This story follows Margaret Hale as her father, a minister, uproots her family when he disagrees with the churches edict. They move to the north of England where industry is beginning to dominate society.

Margaret mets John Thornton who is a leader among the cotton mill business men and makes the mistake of assuming that because he is in industry he isn't a gentleman. Many misunderstandings ensue between them as around them society is struggling to deal with the industial revolution and unions are strenghtening their claws.

As Margaret and Mr Thornton discover more and more about the differences between the North and the South, they become more accepting of these differences and of each other.

If you love Jane Austen or any of the Bronte sisters I highly recommend this book, it's a great read that flows easily and is now numbered among my favourites.

If you've got a rainy afternoon free then it would be the perfect setting to read it in.

The characters are very real, none of them are perfect, yet you grow to understand them and forgive any of their faults. Their interactions are honest and I loved reading about all the developing relationships, not only the one between Margaret and Mr Thornton.

The ending was a little brief, but it was well rounded so I can't fault it too much.

Tell everyone about it, it seems to be unknown, but is a true classic.

It brought the industrial revolution alive from an individual point of view for both sides. It reminded me how important it is to see the both sides of every argument and to find a solution rather than being stubborn about what I wanted.

Is really intouch with her characters, I could feel that she knew them very well.

It is a fabulous read and shouldn't be missed by those who enjoy reading stories from that era. It has a bit of everything, family, romance, history and drama.

There is also a BBC drama based on this book that is available on DVD, I'd highly recommend it, but read the book first!

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Created Jan 25, 2006 at 1:53am • Submit your own review...