North & South discussion

Hi Everyone,

This is a topic for everyone to introduce themselves, and we can all have fun getting to know each other. :)

Welcome to the group,

From the Mods:
~Becca and Soph~

Welcome all :D

Hey Becca and Soph *waves* :D

Hey Marren. :D *waves back* So glad you could join us. :)

:).

Hello!! Nice to see you here too!

Hello everyone :) I can't wait to talk about this amazing story! And the handsome Mr. Thornton, of course ;)

:D

Hi Maria!
Lovely to have you with us. :) I believe there's going to be quite a few of us wishing to discuss "the handsome Mr. Thornton". ;)

Thank you, Becca! That is a topic we can't avoid :)

You're welcome. :)

Haha, even more than can't avoid discussing, it's "try and stop us discussing Mr. Thornton." :D (Whoever tried to stop us would fail, I'm sure. :P)

Hahaha definitely!

*hi-five* :D. Glad to know we have such enthusiastic members in our new group. :)

My devotion to Mr. Thornton is closely related to Richard Armitage's portrayal :) By the way I love the quote you wrote after your name!

Well, much to my chagrin I must confess I've actually only seen the portrayal - I'm planning to read the book in early January, perhaps my first book of the year. :) I do absolutely love Armitage, he's such a talented actor, one of my (more recent) favourites. Hopefully my devotion to Thornton will only be increased after having read the novel. :)

Why thank you! I love that quote, it's one of my favourite quieter moments in the whole series.

I haven't read the book either, but I'm planning to read it soon :) I started to read English books last year and Elizabeth Gaskell is quite demanding, so I thought it was better to wait to understand everything. There is a version in my language too, but I prefer to read it in English first.

I agree. Richard Armitage is a great actor :)

Haha, maybe we'll end up reading it around the same time! I'm sure Elizabeth Gaskell will be quite demanding, but I'm also sure that reading it in English will be well worth the effort for you. :) Although apparently the Northern-speak can be a little hard to understand in print.

Yes, yes he is. I get to see him in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug in three days! *excited face* I'm sure my family will be very sick of my enthusiasm very quickly. :D

Well I won't be stopped discussing Thornton... I don't know why such a thing need even be thought of!

Yes Becca stole the good quote for after her name!
I was picking between the one I have
~I've seen hell and it's white...~
Or I thought about
~You're coming home with me?~
Thoughts? To change or not to change?

Hi Soph! :)
It's not an exaggeration to say that watching the mini-series changed my life. I mark events in my life by the date I found it: pre and post N&S. A whole new world opened up for me. I found new friends, developed new interests and discovered talents I never knew I had.
Now I'm a writer and I'm immersed in reading Victorian literature to see how Gaskell places among other authors in my own estimation.
I'm a huge fan of the book, and so grateful for the BBC for leading me to a great novel. And for the brilliant film version - my favorite tv/movie experience by far.
And I'm ecstatic that the world is discovering Richard Armitage now. I've loved him for four years now. :)

Hello Trudy! Great to see you here!
That is very similar for me! I can't believe I took so long to watch N&S and it really touched me, the story and everything! And then I read the book which was also brilliant and I can't imagine my life without Armitage's Thornton! How did I cope before hand!?

Soph wrote: "Well I won't be stopped discussing Thornton... I don't know why such a thing need even be thought of!

Yes Becca stole the good quote for after her name!
I was picking between the one I have
~I..."

Sorry I stole the good quote! :( I knew I might have, so I did try to provide a suggestion for another good one! :( (If you are terribly jealous of my quote, we can swap now and again... :) )

Hi Trudy! Welcome to the group. :)
It's very touching to hear of how North & South has changed your life. :) Having only discovered the story quite recently myself, the full impact is still slowly sinking in, and I'm sure it will continue to do so. Also, it was complete co-incidence I discovered Armitage in North & South around the same time as the Hobbit came out - and I'm huge fans of both! :D
Of course, I wish I'd discovered both Armitage and Thornton much earlier... <3

Haha Becca don't worry! Which do you prefer? My current one or the coming home with me one?

Well, I would say the "I've seen Hell..." one has rather more gravity to it, while the "Coming home with me" one has more of a quietly elated feel to it. So I suppose it just depends on what feel you want. :) And of course there is no harm in changing it every once in a while.

(I think on balance I might prefer the one you have now, but it's a very, very close might.)

Aaaah, I feel like such a traitor to North and South now, having originally wanted to watch it because I'd seen Armitage in the Hobbit! *sniffle* I'm a true fan, I promise! <3 North & South!

Hey, y'all! I'm Aerykah & I absolutely LOVE the BBC mini-series "North & South"! :) I haven't read the book yet, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon. I got it on my kindle a few months ago, but I just can't make myself read it on there. This is the type of book that I really need to be holding a book in my hands when I'm reading it, if y'all know what I mean.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that hasn't read the book!! But I LOVE the mini-series! Thank you so much Soph & Becca for starting this group! It's gonna be so much fun!

@Maria - Can't wait to discuss that handsome Mr.Thornton either!!! :D

Aerykah wrote: "Hey, y'all! I'm Aerykah & I absolutely LOVE the BBC mini-series "North & South"! :) I haven't read the book yet, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon. I got it on my kindle a few months ago, but ..."
Yes, I much prefer a real book. My copy of N&S is marked with color-coded pencil and well-worn. I know just where to find certain lines... I wouldn't part with it for anything! I'd love to see it printed in hardback someday.

