This edition contains various short stories/novellas by Elizabeth Gaskell which were first published between 1850 and 1864.

Best known of these is probably "Cranford" upon which the BBC production with the same name is loosely based. The novella is a series of sketches from a small country town by the (fictious) narrator Miss Mary Smith; though the episodes are interlinked, there is no stringent plot line.

Instead of being action-driven, the episodes observe the town's society life and customs. The narrative centers on a group of widows and old maids (men are being curiously absent or relegated to minor roles), most notably Miss Matilda Jenkyns ("Miss Matty"). They practise elegant economy, a nicer phrase for genteel poverty, and are very set in customs and society rules which were even at the date of the first publication a little old-fashioned.

The characters and their idiosyncrasies are described with good-natured humour which made me chuckle very often. The amazons of Cranford, as they are once called, may be restricted in their experience and outlook on life, but they are very human and bound to their neighbours which makes them truly likable.

And the book abounds in detail and local colour making everyday-life in the 19th century very real to the reader. "Cranford" shows marriages, deaths, a travelling conjuror, presentation of new silk patterns, a bank failure, a long-lost brother traced to India and lots more. But the pace always remains sedate, fitting to the heroines, which makes it a perfect read for a Sunday afternoon.

"Mr. Harrison's confession" is in the same vein: a young, unmarried doctor comes into a small country town and soon engages the hopes and fancies of the unmarried ladies (or, in one case, her mother). Suddenly, there are reports about three different engagements, while his heart is really given to the vicar's young daughter. It's very amusing to read how extricates himself from this puzzle. The story is considerably shorter than Cranford leaving less room for character descriptions but it is very well balanced and a pleasant read ( )

This Wordsworth Classics edition contains the short novel – Cranford – which I first read many years ago - and six (fairly long) short stories making it quite a nice chunky book. I had been itching to read it for ages so thought the start of half term (I actually started it the day before we broke up) was the perfect opportunity.

Cranford is utterly charming of course, warm, and funny peopled with fabulous memorable characters and amusing incident. It is very easy to see why it was adapted for TV. A series I loved I must say – although it isn’t a hundred percent faithful to the book. The sort of novel you don’t want to end, Cranford’s main fault is that it is just too short.

Having finished Cranford my appetite was ripe to continue with the rest of the shorter fiction in this volume. The story of “Mr Harrison’s confessions” – again set in a small country town – will be recognisable to anyone who watched the series of Cranford – as the doctor’s story at the beginning of the first series which in fact was taken from this story of Elizabeth Gaskell. “Lois the witch” set in the 1690’s in Salem – the story of young orphaned English girl who has gone to live with her uncle’s family –was unputdownable and kept me reading till very late one evening. While “Cousin Phillis” is a brilliant story of love and loss.

Loved this book – it felt like a treat somehow – to read such lovely prose – excellent stories that make you sit up way too late. ( )

‘Cranford’ sees Elizabeth Gaskell back in the kind of world she grew up in: rural, somewhat secluded from the Great World, a bit over-numerically feminine, full of strict behaviour codes and genteel poverty. The other world of desperate living conditions, starvation wages (or no wages), and disease which she was to get to know so well later (and to write about so well) is not present in ‘Cranford‘, or in any of the short stories in this volume. This in itself is an indication of how much England, and the English, were a country of ‘Two Nations’, as described by Disraeli in his novel ‘Sybil’ (1845). In her novel ‘Mary Barton’ there is some overlap of the two worlds in the way that the industrialised workers are near enough to the countryside to enjoy something of its goodness, but this idyll s rapidly taken over by the book’s concern with the appalling injustices and degradations suffered by the workers.

Here, in Cranford, the biggest social upsets centre around strangers who move in to the little town and, it is greatly feared, will upset the normal tranquillities. These ‘dangers’ and the way the little society copes with them, reminds one very much of Jane Austin. Both writers see the preservation of the social fabric as being of extreme importance. Certain things are just NOT DONE, and those who do them… well…
Both writers extract much humour from situations that would at first seem just ridiculous. And both have a sure identification with the genuine suffering that can result from social slighting and neglect. It’s not hard to enter into Cranford with the author and become one of the little town’s inhabitants, sharing with them all the indignations occasioned by any attempts to change the way of life they have enjoyed for many generations. It won’t last much longer, though. The new railway is making its inexorable way across the English countryside towards the little town, after which things will never be the same again.

As regards the other stories in this volume, best are ‘Mr Harrison’s Confession’ which was incorporated into the recent BBC production of ‘Cranford’ (with the great Judi Dench in a leading role) and sat very well with the story; and ‘Lois the Witch’ , which shows Gaskell able to set a story in a setting completely different from either the slums of Manchester or the small-town intrigues of Knutsford (Cranford). ( )

Cranford is the story of life in a small village in England in the 1850's. It's an unusual book in that it does not follow the traditional plot line of "young, single woman meets young, single man," etc. The entire story is centered around the lives of middle-aged and older spinsters and widows.

The village appears to be dominated by the women, with an occasional male character thrown in for interest. It's not a story about power struggles but the women do have all sorts of norms and rules in this insulated community. For example, a woman must call on another woman between certain afternoon hours and stay for only fifteen minutes. The women must be careful what topics are discussed and what clothes are worn. Most everyone would fall into the genteel but impoverished category but they must keep up appearances. They will do without new clothes for years and eat very frugally in order to afford at least one servant. They all pride themselves on their thriftiness but consider it quite vulgar to discuss money.

The other unusual aspect of the story is that there is very little plot. It's all about the people in the village. The narrator is a frequent visitor to the village and she simply tells us what she has heard from others and also what she has observed and experienced. She is very fond of Miss Matty and Miss Pole and tells us quite a bit about them. I also found the village of Cranford itself to be a character in itself.

I don't want you to think this is a dull tale of village life in the nineteenth century. It's far from that. It's actually very humorous. The author's writing had me smiling and sometimes laughing through most of the book. There are also other tales that brought a tear or two to my eye. I found the people very heartwarming. Cranford was one of my favorite places to have visited this year. ( )

I wanted to read Cranford because I recently saw the BBC television series based on the story and loved it. So when the Classic Circuit announced that they were doing Gaskell I jumped on it. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. The first half of the novel felt very disjointed and jumpy. Characters came and went within just a few pages. I never got a sense as to why they were there. This might have been okay if the novel was plot driven, but it isn’t. There isn’t really a plot to it at all.

The second half of the novel is a bit better. There is an inkling of a plot and there are no really new characters added into the mix. The story starts to flow a bit more.

What I did like about the story was the friendship between the women that was presented. The way they actually cared about each other. On the outside they all seemed to be very much concerned with appearances and what was proper, but on the inside they were much more caring, considerate and loyal.

My final verdict (and this pains me greatly) watch the BBC television series, it is MUCH better! ( )