Allie at A Literary Odyssey is hosting a Cranford Read-Along in two parts. Today being part one, discussing Chapters 1-8
Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Cranford is a witty piece of Victorian literature, with the town Cranford being based off of Knutsford in Cheshire. Cranford is not so much a novel than a series of short stories which all seem to intertwine, making this chapters very easy to put down and fall back easily into the town of Cranford with it’s eclectic characters and antics.
I think my favorite story is that of Peter Jenkyns, Matty and Deborah’s long lost brother. Peter is what you would call a “juvenile delinquent” of that time. Dressing in woman’s clothing, sauntering around town to see if people will notice and tricking his father into explaining his sermons to an apparently interested young lady. Eventually, Peter is found out and flogged in public by his father. Due to this embarrassment Peter disappears becoming a wandering traveler of sorts before joining the militia; letting his whereabouts be know to his family only to disappear again. I think the reason I enjoyed this story is because it does show the good and the bad, with a chain reaction to one parent’s actions.
Another favorite of mine was Lady Glenmire’s visit and the girls of Cranford in a tizzy over how to behave. I pictured something like a Marx Brothers movie and Faulty Towers colliding. I could totally see Groucho giving the dog cream and the guests milk.
Lastly, I love that the narrator is an outsider from the town who can give an unbiased telling of these stories. I live in a small town as well and am not considered to be “from here” as I didn’t grow up in the community so sometimes feel like an outsider myself. Therefore I appreciated our narrator’s take on the village of Cranford.
Poor old Peter! Yes, I definitely found him a character! Interesting that you understand first hand what it is like to live in a small town.
Oooo I wish I had time to do this read along 🙂
I loved Peter's story too. I thought it was so sad that a joke like that could get blown out of proportion, cause him to leave and break his mother's heart. I'm looking forward to reading the rest!
I got your post linked up. I was having problems with Blogger (again) last night and earlier today, so it is all there now.
Peter is my favorite too! I love the background history and how it all seems to weave together. I'm looking forward to everyone's thoughts on the ending!
Cranfield has been on my list for a while now because I love Victorian novels. Looking forward to reading about this read-along 🙂