Victorians! discussion

Cranford Reading Schedule

Week One: September 1-10 Chapters 1-4
Week Two: September 10-17 Chapters 5-7
Week Three: September 17-24 Chapters 8-10
Week Four: September 24 - October 1 Chapters 11-13
Week Five: October 1-8 Chapters 14-16
Week Six: October 8-15 Cranford and North and South.

Recently we had a very interesting wide-ranging discussion of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. For the next few weeks we return to Gaskell, but rather than the sounds of cotton mills, factories and the possibility of labour strikes, we will hear the tinkle of tea cups, evesdrop on some conversations and enjoy the aroma of baked goods.

In the sixth week of Cranford we will refer back to North and South to compare the styles, techniques and structures between the novels. I hope this will bring interest, focus and context to our general discussions. There will be, however, no need whatsoever to have read or even heard of North and South to enjoy our first five weekly discussions about Cranford.

And so we begin ...

I would like to put the novel into a general framework and context. I think Cranford can be seen as a 19C literary opposite to Pope's "Rape of the Lock." While Pope employed biting satire to reveal the follies of the rich, in Cranford Elizabeth Gaskell offers gentle love and compassion in her portrayal of the vanishing rural world of the early 19C. Pope's jaundiced view of the upper society of London is replaced by the dignity Gaskell bestows upon the genteel poverty of rural 19C England. There is little that is trivial in Cranford. There is only a world that is sadly gone, a world that many of us would gladly like to encounter again.

In a lecture in 1860 on George IV the author Thackeray remarked on the gulf between the Regency and the Victorian Era. He commented "In this quarter of a century, what a silent revolution has been working! How it has separated us from old times and manners." I hope our discussions are wide-ranging, but I also think Thackeray's comment can help frame our discussions on the novel Cranford, which is, at once, seemingly light reading and yet very powerful in its vision and its voice.

I'm really looking forward to this read! N&S and its discussion werr such a genuine pleasure. Can't wait!

Renee wrote: "I'm really looking forward to this read! N&S and its discussion werr such a genuine pleasure. Can't wait!"

Yes. I'm excited to visit Cranford too.

Same here :0)

Cranford is such a delightful place, delightfully peopled!

I have read Cranford. I really loved how gentile bred women ruled a community. I want to read it again for I have seen the miniseries and that is a compilation of several of Gaskells other books. I need to read those as well. North and South is such a wonderful comparison between the industrial north and the rural farming south and how the main character sees her new residence. It seems like there are other novels by Gaskell that dwell with the subject of the factories of the north and the dismal working conditions of all, men women and children.
But I welcome the women of Cranford into my world.

Denisa wrote: "I have read Cranford. I really loved how gentile bred women ruled a community. I want to read it again for I have seen the miniseries and that is a compilation of several of Gaskells other books. I..."

Please join with us as we visit Cranford beginning September 1st.

I've got this down to read for next month. I adored the Cranford series and I've always wanted to read it. I can't wait!

Tam

Those who've enjoyed the Cranford videos (which, ad Denisa noted, are from several books, not just Cranford) might enjoy the videos of Lark Rise to Candleford. I found that it has much the same feel as Cranford.

I just bought a beautiful Penguin Classics edition of this... looking forward to reading and discussing :D

Everyman wrote: "Those who've enjoyed the Cranford videos (which, ad Denisa noted, are from several books, not just Cranford) might enjoy the videos of Lark Rise to Candleford. I found that it has much the same fee..."

I like the Lark Rise to Cranford also.

I loved 'Cranford', though it's too soon for a reread. I hope that you enjoy it. :-)

So happy to read another Gaskell book.

Hilary wrote: "I loved 'Cranford', though it's too soon for a reread. I hope that you enjoy it. :-)"

If you follow the discussion and have memories of your read, please do join in, Hilary! Sometimes a bit of distance gives perspective to a book.

Oh sorry, I didn't see this comment, Lily. Thank you so much for the welcome!

Everyman wrote: "Those who've enjoyed the Cranford videos (which, ad Denisa noted, are from several books, not just Cranford) might enjoy the videos of Lark Rise to Candleford. I found that it has much the same fee..."

Is the telly series a good adaptation of the novel? I've never seen it, but am intrigued how they would have captured the characters and the not entirely chronological nature of the narrative.
What other books does it draw from?

Clari wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Those who've enjoyed the Cranford videos (which, ad Denisa noted, are from several books, not just Cranford) might enjoy the videos of Lark Rise to Candleford. I found that it has ..."

Been awhile since I saw it, but my memory of it is favorable. I can't tell you without work I don't want to do tonight what other books it drew from, but at least one that tells more of the doctor's story. (I'm not rereading -- can't find my copy at the moment, not where I thought it was and I don't have the kindle of these. But between the Cranford book, which I have read at least twice, and film -- I probably watched the DVD -- it is still a medley of stories of which I oft recall bits with fondness and sort of a happy glow about the basic, simple decency extended, even if some are a bit over the top. Such a contrast with the world through which so many of us are moving right now, yet one knows it wasn't all smiles and roses for these ladies and their communities either. )

Lily wrote: "Clari wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Those who've enjoyed the Cranford videos (which, ad Denisa noted, are from several books, not just Cranford) might enjoy the videos of Lark Rise to Candleford. I foun..."

Thank you for the reply, Lily, One of the ways in which I am drawn to these books is that bad things do happen, there is reflection on the loneliness of life, illness and death, but the ladies deal with it all stoically and carry on with their lives as best they can.