Wives and Daughters | Two Weeks of Gaskell

In which I talk about Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters...
Wives and Daughters: / 383206.wives_and_daugh...
Catch up on Gaskell week: • Two Weeks of Gaskell
Also, since I filmed this, Kate Howe has put up a video on Wives and Daughters, which is her favourite novel, so if you need extra encouragement, head here: • Victober Top Ten I Wiv...
--General links--
My website: www.katielumsden.co.uk
Facebook: / justbooksandthings
Twitter: / katiejlumsden
Instragram: / katiejlumsden
Goodreads: / katie-lumsden
NaNoWriMo: nanowrimo.org/participants/kat...
Foyles Affiliate link: www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmi...
Email: [e-mail]

[@Fortheloveofclassics]

Loved you excitement about Wives and Daughters. The Squire and Mrs Hamley are the cutest.

[@katiejlumsden]

They are the best.

[@joana7429]

I'm reading Gaskell for the first time and I picked Wives and Daughters as her first novel. I absolutely agree on everything you say: the strength of this novel relies on how well constructed the characters are. There are no heroes and villains, but just normal people with their virtues and flaws. I'm really enjoying the novel and I can only wish but the best for Molly, with whom I have really sympathised because of her generosity towards others. Love this book 💖

[@katiejlumsden]

Gaskell is amazing! Her characterisation is superb.

[@christine2567]

Great review. Wives and daughters is one of my favourite. Unlike lots of other books at that time that focuses on romance and marriage, this book explores themes we can still relate now like the relationship between parents and kids, stepparents and step kids, view on death, etc. Squire Hamley is probably my favourite character. On the outside he may appear to be loud, hot tempered, opinionated and ill mannered, but deep down he really has a heart of gold. The tv adaptation is great. In fact years ago, after watching it on PBS, I bought the DVD right away. One thing I still remember till this day , the commentator on PBS mentioned before the TV show that the different fates and career outcomes of the two Hamley brothers shows a change in the 19th century society, that science is starting to take centre stage. I find it fascinating that Elizabeth Gaskell can pick out this change and so beautifully incorporated into this book

[@bessieglass4470]

Love hearing you talk about this wonderful book!:)

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@justice2beauty]

I just finished this today, it was my first victober read and it was so amazing. The characters and the relationships were so fantastic. I was so happy to have your video to watch just after finishing it!

[@katiejlumsden]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it too :)

[@GinaStanyerBooks]

One of the best first sentences EVER!

[@katiejlumsden]

It really is :)

[@goddessdster]

I just recently purchased a copy of this! Now I can't wait to read it. Your enthusiasm is infectious.

[@katiejlumsden]

I really hope you like it!

[@chrisriddles9460]

Brilliant, well done, I agree with everything you said.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@cynthiaespinoza4514]

This has definately been my year of Gaskell as well! I got them all on Audio, but more want to read the physical copies. I've been enjoying and looking forward to all your videos everyday, I don't want them to stop tomorrow!, haha.

[@katiejlumsden]

Gaskell is such a wonderful novelist :)

[@sewaphim5444]

This is my first Elizabeth Gaskell book, I can’t wait to read it!

[@rachelport3723]

I also love Lady Harriet, who is sort of the fairy godmother here, and the character, like Dr. Gibson, who can see the other characters as they really are. I was thinking recently that it would be interesting to look at the scientific thinkers in Victorian novels, like Roger Hamley and Lydgate in Middlemarch, and the role of science in the changing times. Roger's expeditions are like Darwin's, after all. I haven't seen that analyzed the way industrialization is, and I think it would be fascinating, including the idea of science as a profession. Wives and Daughters was the first Gaskell novel I read, so I'm very fond of it. The word that always comes to mind when I think about it is "leisurely," and I think the pacing reflects the pace of life in the village.

[@katiejlumsden]

I agree; there are so many fascinating characters in Wives and Daughters, and I love the themes explored.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

I loved hearing you rave about this book! It makes me want to just pick it up off my shelf and get started on it, but unfortunately all the other books on my TBR should probably come first. I feel like it'll end up being a November read instead.

[@katiejlumsden]

I have a hunch you'll really really love it :)

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I so enjoyed revisiting this video now that I've finished Wives and Daughters. I agree that the relationships between all the characters are just wonderful (including the relationships between all the Hamleys!). Also LOL the cheeeeese, Mrs. Gibson is too much 🧀 😂 And now I need to go find the miniseries and get some closure!

[@katiejlumsden]

I mean gosh, cheese is just so vulgar :P

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

Ok that's it, after my readings with Kate, this is definitely the next Gaskell I will pick up maybe as soon as November 😀. I'm so glad that Lady Harriet is so great in the book because I love Rosamund Pike's portrayal of her in the mini series😀. I am SO excited for tomorrow's video 😀. Also though, I realize the flaw in my plan of picking that book to talk about in your collaboration video because idk how I'm gonna follow the fantastic eloquence you always have when talking about any books but especially your favorites, I shall do my best though 😄

[@katiejlumsden]

You must read it, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! And ha, don't be silly - I love it when you talk about North and South :D

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

Books and Things definitely will and aww thanks! I need to go back and watch my review for inspiration.

[@Whiskyandwoodsmoke]

A great look at a beautiful book! I've just flown through 'Wives & Daughters' and I'm also on a high after reading it. Her characters are so complex and realistic, too often 'good' characters are so sickly and unlikable which Molly never slips in to as she is such a full character. And pretty much every side character is fleshed out as a realistic person even if they only appear briefly. This will definitely be one I return to over the years.

[@katiejlumsden]

I'm so, so glad you enjoyed it - it is such a brilliant book, and the characterisation just so complex and brilliant. I can't believe I'd forgotten just how great it is.

