Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘We're their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up their fortunes with the sweat of our brows, and yet we are to live as separate as if we were in two worlds…’ Based in the industrial unrest of 1840s Manchester, Mary Barton is a factory-worker's daughter living a working-class life in Victorian England. She soon attracts the attentions of the mill-owner's son, Harry Carson, and in the hope that marrying him will improve her prospects and help her to transcend class boundaries, she rejects her former lover Jem Wilson. However, when Harry is shot the main suspect is Jem and Mary finds herself torn between the two men. At the same time, she discovers that her father, John Barton, who has been active in fighting for the rights of his fellow workers is implicated in the murder. Gaskell's exploration of the class division and the oppression of the working-class is demonstrated effectively through the character of Mary, highlighting how lack of communication and mistrust can arise through such vast differences in lifestyle and wealth.

Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) was a British novelist and short-story writer. Her works were Victorian social histories across many strata of society. Her most famous works include Mary Barton, Cranford, North and South, and Wives and Daughters.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780007449910
ISBN 10	0007449917
Title	Mary Barton
Author	Elizabeth Gaskell
Series	Collins Classics
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers
Year published	2012-05-03
Number of pages	544
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.