Product Description

The plot turns on Mary's romantic choice between the son of a rich industrialist and a working-class lover. The class-divide and the widening gap between rich and poor are central themes in a novel originally named after Mary Barton's father, John Barton.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1838426 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
While Mary Barton is literally a murder mystery, it is also an abundantly detailed and sympathetic view of the nineteenth-century English weaving village of Manchester and some of its people. Mary Barton is young, kind, and beautiful - perhaps dangerously so. John Barton, her hearty and intelligent but grievously uneducated father who "could never abide the gentlefolk," pours fierce love and courage into his family and work. When Mary's beautiful Aunt Esther disappears, her beauty is blamed: "Not but what beauty is a sad snare. Here was Esther so puffed up, that there was no holding her in." Mary's love - for her father, her friends, her charming rich suitor (the son of a factory owner), and his rival, her faithful childhood friend Jem who "loves her above life itself" - provides rich texture and suspense in this finely spun tale: will Mary's pride be her ruin? Will Jem pay with his life for his love of Mary? Interspersed with sparse but regular authorial observation, scenes from family life, work, and love in a nineteenth-century industrial village come alive. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen

Review

"The notes are remarkable for their clarity and their completeness. Usually I am not fond of introductions, but Professor Wright's essentially historicist rendering of the tale is on the mark."--George Evans Light, Stanford University
"First-rate edition!"--Suzanne Ozment, The Citadel

From the Publisher
Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.

Customer Reviews

A passionate, powerful tale of poverty and injustice
This is possibly the most devastating, yet uplifting novels I've ever read. The book explores the lives of the working class poor in Manchester, England, during the 1840s, a period of strife and hunger. The pretty, young, naive Mary Barton persues a romance with handsome, dashing Harry Carson, son the mill owner, while spurning the attentions of her childhood friend, Jem Wilson, who loves her passionately. Mary's intentions, however, are less than noble; while certainly attracted to Harry, she wishes to improve the lot of herself and her father, John, who, disconsolate over the loss of his wife and only son and the attendant poverty after the loss of his job, has slipped into a daze of opium and seeks vengeance against the Carsons for putting him into this position. This eventually leads to tragedy and redemption. Gaskell writes as if her life depended on it; she describes the horrible conditions of the Manchester poor with searing vision, and makes the influence of radicalism completely understandable, even if she doesn't always agree with it. The delineation of character is quite remarkable; one's heart beats faster as Mary realises who it is she really loves and particularly when she is forced to protect, against incredible odds, both of the men that truly love her. Admittedly, the second half of the book, detailing the murder and subsequent trial, is quite melodramatic, but it's grippingly told. A magnificent work that should be required reading.

A Truthful Depiction of the 19th Century Working Class Life
Actually I read this book in three days' time (it can be even faster if I don't have to go to school). Anyway, Mrs. Gaskell's depiction of the working class people in Manchester during the 19th century was so vivid that you can just *see* and *feel* how the rich and the poor's lives were like back then by turning the pages. I believe no one who had read this book will not to some extent feel pity for the tragic hero, John Barton, in the story. But aside from this formal social theme being presented in the novel, there is also a very strong sense of religious/moral theme in it (espeically near the end of the story), as well as some drama and romance in it. Definitely worth a read, especially to those who are interested in Victorian Literature.

Compelling reading.
Gaskell wrote one of the most vivid descriptions of the gap between rich and poor in this novel of the Manchester 'hungry forties'.

The romantic plot centers around the murder of the son of a factory owner. While well written, the plot romance and mystery are almost cursory in comparison to the loving detail that Gaskell lavishes on Alice Wilson, the temptation of Esther, and all the little points of life in deep poverty. Gaskell is compassionate and clear-sighted in her writing, making this a very nice read.

Mary Barton appeals to readers of all ages, and works at the level of both plot and social history. Recommended for fans of the period, historians, and general readers.