Before You Begin

Before you begin.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford invites you into a small English town where the women set the rules of daily life. Mary Smith looks back on its calls, card parties, clothes, household economies and close-knit friendships with affection and a gently comic eye. Tiny details—a carefully served cup of tea, a disputed social rule, a neighbor’s kindness—can matter as much here as grand events do elsewhere.

First published in 1853, the novel gathers episodes around a community whose habits are both a source of pride and a way of meeting uncertainty. Gaskell notices the limits imposed by money and status, while allowing wit, loyalty and practical care to shape the town’s character. The story’s pleasures lie in its changing voices and customs, and in the differences between what Cranford’s residents say and what they do for one another.

Read at the pace of a visit. The illustrated plates offer a companion to the people, rooms and streets of Cranford; the novel itself supplies the best guide to its humor and its generous view of ordinary life.