Elizabeth Gaskell, página 4 de 12

A través de la emblemática figura de unas hermanas solteronas asistimos a los pequeños y grandes acontecimientos de una pequeña comunidad. El paisaje, la ambientación e incluso los personajes de esta novela estan tomados del pueblecito en que la autora paso su infancia, Knutsford, y en un retrato lleno de humor y afecto se nos presentan valores y costumbres que la Revolucion Industrial estaba transformando rapidamente.

'Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent, are women.' In this witty and poignant comedy of early-Victorian life in a country town, Elizabeth Gaskell describes the uneventful lives of the lady-like inhabitants so as to offer an ironic commentary on the diverse experiences of men and women. She explores the unlikely juxtapositions of old and new brought about by the pace of change: the effects of Victorian commerce and imperial expansion co-exist with the survival of customs and habits of thought from much earlier times. This edition has detailed notes and a new introduction which discusses the originality and subtlety of the book's angle on women's experience.

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The supreme Roman epic and the greatest poem in Latin, the Aeneid has inspired many of the great European poets including Dante and Milton. The Trojan hero Aeneas, after surviving the sack of Troy, makes his way to the West, urged on by benevolent deities and following a destiny laid down by Jupiter, but harassed and impeded by the goddess Juno. He wins his way to Italy despite many trials, of which the greatest is the tragic outcome of his love affair with Dido, Queen of Carthage. In Italy Aeneas visits the world of the dead, and is forced to wage a fearful war with the indigenous Italian tribes before he can found his city and open the history of Rome. The Aeneid survives as a poem not only of Roman imperialism but also of the whole world of human passion, duty and suffering.

Set in Manchester in the 1840s, Mary Barton depicts the effects of economic and physical hardship upon the city's working-class community. Paralleling the novel's treatment of the relationship between masters and men, the suffering of the poor, and the workmen's angry response, is the story of Mary herself--a factory-worker's daughter who attracts the attentions of the mill-owner's son, who becomes caught up in the violence of class conflict when a brutal murder forces her to confront her true feelings and allegiances. This new edition reproduces the last edition of the novel supervised by Gaskell. The introduction provides historical and biographical context to the novel, a survey of critical responses to Mary Barton, and argues that Gaskell was chiefly concerned with the importance of communication as a means of healing breaches between people. In addition, the book contains an up-to-date critical biography, revised notes and appendixes that include Gaskell's rough draft and outline of the novel's conclusion. This is Elizabeth Gaskell at her best, and Shirley Foster's edition is both sagacious and formally accurate. The appendices are invaluable and the explanatory notes are relevant without being obtrusive. A must for readers of Mary Barton. Dr. Antonio Ballesteros-Gonzalez, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

Mary Gaskell's North and South examines the nature of social authority and obedience and provides an insightful description of the role of middle class women in nineteenth century society. Through the story of Margaret Hale, a southerner who moves to the northern industrial town of Milton, Gaskell skillfully explores issues of class and gender, as Margaret's sympathy for the town mill workers conflicts with her growing attraction to the mill owner, John Thornton. This new and revised expanded edition sets the novel in the context of Victorian social and medical debate.

El 1691, després de la mort dels seus pares, la jove Lois Barclay ha de creuar l'Atlàntic per arribar a Salem, Nova Anglaterra, on l'acull la família del seu oncle. Era un territori encara salvatge i

A los diecisiete años, Paul Manning, de Birmingham, llega a la pequeña población de Eltham como ayudante del ingeniero del ferrocarril. No muy lejos, en una granja, viven unos parientes de su madre: el pastor de la Iglesia Independiente Holman, su mujer y su hija, a los que a regaña-dientes se ve obligado a visitar. Sin embargo, la vida pausada que alli descubre, regida como en las Georgicas de Virgilio por el calendario de las labores del campo, y el conocimiento de su prima Phillis, una muchacha que le aventaja en altura, cultura y sensibilidad, le iniciaran en un nuevo mundo en el que se adentra con respeto y fascinacion. La prima Phillis (1863-1864) es una de las ultimas obras de Elizabeth Gas-kell y un ejemplo maestro de su estilo de madurez: en ella describe con lirismo una forma de vida en la que la espiritualidad se halla en profun-da comunion con la naturaleza, pero donde la esencial fragilidad del corazon humano quiza no este protegida contra las buenas intenciones y la inexperiencia de un joven. Un hombre ha de tener cuidado con las artes de seduccion que despliega. Algunos lo hacen con la naturalidad e inocencia con que se arrullan las palomas: no seguir este consejo puede traer dolorosos equivocos, que en esta novela, moderna en su punto de vista y en su final abierto, dan pie a un magnifico tratamiento de la intimidad.

«Dibujó la sociedad de su tiempo como nadie, no eludió la crítica social y jamás le faltó una pizca de humor en sus obras» Manuel de la FuenteLa casa del páramo fue publicada como «cuento de Navidad»