Mary Barton (Abridged) Audiobook

" I loved this book... I had to read it for class and once I started I couldn't put it down... It's a great read for those people that love powerful endings:) "

" I really wanted to like this book, because I like Elizabeth Gaskell, and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. While there is some heavy-handed moralization, I chalk up some of that to the time period, and simply let it go (though I have to admit that there were some rather long moralizing parts that I just simply skipped). The plot is a little melodramatic (and at times a little hard to believe), but it was entertaining. I like books that show the condition of the times, and this was certainly not a rosy picture. Overall, not as good as North and South, but worth reading. "

" Murder, prostitution, blindness, a melodramatic love story - what more could you want from a Victorian novel? "

" I'd forgotten how good Mrs Gaskell is. Mary Barton made me want to re-read North and South, her brilliant novel of the textile trade during the Industrial Revolution. "

" I loved the plot in this book and thought it would make a fabulous Masterpiece Theater film. "

" Elizabeth Gaskell was a bit of a hippy. Her response to the conflicts between factory owners and labourers in rapidly industralised Manchester can pretty much be summarised, "Why can't we all just try and get along?". And if things don't work out where you are, just move to Canada. "

" I found little to enjoy about this book. The characters are vapid...the insight I gained into their lives and motivations was inadequate to capture my interest and concern. I would not recommend it. I left the book feeling unconvinced that Elizabeth Gaskell truly cared about the social issues she wrote about. On second thought, maybe she did care, but she had not really made a conclusion about it and thus didn't have a cohesive point to make. I wasn't sure what to conclude at the end of it all, and didn't really care. "

" This book has it all; flirtation, revenge, murder, justice, forgiveness and everlasting love. Characters among three families in different classes/ranks, struggle to accept their walks of life and the love found in and outside of their class. Fantastic ending! "

" It took me some time to get used to the Northern slang, but then I found the book suspensful and heartbreaking. "

" I read this for study and really enjoyed it, it crosses over many genres and its a really enjoyable read :) "

" Read North and South instead. It's a much more nuanced and sure-handed exploration of the same basic themes. "

" Love this era authors. Wish there were more. Everything by Elizabeth Gaskell is great! "

" Not as good as "North and South", this seemed to indulge in melodrama rather too much in the middle section. The eponymous heroine does not hold as much interest as some of the surrounding characters, particularly a rather irritable mother who seemed very much drawn from real life. "

" This is a very intense book. I enjoy Gaskell's style, definitely not a Jane Austen type of book, actually feels like a mix of Dickens and Charlotte Bronte. Pretty long, with a lot of twists. Somewhat depressing at the beginning, because it shows in such detail the difficulties of the very poor. Pleasing ending. "

" A haunting and beautifully glorious tale of wretchedness and restoration and a fine exploration of Carlyle's 'Captains of Industry.' Industrial socialism at its most harrowing and a good read indeed. I deeply recommend it to all. "

" I liked it, but not as much as her others. Her female characters in this book annoyed me. All were gentle and soft and prone to fainting. Ugh. But it was still a captivating story, full of moral ambiguity and tender moments. "

" I always enjoy Elizabeth Gaskell! "

" Being patient is the hardest work we, have to do through life. Waiting is far more difficult than doing; but it's one of God's lessons we all must learn, one way or another... "

" It's a great book. It tells about the life in England during the Victorian era where the social classes mattered and created a wide gap in society and crimes. "

" A fun listen, a very pre-women's lib heroine "

" The story was great but got a little ridiculous at parts....could have been about 10 chapters shorter. "

" It took until the halfway point of the book for anything significant to actually happen. The entire first half of the book is one painful incident after another seasoned with mass suffering. "

" An interesting look at the working class in Manchester. I really enjoyed this book. Gaskell uses vivid details that really make me feel for the characters. It's not an epic romance like "North & South" but it's a good book, definitely worth a read. "

" Please tell me why BBC has not made this in to a movie yet? "

" Dra-ma-tic. Which normally I would say is a good thing, keeping up the suspense of the story, however Mary's little epiphanic fulcrum moment regarding her love for Jem was (a little more than) slightly ridiculous. "

" Loved it, Loved it, Loved it!!!!! Why have we not read this book for Book club. "

" I always enjoy Elizabeth Gaskell! "

" depressing but it left a mark on my brain so... "

" not as good as North and South, but still a very telling love story set in the manufacturing area of England. The plight of the mill workers, starvation of children, the extreme poverty of the time. "

