How Far the World Will Bend

by Nancy Klein

Meg Armstrong is intrigued by a story that her grandmother tells of a tragic death years ago during a cotton mill riot. All too soon, she is hurtled from her life in the 1920's into the past where mysterious circumstances prompt her to assume the identity of Margaret Hale. Meg determines to stay long enough to save the handsome, enigmatic mill owner, John Thornton, from his fate. But complications arise as Meg finds herself falling in love with the man she is meant to save. Based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, this novel tells the story of a love that crosses social classes—and time.

Genres: Time Travel, Historical Romance, Romance, Fantasy

431 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 20, 2014

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing premise,a beautifully crafted tale of sheer romance,lightly peppered with angst....highly recommended to like minded fans of Thornton and Margaret.

[Trudy Brasure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure about a 'North and South' time-travel book? Neither was I. Throw out any preconceptions you have about the genre and just enjoy this romantic story.
If you loved the intensity and anguish of John and Margaret's emotional journey in Gaskell's original novel, this inventive variation will grab your heart and not let go until the conclusion. I bawled my eyes out (it's all good). Klein has a gift for evoking powerful images that linger in the mind. This is a tale you won't soon forget.

[Patrick Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is is a bit of a cross between N&S and Outlander, with a WW1 war nurse travelling back in time, with her medical expertise and more modern view of women's place in the world. She is then a more confident version of Margaret that is more willing to speak her mind, which is very funny and refreshing in places. I suppose I am not giving away any spoilers here by saying they get married, but when it happen I checked the page count and there was still 100 pages left. I was wondering what is going to happed here. Well the answer is that it slowly petered out. While N&S ended too abruptly, this went the opposite. Like another one of the fan-fiction books this jumped to many decades after the events of the book, which was pointless and the story ended with both of them dead.

A couple of other things I did not like John saying things along the line of "you are mine" and his over-the-top reaction to her going for a swim made him come across as very possessive.

Despite my gripes, I very much enjoyed it.

[K.L. Miracle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second read of this book and it was just as good as my first read! I don’t often revisit books and when I do I tend to skip about because I know the story. This book has officially joined two others (The Hobbit and North and South) as books I’ve re-read and will again. I just love the premise! I love how well it was written! I love the romance and Mr. Thornton’s portrayal and how the characters stay the same characters we fell in love with in the original. If you like North and South (and let’s face it, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t need more) this is absolutely a book you should pick up and read.

[Klissia]

The original "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell is boring compared tothe BBC 's series adaptation to tv .Giving us a far superior and pleaseble version of the story.So I'm not a bit surprised with this retelling is good (but not great) and more "entertained" to me than original book.Well Meg & Thornton are adorable here, his dialogues, his gestures, everything made my heart flutter, plus the element time travel to add unexpected drama haha.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, except for the overly-long and unnecessary epilogue, which gave a complete summary of the entire book we had just finished. But for that and numerous errors (missing words, incorrect dates) and the overwrought, post-marriage clinginess, I would have given it 5 stars. It's well-written and emotionally-wrenching at times. Recommended.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story

Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot. It’s a very creative spin on the characters of North and South. I’m giving it 3 stars because there were some editing issues in the back half of the book where words were left out. Trying to figure out what the sentence was supposed to say took me out of the story.

[Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't sure..

...about this book. I saw it had high ratings, so decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did! It's super cute and a lovely read. I spent most of a Sunday relaxing with it.

[Julia Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and re-read this book no less than a dozen times. I cannot express how much I enjoy this version. The characters are beautifully developed, with the proper amount of angst an concern. The paranormal/ time travel was fun and the writing superior. EXCELLENT!

[Deborah Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story,one of the best.

I loved this storyline,I,ve read it twice, please write another north and south story, this storyline was excellent.maybe continue it with the son and Meg and John still alive.

[Michele Farrar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A do over

I thought the story well written, but not unique enough to stand on its own. We all love these characters and this author did not leave us readers wanting.

[Carey Skaggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I thought it was a bit too long. I loved the new twist on North and South up. I would have given it four stars if it had ended after the wedding day. However, the book seemed to drag for me after Meg and Mr. Thorton got married.

[Lizpen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this. I was looking for something along these lines and reading my way through a list of books based on North and South (my absolutely favorite book) and came upon this one. I have since read it twice.