All of DE Stevenson's books are like a breath of fresh air. They are charming life stories about the people of Scotland. Anyone who enjoys Barbara Pym, Rosemunde Pilcher or Ann Purser would enjoy DE Stevenson.

Such sad lives were led by the the Bronte's, loneliness, loss, despair, all were experienced and fed into the imaginations on charlotte, emily and anne. This book is a brilliant book by E C Gaskell (who i normally dont really like), it is basically a collection of letters by charlotte and a great narrative, when speaking of the deaths of emily, anne and charlotte, i actually felt tears in my eyes!

Mrs. Gaskell understood a man's or woman's life to be lived within a social and natural context -- and her deployment of anecdotes and impressions of the North of England in the early pages of this book is captivating. But she also understood us to be souls, present to but distinct from God. Hence, even though in a few instances Gaskell's facts may been correctible (which the editor has done for us in this Penguin Classics edition), she is concerned with truth, and this gives readers the opportunity (rarely offered by modern entertainments) to escape from the trivial.

A very nicely written biography by Mrs. Gaskell about the life of her friend Charlotte Bronte, although most of the content was made up of letters written either by or to Charlotte Bronte rather than Mrs. Gaskell's own writings. Still this is a very concise book containing mostly everything that an ordinary reader, or well, a beginner of the Bronte novels, should know about this famous family. Nonetheless at some point of the book, I do find Mrs. Gaskell a bit too subjective, especially when it comes to the depiction of Charlotte's brother Branwell Bronte and his downfall. But consider the fact that this book was written only within one and a half year, with Mrs. Gaskell herself alone traveling all the way from Manchester to Haworth, and then to Brussel, doing all the necessary researches and interviews on her own, I must say that this is just an awesome piece of work!! And just as what Patrick Bronte himself had said about this biography, 'It is every way worthy of what one Great Woman, should have written of Another...it ought to stand, and will stand in the first rank, of Biographies, till the end of time'.

One more word though. From a more scholarly point of view, however, I think so far the 'best' biography on the Brontes should be Juliet Barker's 'The Brontes'. If, after reading this biography written by Mrs. Gaskell, you still want to know more about the Brontes, then I will say: go and buy this other book by Juliet Barker and you definitely will never regret it!

I eagerly waited for this box set to arrive and when it did, I listened to all four audiobook productions back to back. The productions themselves were excellent and the narrators captured the essence of the period in question. Naxos audiobooks is one of my favorite audio producers and I intend to buy as much of their line as possible. Now onto Jane Austen. I think Jane Austen falls under the category of writers which either you love or hate. On the surface taken each work on the whole, it would appear this woman has nothing to say. All her books revolve around marriage and it seems that she spends 3 to 4 hundred pages trying to pair a man and a woman up. Her strong points of course is in her style. Northanger Abbey did cause me to laugh out loud at certain points and how can you not notice the fiery wit of Emma? She also has a good grasp of character development and knows how to set the mood. Yet in both Northanger Abbey and Emma nothing much happens, one keeps hoping for a scandle a murder or theft. We simply have this charming girl, rich and good looking running around the country side gossiping and not doing much else. In Northanger Abbey Catherine appears as a complete dullard in some cases. its like I'm nothing without a man. Waht I found amusing was the slight but apparent condesention towards Catherine by those around her. The woman was such an air head she didn't even notice it. My favorite of the three novels included in this box set was Mansfield park; here surprise surprise, something actually happens, something more then gossip and flirting goes on and Austen tackles more themes here then in the previous two other novels. I have to say however for the record, i can't stand Fanny Price and simply adore mary Crawford. Of course the two Burtrom girls are delicious as well. It would have been nice to see Mary however have a little fun with Tom or Edward. The ending to Mansfield Park had to be a bit of a shocker for those polite days and I think Mary Crawford is the liberated feminist in the book even though Jane Austen wasn't exactly aiming for that. Now the biography. It was okay, but at times it read like a long list of wedding and birth announcements not to mention obituaries as well. the biography to be frank talks more about the Austen family then about the writer herself. Personally this is due to the fact, that Ms. Jane Austen lead a rather dull existance. Her days were filled with writing, corresponding with family and friends and travelling from one house to another. It was disappointing in fact that the biography gave no insight to what triggered Austen's imagination. Nor where any of the novels analyzed. One interesting fact is that Jane Austen herself though wrote about love and marriage and was surrounded by family who kept getting married, she herself never did, nor was she ever touched by a man. In a way I guess this explains why her lead female characters are such prudes at times.

Having said the above, I did enjoy this box set very much and plan to purchase the second one which comes out this fall and contains her other three novels plus a novel called Lady Susan which I think she never finished. heres to Amazon who was the first to make the second box set available for pre order. on the whole I would recommend this box set if you love to listen to audiobooks and especially classics. Its beautiful and a keep sake for years to come. Bravo to Naxos. As for Jane austen I think she was talented, but I consider George Eliot a far better writer then her.

TEXT SUMMARY= James Stevenson has united in this volume a variety of short poems that range from ryhming, to free verse, and always include a twist of one kind or another.

VISUAL SUMMARY= The poems are accompanied by small watercolour and black pen sketches, or laid out in different patterns and orientations in ways that relate to the poem's subject. Varying the text size and font as well create visual images simply with just the words.

