The cover description of this novel grabbed my interest when I saw it in the bookstore, so I decided to give it a try. It's the first book I have struggled with in a while. And it's not because it's hard to read; far from it. The characters are, simply put, not interesting. I didn't care for a single one of them, not even the "detective" of the story, Robert Audley, or the "enchanting" and "mysterious" heroine herself, Lady Audley. There was some good bits of suspense, and a few bits of mystery, but because of the flat characters this really did little to compensate.

This novel tells the story of a beautiful woman whose secret becomes her undoing.
She uses her beauty, helplessness, and coquettish manner to achieve her end desires, but behind the innocent facade is a woman who is clever, manipulative and ruthless.
Lucy's secret and her extreme desire to keep it ruins the lives of the people around her (as most closely guarded secrets do).
I can't say anymore without giving the plot away.
The secret may be obvious, but the actual path to its discovery, its revelation, and aftermath shape the novel.
I could hardly put this book down and will certainly re-read it to see if I missed something the first time. A marvelous read - you will enjoy it if you like Victorian novels.

...I was suprised at how much I liked this book. I am not one for Victorian "sensationalists" preferring swashbuckling but Miss Braddon (as she was then called) is a great writer who gives explainations for her character's wild behavior. Considered quite a trashy novelist in her day, her stories are much tamer than what is on network television.

Read, enjoy this escapist novel

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.