Cranford
Witty
Heartwarming
Simple

Cranford

A portrait of life in a quiet English country town during the mid-nineteenth century follows the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two elderly spinster sisters living in reduced circumstances.
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Reviews

Photo of Erin Darlyn
Erin Darlyn@erindarlyn
3 stars
Jan 25, 2024

A sweet, enjoyable read. Character-driven rather than plot-driven, so it was a bit slow at times. The characters were delightful, though, and the writing was good. Worth reading at least once.

Photo of Sarah Pitts
Sarah Pitts@sez
4 stars
Jan 9, 2024

4.5 stars! a delightful, funny novel. a little slow but so, so rewarding.

Photo of Abi Hills
Abi Hills@abiariel
3 stars
Aug 2, 2022

It feels almost sacrilege to give this 3 stars when I've rated worse books this year with that amount, I wish I could give it a more accurate rating. Basically, it's a different kind of 3-star book. It comes much more highly recommended than other books I rated with this amount. I think one of the problems was I watched the TV show first, and it's a favourite of mine. This meant I had high expectations, and although the TV show kept in most of the nice details, its expansion of the story meant the book fell flat. The book lacked the same level of depth that the show did. I think I may have rated this higher if I had read this first, and then the show would just seem like a nice development of the book and not better. I was also... a little bored. I read other books in between, which I don't often do. At one point I had 3 books on the go. It didn't suck me in the way I thought it would. If I wasn't reading it as part of my reading challenge I might've used it as a book to dip in and out of. The writing style felt rushed. We were told whole stories in mere paragraphs, and there was not enough dialogue, and when there was there were too many monologues. This is normal for a classic, so I can't complain too much about this as many books of the time were written like this. It also suits the idea that it's almost a compilation of small stories linked together. Still, I wasn't a fan of this. Long story short I'm disappointed, but I still enjoyed it partially. I just wish I had read the book first.

Photo of Jade Flynn
Jade Flynn@jadeflynn
3 stars
Nov 20, 2021

With reading both Wives and Daughters and North and South this year, it is clear that Cranford is Gaskell trying to find her footing as an author. Which is understandable. All the themes which appear in her later works are here, but they are underdeveloped and in need of polishing. With that being said, I don't think it's a great place to start reading Gaskell, it might put you off although it is hilarious at times. Save this until you've read her powerhouses. I still very much enjoyed Cranford and it's a delight to see the author she did in the end become.

Photo of Paulina
Paulina @kotkulturowa
4 stars
Nov 17, 2021

To jedna z najurokliwszych książek jakie czytałam.

Photo of Josephine Lemonade
Josephine Lemonade @josephinelemonade
4 stars
Nov 4, 2021

"we all love Miss Matty, and I somehow think we are all of us better when she is near us"

Photo of Alexia Cambaling
Alexia Cambaling@alexiacambaling
3 stars
Oct 30, 2021

A charming story about a town dominated by women, mostly single or widowed. Not a lot happening but you do feel closer to the inhabitants of this town as the book goes on. It also has an episodic structure so it's like vignettes of the things that are happening. I liked it, but not as much as the author's North and South. Still, a good character study of independent women in Victorian Britain.

+4
Photo of Binish Fatima
Binish Fatima@binishhh
4 stars
Oct 27, 2021

Female society driven novel

Photo of Martina Méndez Fernández
Martina Méndez Fernández@atethepomegranate
4 stars
Oct 25, 2021

4'5/5, porque me parece genial el modo en que se presentan los personajes y las escenas, muy al estilo de las series de "vida cotidiana" a las que estamos acostumbrados hoy en día.

Photo of Mandy
Mandy@heymandy
4 stars
Oct 24, 2023
Photo of Novel Ideas
Novel Ideas@efrali
3.5 stars
Aug 5, 2022
+5
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Arta@artuditu
3 stars
Feb 9, 2022
Photo of Rocío de la Hera
Rocío de la Hera@rdlhbooks
3 stars
Jul 25, 2024
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Yasmin@yasamarante
4 stars
Jan 12, 2024
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Clare B@hadaly
3 stars
Jan 3, 2023
Photo of Joshua Line
Joshua Line@fictionjunky
4 stars
Dec 30, 2022
Photo of Nicole Sonja
Nicole Sonja@nicolesonja
4 stars
Dec 10, 2022
Photo of Lia
Lia @liafrosio
4 stars
Nov 3, 2022
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Ayden@pegasus
3 stars
Aug 25, 2022
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Eloise@elcrivain
3 stars
Aug 12, 2022
Photo of Celeste Richardson
Celeste Richardson@cecereadsandsings
3 stars
Aug 11, 2022
Photo of Yulande Lindsay
Yulande Lindsay@lande5191
4 stars
Jun 6, 2022
Photo of Lily
Lily@variouslilies
4 stars
Mar 30, 2022
Photo of Roz
Roz@irasobrietate
5 stars
Mar 27, 2022