The Penguin English Library edition of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. "How am I supposed to dress up and go to fancy parties after the sadness I've seen today?" Elizabeth Gaskell's compassionate, richly dramatic novel features one of the most original and fully developed female characters in Victorian literature: Margaret Hale. The book shows how, forced to move from the countryside to an industrial northern city, she develops a passionate sense of social justice and forges a turbulent relationship with factory owner John Thornton. North and South depicts a young woman discovering herself, in a nuanced portrayal of what divides and unites people. The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very earliest novels to the beginning of the First World War.