The Resurrectionist

I prefer the series, but the book is good

Reading "Cranford" is a lot like spending an afternoon in the doily museum of a provincial city; you can't help but admire the skill of the embroidery but you have to wonder at your own sanity for being there. I stuffed the book in my carry-on, as a relief from the 20th C anguish in the novels I'd been reading recently, and found myself waiting out a snow delay with nothing to read but this staid portrayal of a circle of spinsters... Read Full Review

Let me begin this review by saying that if you are thinking about reading this book only because of the BBC series, you will find it very disappointing. The makers of that series used the authors name, the title of the book and some of the characters but the remainder of their production is pure invention. I am enjoying watching the BBC program, but it is not this book. Ms Charlotte Mitchell provides an Introduction and... Read Full Review

A very quick review. A beautifully written book filled with the feminine niceties and social customs of provincial early 19th Century life. A very interesting read to myself as I was born at Cranford Lodge, Knutsford, the true market town in the north of England that Gaskell based her novel on. A visit to Knutsford itself brings out the flavour of the writing and tours of "Cranford" including Miss Matty's house and the... Read Full Review

To you scoffers who find this novel uneventful - I say read it again toward the close of your life. The stories of these genteel ladies with their 40 year old lost loves and their strong familial relationships are very moving. I also like the way the book is contructed in a series of vignettes. But most of all I am enchanted with the "feel" of the portrait of village life in the middle of the 19th century - such a contrast... Read Full Review