Cranford

- A new edition of a much-loved classic, Elizabeth Gaskell's comic portrayal of a Victorian small town dominated by women. - Dinah Birch's introduction reflects recent revaluations of Gaskell's work, focusing on Gaskell's response to social change as it transformed the lives of provincial women, and the growing recognition that Cranford is much more than the gently charming comedy that is was once taken to be. - Includes two related short stories, 'The Cage at Cranford' and 'The Last Generation in England'. - An appendix includes a selection of extracts from Dickens, Dinah Craik, Wilkie Collins, Ruskin and other contemporary novelists and social commentators on the coming of the railway, banking failures, household management, fashion, Oriental entertainers and the novel's first reviewers to ilustrate the diverse contexts in which Cranford took its place. - Up-to-date bibliography and expanded notes. * New to this edition - Introduction by Dinah Birch. - Up?to-date bibliography. - Revised chronology. - Explanatory Notes by Dinah Birch. - Appendix of contemporary responses to the novel and contemporary comment on household management, costume, financial and commercial controversies relevant to the text. - Reset Gaskell text. 'A man ... is so in the way in the house!' A vivid and affectionate portrait of a pr...ovincial town in early Victorian England, Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women. Undaunted by poverty, but dismayed by changes brought by the railway and by new commercial practices, the ladies of Cranford respond to disruption with both suspicion and courage. Miss Matty and her sister Deborah uphold standards and survive personal tragedy and everyday dramas; innovation may bring loss, but it also brings growth, and welcome freedoms. Cranford suggests that representatives of different and apparently hostile social worlds, their minds opened by sympathy and suffering, can learn from each other. Its social comedy develops into a study of generous reconciliation, of a kind that will value the past as it actively shapes the future. This edition includes two related short pieces by Gaskell, 'The Last Generation in England' and 'The Cage at Cranford', as well as a selection from the diverse literary and social contexts in which the Cranford tales take their place. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.