I have to admit that I saw the movie/miniseries of North and South before I read the book, but I'm glad I did because it really helped me visualize the setting and understand the conflicts of the era in a book that might have been an otherwise difficult read... not to mention that it's my #1 favorite movie kiss of all time! Check out my "North and South" Pinterest board below for some of my favorite stills from the movie, collages, and fan art.
When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.
In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.
