VINTAGE CLASSICS : WIVES AND DAUGHTERS – ELIZABETH GASKELL

This tender story of parents, children and step-children, mistakes and secrets was Elizabeth Gaskell s last novel and is considered her masterpiece. Set in the watchful society of Hollingford, this is a warm tale of love and longing. Molly Gibson is the spirited, loyal daughter of the local doctor. Their peaceful close-knit home is turned upside down when Molly s father decides to remarry. Whilst Molly struggles to adjust to her snobbish stepmother, she forms a close relationship with her glamorous new stepsister Cynthia. The strength of this friendship is soon tested as their lives become entwined with Squire Hamley and his two sons. ‘Gaskell s work will always be one of the adornments of liberal Britain’ Guardian