Inspired into further research by Gaskell's 'North and South', this concise, informative and reader-friendly introduction to Manchester during the nineteenth century is both a potted history and a bibliography for further reading. Not only are Gaskell's Manchester novels covered, along with Dickens' 'Hard Times' and even the 'regional classic' 'The Manchester Man' by Isabella Varley Banks, but I learned more from this book about the growth of 'the greatest mere village in England' into a modern metropolis, via cotton mills, the first public library, Manchester ship canal and famous citizens such as Emmeline Pankhurst, than in three years of attending university there! Fascinating stuff, and very accessible.

On a side note, I couldn't help but think of Manchester in relation to 'North and South', too - would John Thornton and Margaret have attended the art exhibition of 1857? Would they have supported the library, the university, and the ship canal? - but that's just how my imagination processes non-fiction! ( )