Cranford

by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell's affectionate portrait of a small English town governed by its genteel spinsters turns everyday visits, small economies and quiet losses into comedy of the truest, kindest sort.

At a glance In a little country town ruled almost entirely by its unmarried ladies, the great events… What it's about Cranford gathers linked sketches of life in a genteel provincial town… Narrated by a younger visitor who comes and goes, the book records the community's tea… Themes Gaskell writes tenderly about genteel poverty and the elaborate codes that…

Cranford gathers linked sketches of life in a genteel provincial town dominated by its older women, chief among them the gentle, proud Miss Matty.