Which is your favourite of Mrs Gaskell's longer works and why?
These are the options:
Mary Barton (1848)
Cranford (1851)
Ruth (1853)
Biography of Charlotte Brontė (1857)
North and South (1855)
Sylvia's Lovers (1863)
Wives and Daughters (1866)
My favourite is Mary Barton with Wives and Daughters as a close second. Mary Barton is filled with life and written so fairly and with such insight, yet gentle humour pops up in the darkest passages. I read it at a gallop because I was so caught up with the story and my pulse quickened when reading the section concerning the trial. Much of the book is very sad and Gaskell has written it in such a way that the reader comes to know the characters very well.
I love the characters in Wives and Daughters and frequently laughed out loud at speeches of Mrs Gibson - such an enjoyable book and again written with so much insight.