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Elizabeth Gaskell
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MARY BARTON: A Tale of Manchester Life, With Author's Biography Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Gaskell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 1,401
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Mary Barton is set in the English city of Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian working class. John Barton is a questioner of the distribution of wealth and the relations between rich and poor. Soon his wife dies—he blames it on her grief over the disappearance of her sister Esther. Having already lost his son Tom at a young age, Barton is left to raise his daughter, Mary, alone and now falls into depression and begins to involve himself in the Chartist, trade-union movement.
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) was an English novelist and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Some of Gaskell's best known novels are Cranford, North and South, and Wives and Daughters.
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  1. Reading age
    9 years and up
  2. Print length
    321 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    e-artnow
  5. Publication date
    December 9, 2017
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1973818335
  11. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0787RY25J
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ e-artnow (December 9, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 9, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5099 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 1,401

About the author

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Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell

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Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was born in London in 1810, but she spent her formative years in Cheshire, Stratford-upon-Avon and the north of England. In 1832 she married the Reverend William Gaskell, who became well known as the minister of the Unitarian Chapel in Manchester’s Cross Street. As well as leading a busy domestic life as minister’s wife and mother of four daughters, she worked among the poor, traveled frequently and wrote. Mary Barton (1848) was her first success.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,401 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Memorable
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2010
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I am a huge Elizabeth Gaskell Fan, but hadn't read Mary Barton yet. I think I was scared off by the summary of the book which made it sound a bit depressing. But this is such a wonderful book! Gaskell writes with such apt descriptions as to make you really feel like you become part of that Manchester world. The chapter detailing the mill fire and rescue had me sitting on the edge of my seat. She manages to convey suspense in a way that's not overdone or cute-sy.

I loved this Oxford edition that had an appendix. It really increased my understanding of the original meaning of words not common to us now. You get the sense that Gaskell picked every word with so much care, and with the intention of providing the deepest understanding. Knowing her personal history with regard to why she wrote this book (the death of her child) made the book more meaningful to me, too, because there is a lot of strife and suffering in this book amid the hope that Mary has.

The characters are rich and unforgettable. Anyone that is a Gaskell or Austin fan should give Mary Barton a try. I'm so glad I did.
4 people found this helpful
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S. Pactor
4.0 out of 5 stars Early Novelistic Depiction of the Plight of the Industrial Working Class
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2011
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Like I said yesterday, the mass market makes all Modern Art possible, it is what they call "sine qua non" in the legal profession. There is no better example of this phenomenon then the example of the so-called Rise of the Novel. The Rise of the Novel led to the hey-day of the Novel as an autonomous art form, Richardson and De Foe, a printer and hack writer respectively, gave way to The Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens: Self-conscious stylists who were both aware of the novel as a form of art AND the tastes and needs of the mass market. This is a period that lasted until the "Modern" Literature revolution of 1922, a year in which T.S. Eliot published The Wasteland and James Joyce published Ulysses. The modernist revolution carried with it a rejection of the mass market and the accompanying idea of the autonomous, independent artist/creator typically in the guise of some kind of authenticity/purity requirement.

I would argue that this beginning of audience-less art was a wrong turn. To give an example of how the rejection of mass market appeal began to pollute the form of the Novel, you can look at Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, Mary Barton. Mary Barton was published in 1848, but set in the 1830s, in Manchester during a national recession/depression. Mary Barton is at least partially written in dialect, and it concerns the murder of a Factory owner's son and the ensuing investigation. Mary Barton herself is a Manchester Dress Shop girl (not a factory girl) who is the shared object of attraction between the murdered and the accused.

Mary Barton is kind of like the smash-hit book/movie The Help because Barton herself lived in Manchester and was part of the factory-owning social class in Manchester when this book was published. Awkward talk at parties, for sure. At the time it was published, Mary Barton was hailed for what critics call it's "realism" but that's probably because the vocabulary for expressing concerns over class disparity was in it's infancy- Marxism hadn't even "happened" when Mary Barton was published. Realistic depiction of the living conditions of the industrial working class was definitively a "trend" when Mary Barton was written, and the similar factual depictions of these conditions- in Government and reformers reports, had been available for ten years.

But the introduction of the labor union stuff certainly diminishes the style of the Novel. Her third person Narrator hovers awkwardly over the proceedings, and the essential tie between the underlying economic conditions and the behavior of the characters seems forced. At the same time, there is sheer joy in the depictions themselves, as well as the dialect of the characters. One interesting point along this line is that the word "ask" is repeatedly written as "ax" a linguistic phenomenon that exists up until today.

