PDF ó BOOK Wives and Daughters FREE Û ELIZABETH GASKELL

MOBI Wives and Daughters

PDF ó BOOK Wives and Daughters FREE Û ELIZABETH GASKELL Ù [Read] ➼ Wives and Daughters ➹ Elizabeth Gaskell – Johns-cycling-diary.co.uk Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill Wives and Daughters centres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson brought up from childhood by her father WheSet in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill Wives and Daughters centres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson brought up from childhood by her father When he remarries a new step sister enters Molly's uiet life – loveable but worldly and troubling Cynthia The narrative tra This 1865 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell who also wrote the lovely North and South is a pleasant but rather leisurely and lengthy tale of the personalities that inhabit an English country town in about the 1830's The novel centers around Molly Gibson the uiet and somewhat passive but deeply sensitive daughter of a widowed country doctor We meet Molly and her father when she's an innocent 12 year old girl about to spend the day visiting the estate of the local gentry Lord and Lady Cumnor so excited she can hardly sleep the night before This visit won't turn out the way young Molly expected These childhood scenes set the stage and introduce us to many of the characters who will play significant roles later on in the story When Molly is a teenager one of her father's medical students who boards with the Gibsons falls in love with her Mr Gibson intercepts the young man's letter confessing his love and promptly ships Molly off to visit another local family and sends the young man away But doing that isn't enough to allay Mr Gibson's concerns so he turns around and promptly proposes marriage to an attractive local widow who has a daughter Molly's age thinking a new mum for Molly is the ticket It might have been a good idea to get to know her better before proposing Just sayin'Molly's new stepmother will prove a trial in her life and in Molly's father's life as well for that matter although he's better able to deal with the disappointment mostly by immersing himself further in his medical practice Molly's new stepsister is much easier to get along with but she'll also—eventually—end up bringing some serious complications to Molly's life The first two thirds of this novel was mildly enjoyable but didn't really engage me; I set the book aside several times while I read other books without feeling terribly anxious to get back to it Molly is sweet and kind and innocent but I was getting a little impatient and frustrated with her and the people in her life I seriously thought that I was going to have to rate this book three stars and all my literary GR friends would be disappointed with me and my lack of taste and discernment and probably unfriend me en masse Luckily for me I really loved the last part of this book enough to pull the overall rating up to four stars The characters gradually became very real to me with their uirks and failings described frankly but with affectionate humor Especially Mrs Gibson who sets new standards for bird wittedness and vain self absorptionLady Cumnor I was only speaking of the folly of people dressing above their station — and what must the foolish woman do but begin to justify her own dress as if I had been accusing her or even thinking about her at all Such nonsense Really Clare your husband has spoilt you sadly if you can't listen to any one without thinking they are alluding to you People may flatter themselves just as much by thinking that their faults are always present to other people's minds as if they believe that the world is always contemplating their individual charms and virtuesI was told Lady Cumnor that this silk was reduced in price I bought it at Waterloo House after the season was over said Mrs Gibson touching the very handsome gown she wore in deprecation of Lady Cumnor's angry voice and blundering on to the very source of irritation Again Clare How often must I tell you I had no thought of you or your gowns or whether they cost much or little; your husband has to pay for them and it is his concern if you spend on your dress than you ought to doIt was only five guineas for the whole dress pleaded Mrs GibsonThe strength of this book is in the keenly observed personalities that inhabit the town of Hollingford and this novel It was rather slow in parts but overall an enjoyable coming of age tale with a little romance that explores relationships between family members and friends and how people can hurt and help each otherOne warning Elizabeth Gaskell suddenly died just before finishing this novel which was being published on a serial basis in a British magazine There's an afterword by her publisher explaining what was going to happen in the story and anyway it's pretty clear where the main relationship is headed but it still left me with an unsettled feeling—enough that I promptly went off on an online search to see if there's any decent fanfic of that last missing chapter Sadly I didn't find any But watching a YouTube clip of the end of the WD miniseries helped Just be mentally ready for it when you read this book; otherwise it's a bit disconcerting