Wives and Daughters

This is supposed to be Elizabeth Gaskell's best novel, but it isn't. I think I said earlier that I felt Mary Barton was worthy but boring; but while this novel isn't boring, it's also not worthy.

This story is about a few families of different classes (aristocracy, wealthy, middle class, lower middle class) living in a small village and dealing with day to day life of marriage, and . . . marriage, and offers of marriage. There's some family disgraces but that's to do with . . . marriage. There's also a few deaths which in Gaskell's books generally seem convenient. (I must say though she did tackle the grief of losing a wife quite well.)

I far preferred North & South because of its interesting analysis of master/worker conditions of the time. The most annoying thing about this novel is that it's unfinished because she died before she managed to get to the end - not her fault, but the hero and heroine never get together, so it's rather frustrating! Not too much so, because the heroine is irritatingly good and wimpy, and the hero is really rather an idiot. I read a comment saying 19th century novels are all written for youth; I think that's so in this case.