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Cranford

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About this listen

 This classic novel has been thrice adapted for the screen by the BBC. Mary Smith relates the story of her time with middle-aged spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. Witty, poignant, and often ironic, Cranford is the tale of what these two women will do to remain respectable, proper, and kind with only moderate means.©2008 Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (P)2008 Recorded Books, LLC Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Witty

Editor reviews

Award-winning voice actor Davina Porter delivers a refined performance of Cranford a novel by Victorian writer Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. Porter’s enunciation is impeccable, allowing the story to unfold in a cultivated manner suited to the prose and subject matter. In a small parish in Cheshire, England, Mary Smith, her friends Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, and other upper class members of society pass their days by calling on neighbors, engaging in polite conversation, practicing elegant economy, and avoiding vulgarities of any sort.

Critic reviews

"... an extremely clever piece of writing." ( Guardian (UK))
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A beautiful story of little nothing's in a small rural town in the 19th century. 11 out of 10 for the narration by Davina Porter, excellent, sympathetic way of speaking. I loved this book, but can't quite see how it was translated into a TV series, which I haven't seen. Don't think I will, as it always ruins a good story!

Splendid

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I knew the basic outline of Cranford and was expecting a slow start. There was actually quite a bit going on in the first few chapters but it then laboured around a series of family letters that were being read out before being destroyed. These in themselves painted a beautiful picture of a love story but they didn't seem to fit within the bigger scheme. (they probably owe more to Cranford originally being a series of short stories serialised in a magazine). The story picked up again and ultimately left me feeling happy that I'd persevered. Elizabeth Gaskell 's ability to analyse and articulate the various facets of human nature and behaviour is amazing as always.

Enjoyed but a little slow in parts

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