Author:Elizabeth Gaskell
The Penguin English Library Edition of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
"Eh, miss, but that be a rare young lady! She do have such pretty coaxing ways ..."
Seventeen-year-old Molly Gibson worships her widowed father. But when he decides to remarry, Molly's life is thrown off course by the arrival of her vain, shallow and selfish stepmother. There is some solace in the shape of her new stepsister Cynthia, who is beautiful, sophisticated and irresistible to every man she meets. Soon the girls become close, and Molly finds herself cajoled into becoming a go-between in Cynthia's love affairs. But in doing so, Molly risks ruining her reputation in the gossiping village of Hollingford - and jeopardizing everything with the man she is secretly in love with.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
Instantly ranks her among the most interesting and exciting of British writers
—— Will SelfFast paced and finely timed...ambitious and satisfying
—— Harpers and QueenSharp and feisty...a riotous read
—— TatlerSeamlessly blends the sarcastic and the sincere, the comic and the tragic . . . stylish and spirited
—— New York TimesA smashing success
—— NewsdayA beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life… I’m amazed a novel this good escaped general attention for so long
—— Ian McEwanA brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise, and elegant novel
—— Nick Hornby , The BelieverSomething rarer than a great novel -- it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away...few stories this sad could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating.
—— New York TimesA beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself
—— Geoff DyerThe most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again
—— New StatesmanUnquestionably one of the finest novels of the 20th century, its genius lies in its candour and in prose that simmers with subtle intent.
—— Irish TimesThe word-of-mouth hit of the summer. Read it and you’ll see why
—— Daily TelegraphIt’s as if this novel is about all of us: our hopes, disappointments and sorrows… a lesson in values, told with love and awe
—— Bel Mooney , Daily MailA wonderful novel, rich and sombre, a record of pain and less but also of moments of vision and tenderness... flawless
—— Adam Foulds , IndependentThis short-but-striking novel quickly reveals itself to be…crime fiction, yes, but also a subtle and deeply introspective consideration of the inertia of lonely middle-age, its philosophy existentialist in the manner of Jean Paul Sartre, Ingmar Bergman and certain novels of Georges Simenon. The result is a highly complex and accomplished work
—— Billy O'Callaghan , Irish ExaminerIntriguing tale… Solstad expertly navigates the bizarre mind of a clever but lonely man locked in an existentialist nightmare
—— TelegraphThis is no straightforward crime novel…an exploration of guilt, inaction and moral quandaries
—— Nic Bottomley , Bath Life
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