Mary Barton by Elizabeth GaskellMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel was widely acclaimed in the early half of the 19th century and rightly so. Mary is the daughter of John Barton who becomes suspected of the murder of a rich mill owner’s son. This man, Henry Carson, is seeking to take advantage of Mary. Fortunately, she realises that her ambitions to be rich through him will lead her into trouble and later she tries to avoid him. There is another man, working class engineer Jem, who is in love with Mary but she is unsure about her emotions towards him.
Gaskell often uses the local Manchester dialect when writing the lower class conversations to help distinguish them, which adds a certain amount of authenticity to the story. There is much in it that reveals the harsh realities that face the poor and starving during the Industrial Revolution of Britain in those times. The book came as a shock to the middle and upper classes regarding those conditions, which no doubt was the author’s intention.
Towards the end of the novel the story speeds up a lot when there is a chase to find Jem. The scene moves to the docks and finds Mary relying upon help from an elderly ex-sailor. It became surprisingly exciting considering the slow start to the book. Highly recommended.
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