Victorians! discussion

North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell, is our selection for September 1 through October 15. Since we will be reading it for six weeks, I will be posting six discussion threads. As usual, post at your own pace, and avoid spoilers from later in the novel.

Elizabeth Gaskell originally wrote the novel (her third, after Mary Barton, and Ruth) in serialized form, for Charles Dickens' periodical, Household Words. However, she felt that the story became rushed towards the end, and expanded it when she published it as a novel, in two volumes. My own edition (Norton Critical Edition) preserves the division of the two volumes, with chapter numbering starting over in the second volume, so I will be using that numbering system. You may have an edition that numbers all of the chapters sequentially. The last chapter in volume I is XXV, so when we get to the second volume, add 25 to the chapter numbers in the thread.

I have read the novel before, and am not planning on rereading it at this time, so I will not be summarizing the sections, as I did with Pickwick. I will post the threads tomorrow (well, later today, as it's already 2 AM!). This is a great novel, and I hope those of you who are reading it for the first time will really enjoy it!

I happened to notice that the group called "Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" is reading Mary Barton starting October 15. What perfect timing!

I want to thank everyone for a great discussion, and remind you that even though today was the scheduled end, the threads remain open, so if you haven't finished yet, or have anything more to say, please - keep it going!