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North and South
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
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North and South
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion; it poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern, and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature.
When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire and move with her family to the fictional industrial town of Milton in the north of England. Though at first disgusted by her new surroundings, she witnesses the brutality wrought by the Industrial Revolution and becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers. Sympathetic to the poor she makes friends among them and develops a fervent sense of social justice. She clashes with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, who is contemptuous of his workers. However, their fierce opposition masks a deeper attraction.
Gaskell based her depiction of Milton on Manchester, where she lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister. She was an accomplished writer, much of her work published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words including North and South which was originally published as a serial. She was also friends with Charlotte Brontë and after her death, her father, Patrick Brontë, chose Gaskell to write The Life of Charlotte Brontë.
Narrator Biography
Whether she's up on stage, behind the microphone or in front of the camera, Juliet Stevenson never fails to charm her audience...whoever they may be. Acting roles in Truly, Madly Deeply, Emma, Bend It like Beckham and Mona Lisa Smile have cemented her status as one of the great British actresses of our time. Meanwhile, her popular performances of hits such as Apple Tree Yard, the book that was turned into a TV series that people just couldn't stop talking about, have earned her an overwhelming amount of well-deserved praise for her spoken word talents.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lucy T.
- 19-09-21
Insightful, traditional, sensitive, beautiful.
I adored this book and JS reads so so well and does the accents perfectly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JULIE MILLS
- 26-10-21
a truly wonderful story, thoroughly worth the time
excellent narration and one of my favourite books. highly recommend.
touching.
did not want it to end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sasha
- 27-10-21
Wonderful
The brilliant Juliette Stevenson brings this book alive. I first read it as part of my university book list and very much enjoyed the BBC adaptation. I always wanted to read it again but decided to listen on audible instead when walking the dog. Well, the dog got many walks because I loved listening to the story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeannette
- 26-02-15
Delightful
I just wanted this story to go on and on. The eloquence of the language is beautiful to hear and in today's tweets and text I felt sad for the loss of this richness. Beautifully read. An insight into another world long gone..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roderic
- 24-10-14
Scintillating prose and narration
What made the experience of listening to North and South the most enjoyable?
The beautiful and resonant voice of Juliet Stevenson.
Who was your favorite character and why?
All the characters were drawn quite well, but I particularly enjoyed the bluff Mr Bell (the Oxford Don) because he cut through so much of the façade with his mischievous utterances.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There were many moving scenes in the book, especially the death scenes, but the image of a young Margaret Hale - at the point of adulthood - vowing to herself to live a life without fear, was a poignant moment.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. K. I. Richards
- 02-12-14
the great divide.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I love books which are set in the period the author lived in. the language, attitudes and writing style add so much to the book compared with books written now about that period.
Margaret is so strongly portrayed that you feel for her as she comes to terms with living in the luxury of her aunt's home back to village life where she was born, then on to the life in the industrial north where work is hard, soul destroying for the workers
.john thornton is the mill owner who has come from lowly beginnings, has worked hard to get where he is as a mill owner and employer, struggling to fit in with his contemporaries feeling a lack in his education.
I felt small echoes in this of jane autsten pride and prejudice
.Juliet stevenso's performance was first class .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. Cottam
- 29-03-16
A deeply satisfying novel
I first encountered this book in the adaptation for the BBC which condensed and simplified the novel. Juliet Stevenson
achieves subtleties of characterization and emotional depth that it would be hard to match in any other medium.
I enjoyed this book very much.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bridgimage
- 17-02-21
Stunning
My first full length audio book - a long one but such insights into human nature in all its forms that I could not stop listening day, and sometimes nights too till I reached the end.
Juliet Stevenson not only has a delicious deep voice but she captured every nuance, in all Gaskell’s brilliantly telling dialogues between rich and poor, flighty and down-to-earth characters - men and women. She is so convincing with her changes of tone between different male and female accents - northern and southern - that I felt like I was listening to a full cast of brilliant and diverse actors. And the fresh, depth of understanding both in Gaskell’s and Stevenson’s reading of her great book makes me want to seek out other ageless classics as good as this. Do not miss this book!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 31-10-20
juliet Stevenson is a triumph
This was the first Elizabeth Gaskell book I have read/listened to and I had to try hard to read it with the mid 19th century as a frame of reference otherwise I would hate all of the characters. Margaret Hale is a prig and John Thornton a bully. Having no sympathy with any of the characters makes it hard to be interested in anything that happens to them but this is a good story and I'm glad I stuck at it.
juliet Stevenson is so easy to listen to and her use of regional accents is incredible and doesn't grate the way it can do with other narrators.
I'm not sure I'd pick up another Elizabeth Gaskell though.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bella A
- 05-01-22
Enjoyable
Decent narration of a classic. This was an enjoyable read. Some of the earlier chapters dragged a bit, but once the narrative gained momentum it turned out to be a more interesting story.
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