[@Hakausu]

I just finished listening to this (great accents and presentation on Libravox!) and was so pleasantly surprised. I loved the irony throughout the book. As an older person with an interest in people, it is fascinating to see how maturely and with what skill Elizabeth Gaskell develops these characters! It is a book that is probably worth reading and re-reading many times as we age, since so much of the true nature of people is explored and presented by Gaskell herself at her most mature time of life. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and so much lighter than the other books I have read (all her novels). It may just be my own preference, though, as I much prefer psychology to politics ...lol. This book includes both...and a good dose of history and anthropology without as much religion as I saw in the other books but with just as much real goodness.

[@katiejlumsden]

It's such an interesting book - one I love so much.

[@danielleptc]

I've only read "Wives and Daughters" twice thus far (it's on my winter reading list!) and it's my second favourite Gaskell after "Cranford." I agree that the TV adaptation wonderfully brings the characters to life.

[@katiejlumsden]

It is such a great book, and the television adaptation is wonderful.

[@didierolvera2349]

Ok! I need this book in my life right NOW! Thank you so much Katie, for these two weeks of Gaskell! It's been exciting, it's been delightful, it's been amazing! Can't thank you enough! I'm slowly making my way through all these wonderful books. However, I do have a question. Have you read her biography of Charlotte Brontë? How is it? I'm feeling really curious about it. Specially because I know Elizabeth and Charlotte were acquainted with each other. So It must be really good! ¡Saludos!/Greetings from México! :)

[@katiejlumsden]

I hope you like Wives and Daughters! I haven't read her biography of Charlotte Bronte yet, but am hoping to get to it this month and am really looking forward to it.

[@laurak5196]

Good thing I already bought this one! I was really surprised Mary Barton got bumped for this but I'm even more excited to read it now. Looking forward to the adaptation you recommend as well. I'm guessing this one is a little less bleak than MB? Sounds like it may be better suited to my mood now. I'm loving Gaskell's writing a lot with MB now and I really need to reread N&S. I don't think I appreciated it nearly enough the first go-round. Looking forward to your review of it tomorrow! Thanks again for your wonderful enthusiasm for all of these great classics. Penguin needs to hire you, you'd step up their sales tremendously!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! Wives and Daughters has its serious and melancholy moments, but I'd say in general it's less bleak than Mary Barton and has more heart-warming moments. I'd absolutely recommend it :) North and South is well worth a reread too - I love it more every time I read it.

[@InspiredbyBNatifu]

True! Penguin needs to hire you. Love your enthusiasm and depth of knowledge of the story lines.

[@tamararosic9633]

I finished reading this book for the first time a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it! It's quite a long novel but i flew through it in a couple of days. I definitely preferred the experience of reading it more than North and South, though I'm not exactly sure why...it's just a feel good book, North and South has a lot of sad moments i think

[@katiejlumsden]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it too. I do love North and South more, but Wives and Daughters is an astounding novel too.

[@daisyflower4105]

I have just finished Wives and Daughters and I really loved it. I would like to get an audio book. There seem to be a few. What is the best one in your opinion? Thank you for your wonderful reviews 😊

[@katiejlumsden]

I listened to the one narrated by Patience Tomlinson - it was great!

[@daisyflower4105]

Books and Things Thank you 😊! I’ll get that one...

[@nhmisnomer]

I love Cynthia because she doesn't kid herself about her shortcomings. I think Mothers and Daughters is really interesting because you basically have two teenage girls here who are close and it rings true. You could make this a present day story it wouldn't change in substance.

[@komal402]

It took me a month to finish reading this book, not just because it is so long but because of the reading time available to me in my busy day. It was so slow moving with long description of things between one action and another that I felt rather frustrated and wanted to give up but something in Elizabeth Gaskell's style of writing made me want to continue reading. The reappearance of Mr. Coxe , who was separated from Molly earlier on by Dr Gibson because of his love letter to Molly, briefly stirred up my interest. This sending love letters to girlfriends is something we did at school at the age of 12 or 13, but to read about such simple actions taken so seriously by society of the time was interesting to read about. Since Mr Coxe did not do anything significant upon his reappearance, my interest in reading the novel died down, only to be revived once more when Dr Gibson marries Mrs Hyacinth Kirkpatrick and creates a new family of four characters which includes Cynthia. I was impressed with the father daughter relationship, Molly and the father doctor Gibson. It was very realistic because generally speaking, if a mother dies in a family, the bond between daughter and father becomes stronger, as father in this situation has to play the mother role too . My Indian mind enjoyed the visit , made possible by this book, to the 18th century English country life .....the cups of tea, piano playing and the flower gardens. I know that Victoria was the Queen of England at the time, and later around 1870-80's declared herself the ' Empress of India' . The English ruled India and there were many high ranking people in India whose lifestyle was similar to those in English countryside, as described in the book . . Comparisons are odious but characterization of Estella in Dicken's Great Expectation was more effective than than the characterization of Molly , perhaps the reason for this was that Dickens contrasted the rich Estella with the poor boy Pip , resulting in strong character portrayal of Estella. But of course Estella was confined to a limited role and that was her relationship with Pip whereas Molly had multiple relationships, daughter to Mr Gibson , a great friend of Cynthia, almost like a student to Roger . Cynthia is very similar to Rebbeca in Thackersay's book but Rebbeca is a much much better creation. The Reading of the poems like 'Christabel', the ugly face of Uriah Heep in Oliver Twist, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift etc made quite an impression on my mind in my childhood and school days in fact before my first visit to England I always wanted, not a visit to London, but a visit to an English village to enjoy the experience of having a cup of tea, and after reading this book my Indian mind is once again tempted to do exactly that.

[@xaviercrain7336]

So he is like the man who does work on electricity on Charlotte bronte’s Jane Eyre