Trudy wrote: "My copy of N&S is marked with color-coded pencil and well-worn. I know just where to find certain lines... I wouldn't part with it for anything!"

Sounds like my copy of Pride & Prejudice. :) I have all of my favorite spots underlined or highlighted. And there are notes written in the margins too...
I normally do NOT write in my books (unless I write my name inside the cover), but I did make an exception for P&P.

Yes, that's my copy! And I never write in books either - sacrilege! Except for that one beloved book that's more like an old friend....
I think I'm unusual in that I found N&S first, and then sought out other classics afterward - like P&P and Jane Eyre. For me, N&S is my first love and my gold standard for comparison. Nothing else tics all my boxes like N&S!

I cannot write on my books!!! :O ahaha ;) I can't dog ear the pages either by turning the corners down for a book mark!!

Hello Aery! Lovely to have you! :D

Becca wrote: "Haha, maybe we'll end up reading it around the same time! I'm sure Elizabeth Gaskell will be quite demanding, but I'm also sure that reading it in English will be well worth the effort for you. :) ..."

Oh yes, I'm sure that reading it in English will be amazing!

@Soph-I like both the quotes you chose, maybe the "coming home with me" more than the other because I'm a hopeless romantic and I remember Richard's look every time I heard of it :) but "I've seen hell, and it's white" perfectly summarizes Margaret's feelings and it's lovely :) You can swap them now and again!

@Anne-Mr. Thornton is one of my favourite topic!

Maria wrote: "Becca wrote: "Haha, maybe we'll end up reading it around the same time! I'm sure Elizabeth Gaskell will be quite demanding, but I'm also sure that reading it in English will be well worth the effor..."

I can understand why! me too! :)

I love N&S, both the book and the Armitage series. I haven't seen the other adaptation (there is one though, right?)

I do like how the miniseries reduces the melodrama and increases the union bits, adding a bit from Gaskell's other works in my opinion. Gaskell's style feels remarkably modern but the series really cuts out the fat.

I'm Kate, by the way, and apt to get carried away, obviously.

Yes, there is the BBC 1975 adaptation with Patrick Stewart as John Thornton. It was interesting to see another take on the story, but they skipped the part where Margaret gets caught lying which I feel is integral to her turnaround. It was not nearly as effective as the newer adaptation, IMO.

Aerykah wrote: "Hey, y'all! I'm Aerykah & I absolutely LOVE the BBC mini-series "North & South"! :) I haven't read the book yet, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon. I got it on my kindle a few months ago, but ..."

Hi Aerykah! Lovely to have you with us. Don't feel to bad about not having read the book - I'm a moderator and I still haven't! I got it about a month ago, but I'm planning to save it and have it as my first book of 2014. :) Still, you're right, it is certainly the kind of book that you should have in your hands.

Anne wrote: "I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that hasn't read the book!! But I LOVE the mini-series! Thank you so much Soph & Becca for starting this group! It's gonna be so much fun!"

:D I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't read it as well. And you're very welcome for starting the group. <3 :) I'm having a lot of fun already, and hopefully it should only get more fun.

Soph wrote: "I cannot write on my books!!! :O ahaha ;) I can't dog ear the pages either by turning the corners down for a book mark!! "

I can never do that either! You should see my face when my brother borrows one of my books and then puts it somewhere potentially damaging...

Welcome Kate! Thanks for joining! :D It is so nice to see so many members already :D

Oh yes, welcome to Kate! I'm terribly sorry I didn't see you, I was trying to catch up to welcoming everybody after a night away from the group and I missed your post! So sorry.

In any case, a very warm, if belated, welcome to the group. :)

Well now that I declared war on the name Fitzwilliam perhaps I am not so welcome anymore! Hee Hee Hee.

I almost commented along similar lines on the other post... :|

( ;) )

Kate wrote: "Well now that I declared war on the name Fitzwilliam perhaps I am not so welcome anymore! Hee Hee Hee."

Haha, no, I will join you in this war! "Hee hee hee" indeed.

Becca you traitor!! How can you to such a good friend!?

I am shocked.

Oh please don't be mad. :D It's only a name - you know in most other things we either agree or amicably agree to disagree. I just thought it might be fun to amicably argue about something for once. I apologize for my traitorous ways.

...But I've also found out on the other thread you can be quite amusing when you're angry. :D :P It's okay, if you want to get back at me just start insulting either Alan Rickman or Richard Armitage.

Traitor ;)

Oh great, you have discovered my weakness! I am an easy target and you will always get a reaction from me... Unfortunately I could never insult Armitage ... And hard pushed to insult Rickman...

;) Yes. *ashamed face* (not really)

Hehe, you know I can be funny when I'm angry too, so I don't hold it against you at all. :D I knew when I said that that I was giving you revenge options you probably wouldn't be able to bring yourself to use. Ah well... :P

Well you are just annoying then aren't you...

Night traitor ;) look forward to your traitorous PM message reply ;)

I'm sorry! For some reason I am enjoying being annoying, I seem to have a talent for it when it comes to your Fitz of rage... (I'm cracking myself up now. Gotta tell Kate that one...).

Anyway, goodnight. :) Have a wonderful night, I will have a reply to you by morning. ;)

Fitz of rage... Thank you Kate for turning my friend!! Unfortunately you will ALWAYS get a response when it comes to Fitzwilliam (or as it would be shortened to William!!!!) Darcy!

Night ;)

:D Goodnight.