" I love reading stories set in this time period. This story has strength of character and strong morality, compassion and forgiveness. I love it. "

" I really liked this book. It was beautifully written in the old style (you have to be in the mood for classical language) and had some great character reversals and suspense. It was nice to be in the hands of a master. "

" Really enjoyed every second that I was reading this book, I almost kinda wanted to save it. I even got teary eyed towards the end! So excited to read another book of hers-I'm already a fan! This was her first book written, hmmm...which one next?! Thanks Dad for the recommendation. So fab! "

" I have to say that this book was little depressing, but good. I thought it was a bit slow at first, but it really got interesting in the middle. "

" It took me three attempts to finish this book. It is an example of my perseverance. "

" I found Mary to be an idiot and I think the idea was done better in North and South. "

" I enjoyed this book in spite of its depressing setting because it gave me insight to what kind of life my great great great grandmother led in England before immigrating to the United States. It also illustrated the strength and weakness of the human spirit. "

" I cried all the way through it. It will always be apart of me. "

" Another good book by Elizabeth Gaskell. Not as good as North and South or Wives and Daughters, also by Elizabeth Gaskell, but still good all the same. A lot of suffering in this book. I don't think I've read a book where more individual deaths were specifically covered in detail than in this book. "

" Rather long, draggy, melodramatic, and didactic--and all without having an especially engaging plot or characters. It would be easier to list the characters who didn't die of starvation rather than to list those who did. "

" I appreciated Gaskell's fair treatment of the relationship between the the factory owners and workers. She showed both sides and recommended communication and understanding as a way to acheive a mutually beneficial relationship. Sounds trite but doesn't seem to happen nearly enough today. "

" This should get no stars because 1: downer, and 2: I really hate Victorian women who faint a lot. That's just stupid and unhelpful. "

" Nice story throughout but it kind of went south towards the end, but that's excusable, considering it's a Victorian novel. They give out happy endings like popcorn chicken at a food court. "

" Her first novel. Entertaining, but wordy. My understanding is that her work was serialized by Dicken's in his Household Words magazine and it reads as such. As in North and South Gaskell examines the relationship between mill workers and the owners, poverty, love and social justice. "

" what a lovely story about charity and love for all people "

" The first time teaching this...and it was SO MUCH BETTER than I expected. Not that the students loved it, but the discussions were fabulous and well worth the attempt to teach a social problem novel. "

" The first time teaching this...and it was SO MUCH BETTER than I expected. Not that the students loved it, but the discussions were fabulous and well worth the attempt to teach a social problem novel. "

" Glad I read it but a bit melodramatic for my taste. "

" Glad I read it but a bit melodramatic for my taste. "

" I enjoyed this book in spite of its depressing setting because it gave me insight to what kind of life my great great great grandmother led in England before immigrating to the United States. It also illustrated the strength and weakness of the human spirit. "

" I enjoyed this book in spite of its depressing setting because it gave me insight to what kind of life my great great great grandmother led in England before immigrating to the United States. It also illustrated the strength and weakness of the human spirit. "

" Liked it. I love the minutiae of Victorian life. "

" Liked it. I love the minutiae of Victorian life. "

" I'm so squeamish, I didn't like the murder part, even though it was very brief. Loved Job's character and the Christian commentary. "

" I'm so squeamish, I didn't like the murder part, even though it was very brief. Loved Job's character and the Christian commentary. "

" I loved North and South, so thought I'd try another Elizabeth Gaskel novel. This book felt like a repeat of North and South several times, with the issues between the unions and masters in the cotton mills. The end got better, but I wouldn't read it again. "

" I loved North and South, so thought I'd try another Elizabeth Gaskel novel. This book felt like a repeat of North and South several times, with the issues between the unions and masters in the cotton mills. The end got better, but I wouldn't read it again. "

" I found Mary to be an idiot and I think the idea was done better in North and South. "

" I found Mary to be an idiot and I think the idea was done better in North and South. "

" This is the author's first novel and the lessons that one learns about class structure and the haves and have-nots will remain vivid in the reader's mind for a long time. --Joni "

" This is the author's first novel and the lessons that one learns about class structure and the haves and have-nots will remain vivid in the reader's mind for a long time. --Joni "

" Gaskell is a favorite author. I thought this was a good novel. From a modern perspective the amazing recovery from near blindness was a stretch. I liked the ending. "

" Gaskell is a favorite author. I thought this was a good novel. From a modern perspective the amazing recovery from near blindness was a stretch. I liked the ending. "