Already though in 1848 you can foresee the perilous rocks of social concern and grand artistic purpose beginning to creep into a previously joyous art form. Critics are beginning to fence off the territory of "realism" from sloppy description and social consciousness is beginning rear its style-wrecking head. At the end of the process, in about 1922, the novel will take it's leave from the concerns of the audience and depart on a journey into the heart of self-awareness, but in 1848 no one was there yet.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Rich, Poor, Responsibility, Forgiveness
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2019
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"Mary Barton" is set in England in the 1840s and deals with the hardship and suffering experienced by the workers during the rise of industry. The plot contrasts the difference between the factory owners and those who work in the factories. While the workers suffer deprivation and poverty when work is low, the owners seem to continue their lavish lifestyles.
The plot centers around Mary Barton and her working-class father John and their friends. Mary is flattered by the attention of a wealthy young man, and she rejects the love of a young man of her own class. Meanwhile, her father becomes increasingly discontented and angry about his plight and that of his friends.
There is mystery, murder, suspense, and romance, which make for interesting reading. Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully presents both sides of the problems faced by the characters and examines them from the perspective of Christian principles.
I highly recommend this book.
6 people found this helpful
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gran 80
3.0 out of 5 stars A love story. Masters and Hands in 19 century England.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2019
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I enjoyed reading North and South and knew Mary Barton was Elizabeth Gaskell’s first attempt to write about the great inequality in the manufacturing at the turn of the century. It was a very popular subject then.
The plot was rather predictable, the language rich and satisfying if only she had come to the ending without expanding poor Mary’s predicaments. Still, it was a good start for her later books most of which were made into movies. Mary Barton never won that fame. It was well worth reading. I appreciate how much work must have gone into the book and it shows she must have worked hard to achieve the success with her later books. Her ability to develop all characters throughout the story was a great appeal to me.
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PH
5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST!
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2023
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No one speaks better than Elizabeth for the masters and men of the industrial town. Manchester or Milton. The belief in humanity, the every aspects of love, the selflessness and selfishness; Elizabeth does all justice.
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amy
4.0 out of 5 stars Death ties up all the loose ends
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023
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The tale was fairly easy to follow, avoided the convoluted and long-winded Dickensian method. The individual characters are sometimes overdone in their leanings toward one or another faults, but that keeps each very distinguishable from the other. The story line folds the dire struggles of the working poor with the careless opulence of the rich, showing how desperate the men and women are to survive and yet succumb to various diseases and woes as a result of miserable living conditions and poor wages. Unionization is discussed as well as the workings of a kangaroo court that attempts to incriminate the wrong man in a murder.
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Susie Delk
5.0 out of 5 stars I feel as if I am there when I open the pages.
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2023
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Ever read a book n when u think about it during the day it’s as if you think “I need to go back there”? It’s like a secret place u like to go to n can go anytime u open the book. Good moral story. Right was right n wrong was wrong back then. Such a shame we’ve lost that.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lara Maciel
5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Barton
Reviewed in Brazil on April 27, 2022
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Excelente, apesar de ser um pouco maior do que eu esperava
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Esther Premkumar
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you
Reviewed in India on September 29, 2020
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Happy with this purchase
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JC
5.0 out of 5 stars book for school
Reviewed in Italy on April 12, 2020
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ok
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read which clearly evokes nineteenth century northern life. Five stars.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2020
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Elizabeth Gaskell’s debut novel is my first classic novel of the year, having set myself a goal of reading more classic literature, particularly focusing on nineteenth century novelists. I must say that prior to reading this I was already a fan of Gaskell’s work, having greatly enjoyed reading North and South, and watching the TV adaptations of both this and Cranford.

Mary Barton is set in early Victorian Manchester, a grimy, industrial place, where life is hard and poverty is rife. Those familiar with North and South will recognise the early emergence of similar themes: the plight of the poor, the apparent indifference of the wealthy, and the class tensions bred in large part by the socio-economic precarity faced by all. As in her subsequent novel, Mrs Gaskell addresses these overarching themes with sympathy and understanding, giving them context through her setting and relevance to her characters, thus demonstrating both their complexity and dire consequences.

The novel is written with a third-person omniscient narrative voice, a highly fashionable choice of narrative in Mrs Gaskell’s era. As a result, the narrator knows all of the characters’ thoughts, feelings and motivations, as well as their pasts, presents and futures. For modern readers, used to the more limited omniscience and the subtleties of ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’ which are common traits in modern literature, this can take a bit of getting used to. However, the narrative style doesn’t detract from the dramatic elements of the story, as the novel is well structured to ensure that the reader doesn’t learn everything all at once.

The title character, Mary, is a well-drawn and sympathetic heroine, who develops through the novel from a naive girl who makes some youthful mistakes into a brave young woman who, despite facing impossible choices, determines to chart the correct course. Like most of Gaskell’s characters Mary isn’t perfect, which serves to make her more endearing. The supporting cast around her is also wonderful, and I particularly warmed to Mary’s friend, Margaret, and her grandfather, Job Legh. At times I found Mary’s two love interests, Henry and Jem, a little two-dimensional; Henry’s sudden death means that his feelings towards Mary are never fully explored, whilst Jem is absent for great swathes of the novel, only really coming into his own towards the end. I would have liked to have known them both better, but overall this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel.

Finally, the dialogue is rich and authentic, filled with wonderful dialect words and expressions from the period. As a Lancastrian it was a joy to read; I could hear those Mancunian accents clearly in my head. For those less familiar with northern English dialects, the public domain edition I purchased included a glossary of terms embedded in the text, which at times proved useful. -- Sarah L King, author of The Gisburn Witch.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely story of Manchester
Reviewed in Australia on April 20, 2020
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It's a story of Manchester and how life was in the mid 1800s. There's a murder and a lot of tension. The characters are very interesting and I enjoyed the story, but it was very long.
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