Wives and Daughters
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell is a reprint edition published by Penguin on January 1, 1997, featuring 720 pages in English. This novel unfolds a story of romance, scandal, and intrigue set within a watchful, gossiping English village during the early nineteenth century. The narrative centers on seventeen-year-old Molly Gibson, whose life is disrupted by her father’s remarriage to a vain stepfather and the arrival of her glamorous stepsister, Cynthia. As the two girls confide in each other, Molly becomes entangled in Cynthia’s romantic affairs, risking her own reputation and the affections of the man she secretly loves.
Readers will find a rich exploration of human relationships and societal critique in this work, which reflects Gaskell’s keen understanding of mid-Victorian society. The edition also includes notes on textual variants from the original manuscript, a discussion on the story’s ending, and an introduction that delves into themes such as Englishness, Darwinism, and masculine authority. This text is based on the 1866 version published in Cornhill Magazine, providing a comprehensive look at Gaskell’s final novel, often regarded as her finest.
Official synopsis Publisher
A story of romance, scandal and intrigue within the confines of a watchful, gossiping English village during the early nineteenth century
When seventeen-year-old Molly Gibson’s widowed father remarries, her life is turned upside down by the arrival of her vain, manipulative stepfather. She also acquires an intriguing new stepsister, Cynthia, glamorous, sophisticated and irresistible to every man she meets. The two girls begin to confide in one another and Molly soon finds herself a go-between in Cynthia’s love affairs – but in doing so risks losing both her own reputation and the man she secretly loves. Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Elizabeth Gaskell’s last novel – considered to be her finest – demonstrates an intelligent and compassionate understanding of human relationships, and offers a witty, ironic critique of mid-Victorian society.
This text is based on the 1866 Cornhill Magazine version of the novel. It also includes notes on textual variants between this edition and the original manuscript, a note on the story’s ending and an introduction discussing the novel’s challenging investigation of themes of Englishness, Darwinism and masculine authority.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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