Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton

Mary Barton was one of the first Elizabeth Gaskell books I ever read and I have read that the book can be regarded very seriously as a contribution to sociology. The background is the birth of labour, the union and the strike. Mary Barton the heroine is a cotton mill worker, and although the book is an enjoyable read, I do not feel she is as as well drawn, interesting or convincing a heroine as Molly in Wives and Daughters or Margaret in North and South. However I love all Elizabeth Gaskell's books. I love her zest for life, the fact she sees the viewpoints of many different people with different views and backgrounds. She conveys beautifully the excitement of the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. I think she is a great writer who also gives an unusual perspective of the 19th Century working class.