CRITIQUE= While not as popular as the rhyme and simple humour of Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein, Stevenson's own work is something innovative and new, introducing children to non-rhyming free-verse. Although the humour is not the type that makes you crack out laughing, with a little extra thinking, it will definitely make you smile. The layout of the book is simple and consistant, with page numbers and titles at the top, and then the poem spread over the page or mixed with illustrations. Overall, the book seems to be a nice hidden gem filled with amusing quirks.

In summarizing my opinion of this book, I can only think of one word: revulsion. Perhaps I should qualify -- absolute revulsion would be the better description. Elizabeth Barton's "North and South" is the most boring, trifling, heinously insignificant, hyperfeminized novels I have yet to read. While the novel does touch on some important themes -- class warfare, the condition of women, and don't forgot, the godlessness of the heathen lower classes -- no true insight is gained that cannot be found in a middle school history textbook.

The back cover describes North and South's heroine, Margaret Hale, as one of the "finest heroines of Victorian literature." Lies, I say. Lies. While Margaret does possess some independence of spirit, her self-sacrificing Christian character nevertheless humbles herself in love before a "benign" capitalist individualist, Mr. Thornton. Though people have spoken of North and South being a feminist novel, one need only read the first page of Bronte's earlier work, Jane Eyre, to find the former description flat.

Barton's characters are hopelessly vacuous, her storylines inane and inspid, her understanding of the world hopelessly shortsighted. One thinks of Virginia Woolf, who once said that the greatest female writers needed only a room of their own to perfect their writing. Elizabeth Barton, however, needed far, far more.

Just a quick review! The novel itself wasn't too bad, and Gaskell writes it really well. The characters are convincing, and she puts across the issues of the time really well. Unlike most other books written around the same time, North and South was a much easier read, and more enjoyable. The only thing that wasn't so good was the ending. It was so frustrating! I finished the book and was left wanting to know what happens, or at least a little bit more than what I was left with! Apart from the disappointing ending, North and South was a pretty good read. It was definitely one of the better books that the english department have given us to read over the holidays! :)

I fell in love with this marvellous novel and it's main protagonists, Margaret Hale & John Thornton, when I first read it some five years ago. I remember when I was reading the chapters describing the riot at Thornton's mill while on the way home from work on the train, I was so caught up with the story that I nearly missed my stop.

One of the things that particularly impresses me about "North and South" is that Elizabeth Gaskell actually concentrates as much, if not more, on the principal male character's (John Thornton's) sexual and romantic desires and inner life rather than on the main female character (Margaret Hale). This is somewhat unusual to find in a book by female writer of the Victorian era. I feel that it makes the character of John Thornton one of the most interesting and attractive in 19th century literature.

His passionate love and desire for Margaret border on the obsessive at times. However, Elizabeth Gaskell details his torturous struggles with his emotions in such a empathethic way that you feel immensely drawn to Thornton from the first time you meet him. The scenes where Margaret rebuffs his attempts at a marriage proposal and the aftermath where he dazedly goes off into the countryside to calm down are vividly written.

I thoroughly disagree with some of the other reviewer's comments below, especially the person on 17 March 2003 who cannot even get the author's name right. It makes you wonder if they have read the same book as I did. I have no respect for people who impose inappropriate and modern notions on a work from this era and give their opinions, with such a sneering tone, in a trite and dismissive critique.

I know that there are many "North and South" fans out there who, like me, can appreciate the novel for what it is, not what they think it should be.

It is simply a beautifully written, engaging and satisfying book.

One of the books in which every thing seems to be so perfect and good ,but in the end everything ruined.It is one of the book to which I never wanted to be end.It just need a little sentence in the end and that is "to be continued" .

It took me several months to finish this rather short book. The plot is fairly simple with nary a twist, the characters admirable but somewhat one-dimensionable. It seems to be an ode to conservatism--a longing for the "peace of the old days." As a fan of 19th century English lit, this left me wondering why Elizabeth Gaskell is considered a classic writer; admittedly I haven't read some of her better known works such as "North and South."

Stevenson has crafted an interesting novel for those who are interested in history - with unexpected twists. This is fiction laid on top of historical figures and in the case of Elizabeth, The Winter Queen, her lineage and descendants are important. (Elizabeth was the daughter of James I (1566-1625) of England and sister of Charles I, King of England, during the period of the story.) Yet it is difficult to untangle the characters; a Stuart/Hanover family tree would help a great deal. A listing of the characters would also be very useful. The story takes place when Charles I is king of England; Louis XIII is king of France and Philip IV is king of Spain - and the Netherlands is enormously wealthy by virtue of trade. Set in the Netherlands, the novel hinges on Elizabeth's intimate relationship with an African prince, abducted by Portuguese traders and sold into bondage who "ends up" at the Dutch Court. The well-educated Protestant - and African - prince, Pelegius van Overmeer, becomes a confidante of Elizabeth and from their shared loneliness, love blossoms. There's a fair amount of reference to Pelegius's tribal traditions but it is not clear where the Oyo were located - Nigeria? Pelegius is an interesting character and since this is the first book of a trilogy, Stevenson will undoubtedly clarify the complex history of this period and the role these characters play in history in the next two books. At least, the book had me scurrying to the Internet to try to locate more information!! It's very difficult to locate info on the Yoruba tribe ...