Cranford

Narrated by Mary Smith, this episodic Victorian novel observes life within the small Cheshire market town of Cranford. The community is dominated by a close-knit circle of genteel widows and spinsters led by the moral and traditional Miss Matty Jenkyns. Through everyday occurrences, financial hardships, and visiting eccentrics, the narrative affectionately explores changing social customs, female solidarity, and quiet endurance.

by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Harper & Brothers · First published 1851 · 329 pages