North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
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North and South
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Narrator: James Cartwright, Patsy Ferran, Full Cast

Unabridged: 3 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/27/2022


Synopsis

A major BBC Radio dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's famous Victorian novel of pride, prejudice, politics and passion

When 19-year-old Margaret Hale is uprooted from her home in the rural South of England and transplanted to the industrial North, she struggles to adapt. Smoky, grimy and ugly, Milton seems like a different country - one run by men with very different beliefs to her own, like charismatic mill owner John Thornton.

A self-made entrepreneur and pragmatic capitalist, Thornton represents everything the idealistic Margaret hates. Witnessing the conditions at his mill, her social conscience is awakened, and she clashes fiercely with him over his ruthless treatment of the workers. But when a strike turns into a violent riot, and Thornton is put in danger, Margaret is forced to face up to her conflicted feelings. Can the duo overcome their ideological differences and find love?

Also included is the fascinating programme In Our Time: North and South, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests examine how Margaret Hale's experiences echo the author's own life, and discuss Gaskell's insights into social conflicts and the changing world in which she lived.

Written by Elizabeth Gaskell
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan

Cast
Margaret ­- Patsy Ferran
Mr Hale - Paul Chahidi
Mrs Hale - Ruth Everett
Dixon - Felicity Montagu
John Thornton - James Cartwright
Mrs Thornton - Pooky Quesnel
Higgins - Sean Gilder
Bessy - Olivia Barrowclough
Aunt Shaw - Joanna Monro
Henry Lennox - Jonathan Forbes
Henderson - David Hounslow
Boucher - Lloyd Thomas
Frederick - Colin Ryan
Mr Bell - Roger Ringrose
Mrs Boucher - Evie Killip
Leonards - Luke Nunn

Directed by Sally Avens
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-18 September 2022

In Our Time: North and South
Presented by Melvyn Bragg
With Sally Shuttleworth, Dinah Birch and Jenny Uglow
Produced by Simon Tillotson
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 March 2017

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

About Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) was born in London but grew up in the north of England in the village of Knutsford. In 1832, she married the Reverend 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; most of her later work was published in his journals. Among her notable works are the novels North and South and Cranford, as well as her famous biography The Life of Charlotte Bronte.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on November 12, 2021

The following review contains a few plot spoilers. All right, more than a few. **** Enter Margaret Hale, 19 years old, tall, and drop dead gorgeous. Margaret : Oh dear, we have to leave our sunny Hampshire village where there are little bunnies and birdies and go to live in foul grimy Manchester where......more

Goodreads review by Barry on November 04, 2014

It's Pride and Prejudice for Socialists.......more

Goodreads review by emma on December 05, 2023

welcome to...NORTH(VEMBER) AND SOUTH. you know it, you love it: the worst title + month based pun. an imposing work of classic literature that's been on my tbr for a forebodingly long time, finally in my currently reading. an inexplicable months-long pause on this project, broken. it's another PROJECT......more

Goodreads review by Emily on March 03, 2023

I can already tell this is going to be a favorite!......more

Goodreads review by Candi on June 16, 2018

Update June 16, 2018: I watched the BBC production this past week and it was outstanding! I highly recommend pairing the book with the movie. While I rated the book 4 stars, the entire package of paper and screen is a sure 5+ stars. The movie adds that extra bit of magic that I found didn't come acr......more