North and South cover art

North and South

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

North and South

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Exclusively from Audible

Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion; it poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern, and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature.

When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire and move with her family to the fictional industrial town of Milton in the north of England. Though at first disgusted by her new surroundings, she witnesses the brutality wrought by the Industrial Revolution and becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers. Sympathetic to the poor she makes friends among them and develops a fervent sense of social justice. She clashes with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, who is contemptuous of his workers. However, their fierce opposition masks a deeper attraction.

Gaskell based her depiction of Milton on Manchester, where she lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister. She was an accomplished writer, much of her work published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words including North and South which was originally published as a serial. She was also friends with Charlotte Brontë and after her death, her father, Patrick Brontë, chose Gaskell to write The Life of Charlotte Brontë.

Narrator Biography

Whether she's up on stage, behind the microphone or in front of the camera, Juliet Stevenson never fails to charm her audience...whoever they may be. Acting roles in Truly, Madly Deeply, Emma, Bend It like Beckham and Mona Lisa Smile have cemented her status as one of the great British actresses of our time. Meanwhile, her popular performances of hits such as Apple Tree Yard, the book that was turned into a TV series that people just couldn't stop talking about, have earned her an overwhelming amount of well-deserved praise for her spoken word talents.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Classics Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Heartfelt Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Wives and Daughters cover art
Middlemarch cover art
North and South cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
Mary Barton cover art
Persuasion cover art
Ruth cover art
Cousin Phillis cover art
Great Expectations cover art
Emma [Naxos Edition] cover art
Daniel Deronda cover art
David Copperfield cover art
Mansfield Park cover art
Into the Wilderness cover art
The Woman in White cover art
The Mill on the Floss cover art

Critic reviews

"[An] admirable story...full of character and power." (Charles Dickens)

What listeners say about North and South

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,304
  • 4 Stars
    501
  • 3 Stars
    130
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,299
  • 4 Stars
    277
  • 3 Stars
    55
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,965
  • 4 Stars
    485
  • 3 Stars
    139
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    11

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Superb narration of a multi-layered novel

I’ve read a couple of other books by Mrs Gaskell so had an idea of what to expect and I wasn’t disappointed. Its a very long book that explores the impact of loss of social status on a family, including the plucky central character Margaret Hale, against a backdrop of industrial unrest. Like Dickens, the author highlights the inequalities in society, however, I find her characters more realistic compared with Dicken’s propensity to create caricatures. It’s surprising that at the time Mrs Gaskell was regarded as inferior to Dickens and her books largely forgotten until recently. For me she’s up there with Trollope and Dickens without their tendency to have meek, soppy young heroines.

Juliet Stevenson’s narration is superb and more like a radio drama owing to her ability to create so many different voices.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A classic

Really enjoyed this, have seen the tv adaption & enjoyed hearing the full story. Knocked off a point because it does go on a bit but still loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

gripping and interesting

what a find! gripping story about love and (mis)communication in early industrial revolution. it'll surprise you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great narration, as always, from Juliet Stevenson

Juliet Stevenson is one of the best audio narrators out there and she does as fantastic job with Mrs Gaskell's novel about a young girl uprooted from her soft southern life and sent to live in a 'dark satanic mill' town. I'm glad I listened to it, but I must confess that this is one of the very few times in my life when I have - gasp! - actually preferred the screen adaptation to the original book! The 2004 BBC tv version, with a screenplay by the terrific Sandy Welch, is fabulous... and personally, I found it far more engaging than Mrs G's rather moralising original.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this story

Juliet Stevenson’s performance was fabulous.
One of my favourite stories that I never want to end .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Both Gaskell and Stevenson are amazing

Loved this story, so beautifully written and then brought alive by Juliet Stevenson's truly masterful performance. Quite long but worthwhile.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly read - quite a good story

I enjoyed this Audible book as it was beautifully read.
The story was quite good, although a bit dreary at times. I preferred Mary Barton. Nevertheless this novel is well-worth listening to. The characters are realistic and the reading brings them to life. Another excellent Audible book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

North and South

Excellent all through.
The story is beautifully written, poetic , romantic exciting and informative of the times in which the story is set.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good read

First look at Elizabeth gaskell and didn't disappoint. An enjoyable read. Looking for more now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Every line was a treat.

A melody of a read. An uncomplicated story line with scene setting that grips the imagination of the reader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!