Q&A with Trudy Brasure discussion

Tell us how you discovered ‘North and South’ - either the book or the BBC’s adaptation. Or maybe you haven’t yet discovered the secret of Gaskell’s great work!

Hi I am Nathalie and I am 31 year-old French woman. I have discovered North and South after the BBC adaptation and then I had to read the book (yes I am addicted to books). I got struck by this beautiful and strong love story that also put in evidence the struggles people got through during the industrialization era.
I hope to share a lot of things here with you so please treat me well. :)

Hi Nathalie! I also discovered N&S by watching the BBC's adaptation. I fell in love with John Thornton and all the great characters. I love the book now, I think, even more than the miniseries. There are so many wonderful elements in Gaskell's story!

Hi My name is Lyne and like Nathalie, I am also French.
I'm so excited to participate. Netflix had been pushing N&S on me for ages and I always make it a rule not to view a screen adaptation of a novel before I read the book. I always resisted N&S because I love very verdant and beautiful backgrounds from my 19th C. literature like Jane Austen and I do not like bleakness and poverty as is often depicted in authors such as Dickens. One September day in 2009, I finally picked up the novel for my commute read and I never looked back. I was left speechless through a roller coaster of emotions. Immediately after the book, I watched the adaptation and I was just floored and promptly reread the book followed by the adaptation again and it went like this for an entire month...and so here we are :-)

That's a great story, Lyne! Love it. If I see the adaptation first, it whets my appetite to read the book. I usually can't wait to see how it compares to the original text.

HI, my name is Katrin, Im from Austria and I discovered N&S about a year ago via the BBC adaption as well. Then read the book. I still looooove the screen adaption, but I also found it very interesting to see the differences between book and film. Like the incident in the beginning with John Thornton being so brutal - never happening in the book (if I may write so here *is this a spoiler?*. But I heard in the commentary that they had to sraw his character quite clear and very fast, so you knew instantly what kind of man John Thornton is.
Interesting, still, that there was no other way :D :D.

I´m a big fan of Jane Austen as well, so I just love the language, the dresses,...

And I just saw that I am actually too late for it :D...sorry!

Katrin wrote: "And I just saw that I am actually too late for it :D...sorry!"

No, please. Goodreads suggested that there be a closing date, but I am always available to chat about N&S!

Thanks for adding to the discussion! I love both the book and the adaptation. There are brilliant elements in both and each enriches the soul.

Trudy wrote: "Katrin wrote: "And I just saw that I am actually too late for it :D...sorry!"

No, please. Goodreads suggested that there be a closing date, but I am always available to chat about N&S!

Thanks fo..."

Thank you!

That really is true. If one would ask me, if I liked the film or book better, I´d truely be torn between the two, because they are both sooo brilliant.
The book might just be little bit ahead, since it´s the original :).

The book and the adaptation complete each other. In my humble opinion. :)

Nathalie wrote: "The book and the adaptation complete each other. In my humble opinion. :)"
They do. They are both unique in offering what the other 'lacks'. With both, we have the visuals, words, atmosphere and emotional energy to create powerful images in the mind.
I feel like everyone should know about 'North and South.'

Hi, my name is Brenda and I'm from New Zealand. My sister (I'll be in debt to her forever for this ;)) purchased the DVD from Amazon and I was hooked! I have watched the train scene I don't know how many times (probably in the hundreds! I have a copy of it on my iPod lol) and I think it is the most romantic scene I have ever seen. I promptly purchased and read the book, joined c19 and became obsessed with RA! I met a fellow New Zealander on c19 and we decided to travel to the UK for a holiday. One highlight of the trip was seeing a bookstore that was called "John Thornton's Book Store" in London (we saw it completely by accident!). We didn't see RA though but he is currently in NZ filming The Hobbit so we might get lucky! ;)

Hi Brenda! It's great to hear from someone in NZ. How nice you got to go to England. C19 is great for feeling 'normal' about your obsession with N&S or Richard Armitage!
I think the end of the adaptation IS the most romantic scene on film I've ever seen.
Have you converted anyone to the N&S love? ;)

Indeed I have! It's always fun when I can convince someone to watch it because they normally fall in love with it too and I get swept up with their enthusiasm and I’m back into obsession mode again lol