she can't because she wasn't brought up to feel the way Molly does about things. I have mixed feelings about her. I want to like her and I do but I don't fully trust her or embrace her as a loved character. Besides Hyacinth, the villain of the piece (if there is one) is really a nasty sort of man. Gaskell intended him to be three-dimensional and probably thought we should have sympathy for him but he just is not a nice person. The one character I loved the most was Squire Hamley. My heart went out to him and broke with his. I loved his relationship with Molly. Their friendship is so beautiful and loving. He's sort of a second father to Molly and she feels comfortable with the Hamleys. I also loved how he has to experience a lot of negative change in order to grow as a person. He's gruff yet loving, proud yet kind. His limited life experiences fill him with negative prejudices. He has the biggest change to go through and the most at stake. It helps that he was played so amazingly by Michael Gambon (who I did NOT like as Dumbledore but loved in Wives and Daughters and Cranford). My other favorite character is Lady Harriet. The daughter of Lord and Lady Cumnor, she enjoys a hearty horseback ride and isn't snobbish in visiting with the locals. She recognizes the faults of others with a self-satisfied smugness but I enjoyed her wit. I also loved that she was Molly's friend and champion. The secondary characters are the best. Gaskell truly excels at creating quirky village inhabitants.This is a classic novel that's not well known but if you love Jane Austen, you should definitely read this book. More review possibly coming later...
This novel achieves much and thoughts of it do not leave the mind quickly. Gaskell captures both the human experience and the beautiful settings of mid-19th-century English country life. You will be drawn into this world as she introduces the lives of the common folk of Hollingford and those who hold distinction either by title or by ancient stewardship of the land. Regardless of rank, Gaskell’s characters face essentially human situations.Our heroine, young Molly Gibson, on the brink of adulthood, has quietly grown up with her father, the town physician. A little awkward and protected by her father, she is carefully embarking on life. She finds love and acceptance with a surrogate family, the Hamleys. At the same time, Molly’s father brings home a new wife -- a new mamma for Molly -- the lovely yet ambitious Hyacinth, former governess to the grand Cumnor family who rule the town. Hyacinth’s bold but neglected daughter Cynthia also becomes a part of the Gibson household. Meanwhile, the Hamleys, who grow so dear to Molly, face the illness of a devoted mother, the struggles of two brothers, and the constant desire of a father to maintain the centuries-old estate.The beginning of the story feels like a fairy tale. Twelve-year-old Molly is whisked away by carriage, in the company of not-too-observant guardians, to the great house of the Cumnors, appropriately named The Towers. Here she experiences a day of grand entertainments but is accidentally left sleeping as the carriages ride away. She is imprisoned in a sense, as no one will help her leave or be convinced that her father will worry. Soon her father arrives to rescue her. The reader fears more adventures in wonderland as her story resumes when she is almost seventeen. This time she goes on her first “real visit,” a stay of several weeks at Hamley Hall. Thankfully, Molly finds a much different experience from her fearful stay at The Towers as she becomes somewhat adopted by the kind family, who long for a young girl about the place and appreciate Molly’s constancy and caring nature.So wonderland dissolves and the concerns of everyday take its place. Molly is coming of age and much of the story tells of things hidden and misunderstood in her life and that of those around her. A sister of the heart to the Hamley sons, she protects their secret that will affect the path of both brothers’ lives. Molly also guards the hidden life of Cynthia, her sister by necessity, to insure hope for Cynthia’s future. Strengths, flaws, rediscovered relationships and discovered love are revealed in this “rich and rare” story, as labeled by Gaskell biographer Jenny Uglow.The crafting of the story sets it apart from anything else I have read including other writing of Gaskell. She has a light touch and an absolute respect for how real life happens, preventing this from being a tale of drama and dysfunction. The people simply live, feel, make mistakes and endure sacrifices. I can’t improve upon what the editor remarked of her in the last original published Wives & Daughters installment in 1866 after Gaskell’s death, “She began by having the people of her story born in the usual way, and not built up like the Frankenstein monster..,” and therefore a very natural, pure story follows.I greatly recommend this novel.
What do You think about Wives And Daughters (1997)?
This is my new favorite. Written by a lesser-known British author in the mid-1800s, this novel would be enjoyed by Austen and Dickens fans. It is very long--more than 600 pages in small print--but the characters are wonderfully detailed and the story very compelling. It is not a difficult read, but I do recommend getting a version that has notes explaining period references. I loved the sweetness of the main character, Molly Gibson, and all the different relationships between her and the other characters. One warning: this novel was originally written as a magazine serial and the author died before completing the final chapters; however, you get enough to figure out just what is going to happen. I really loved this story, but if you just can't get to it, rent the 5-hour BBC mini-series. It is extremely faithful to the novel--most of the dialogue is verbatim from the book--and makes up an appropriate, natural ending.
—Cissy
Lesser Austen, better than Barbara Cartland.If you've ever wondered how the Bennett sisters' daughters might have turned out, you may find this interesting. Although written in 1866, it is set 30 years earlier, in a time when Austen's universe of landed gentry was undergoing serious challenges from industrialization, scientific discovery, and social mobility.All are themes in the novel, which centers around a brilliant Scottish physician who marries a dim-witted, self-absorbed ex governess and social climber. Dr Gibson is admired by the local gentry for his intellect and integrity, but his imprudent marriage has disastrous consequences for his daughter Molly,who is saddled with a highly unsuitable stepmother. However, Molly's love for her flighty stepsister Cynthia ultimately redeems them all, and her selfless devotion to the dilettetantish aristocrats, gruff landowners, and querulous maiden ladies in her neighborhood wins all hearts...especially that of Roger, the local squire's unexpectedly brilliant son. Wives and Daughters will often remind you of other, better novels, (the tart relationship between Dr and Mrs Gibson echoes Mr. and Mrs Bennett, and the brooding, dissipated Osborne is pure Bronte), and I do wish Molly and Cynthia didn't weep quite so often.Yet I can't recall any other such novels where two of the heroes are men of science, or where the various social classes are presented with such clarity and overall sympathy. While not a great novel, the large well-drawn cast of characters and winning heroine makes this a worthwhile read.
—Lesley
We had to read this for 12th grade English Lit. Our teacher had gone on a yearlong sabbatical to study Victorian serial novels, and this way one of his "great finds" that he foisted upon us. It was horrible. Serial novelists were paid to keep the story going interminably, and there is no sense of forward movement. Worse, the author died before finishing, and a hack was paid to finish it for her. Belongs in the dustbin of history, not on a 12th grade English lit booklist--having kids read garbage is a great way to turn them off to reading.
—Scott
