内容简介
ThisrichlytexturednovelofcourtshipandmarriageexploresthedichotomiesbetweentherigidlystratifiedSouthandtheupstartindustrialNorthduringEngland'smid-Victorianera.Called"anadmirablestory"byCharlesDickens,thebookistheturbulenttaleofMargaretHale,awomantornbetweenhersympathyfordiscontentedmillworkersandherloveforthefactory'swealthyowner.
作者简介
ElizabethCleghornGaskellwasborninLondonin1810,butshespentherformativeyearsinCheshire,Stratford-upon-AvonandthenorthofEngland.In1832shemarriedtheReverendWilliamGaskell,whobecamewellknownastheministeroftheUnitarianChapelinManchester’sCrossStreet.Aswellasleadingabusydomesticlifeasminister’swifeandmotheroffourdaughters,sheworkedamongthepoor,traveledfrequentlyandwrote.MaryBarton(1848)washerfirstsuccess.TwoyearslatershebeganwritingforDickens’smagazine,HouseholdWords,towhichshecontributedfictionforthenextthirteenyears,notablyafurtherindustrialnovel,NorthandSouth(1855).In1850shemetandsecuredthefriendshipofCharlotteBront?.AfterCharlotte’sdeathinMarch1855,PatrickBront?chosehisdaughter’sfriendandfellow-novelisttowriteTheLifeofCharlotteBront?(1857),aprobingandsympatheticaccount,thathasattainedclassicstature.ElizabethGaskell’spositionasaclergyman’swifeandasasuccessfulwriterintroducedhertoawidecircleoffriends,bothfromtheprofessionalworldofManchesterandfromthelargerliteraryworld.Heroutputwassubstantialandcompletelyprofessional.DickensdiscoveredherresilientstrengthofcharacterwhentryingtoimposehisviewsonheraseditorofHouseholdWords.Sheprovedthatshewasnottobebullied,evenbysuchastrong-willedman.Herlaterworks,Sylvia’sLovers(1863),CousinPhillis(1864)andWivesandDaughters(1866)revealthatshewascontinuingtodevelopherwritinginnewliterarydirections.ElizabethGaskelldiedsuddenlyinNovember1865.PatriciaInghamisseniorresearchfellowandreaderatSt.Anne'sCollege,Oxford.SheisthegeneraleditorofThomasHardy'sfictioninPenguinClassicsandeditedGaskell'sNorthandSouthfortheseries.
