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Wives and Daughters Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
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  1. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  2. Publication date
    May 17, 2012
  3. Language
    English
  4. File size
    991 KB
  5. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0084ADOVK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Digital Services (May 17, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 17, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 991 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 311 pages
  • Customer Reviews:

About the authors

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  1. Pam Morris

    Pam Morris

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  2. Elizabeth Gaskell

    Elizabeth Gaskell

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    Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was born in London in 1810, but she spent her formative years in Cheshire, Stratford-upon-Avon and the north of England. In 1832 she married the Reverend William Gaskell, who became well known as the minister of the Unitarian Chapel in Manchester’s Cross Street. As well as leading a busy domestic life as minister’s wife and mother of four daughters, she worked among the poor, traveled frequently and wrote. Mary Barton (1848) was her first success.

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  3. Angus Easson

    Angus Easson

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
3,060 global ratings
Great book!
5 Stars
Great book!
One of my favorite books ever! Highly reccomended.
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Top reviews from the United States

L.A. Burt
5.0 out of 5 stars A romantic, classic, wonderful read (but see the movie first!)
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2011
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I watched the British-made series of Wives and Daughters before reading the Kindle version of the book -- in fact, I watched it twice because I enjoyed it so much. I ordered the book, expecting that the it would be even better. It really wasn't. (Better than the movie, I mean.)

Amazingly, the movie stuck nearly exactly to the book, even down to entire dialogues, in some scenes, word for word. I'm glad I watched the movie version first -- it was superbly cast -- and the producers could not have found more perfect actors for the parts. Since I had seen the movie first, I enjoyed reading the book with the mental images of the movie characters, their personalities, voices, costumes and facial expressions -- which, for me, created an extra, richer dimension to my reading experience.

Really, the movie's only deviation from the book was the ending. In the case of 'Wives and Daughters' however, nobody really knows the ending, because Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Wives and Daughters' is considered to be "incomplete". I'm not sure if author, Elizabeth Gaskell, died before 'Wives and Daughters' was published, or if she is thought to have abandoned the project. Whatever the case may be, I found the book's ending charming just as it was left by the author -- finished or not. In fact, I would argue that the book's ending was creatively inconclusive. It left a bit to the reader's imagination as to how everything turned out. A reader doesn't always require a definite "The End", with all the drama neatly tied up and concluded. Undoubtedly, the movie's producers felt they could interpret (or take a bit of artistic license with) the author's intended ending to the story, giving the movie a smoother conclusion. In my opinion, they did an admirable job!

'Wives and Daughters' is a charming, wonderfully written story with rich characters -- highly recommend.
6 people found this helpful
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Megan Lebesch
4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging read
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2021
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This was an interesting tale about a young girl named Molly, her Dad who is a Doctor, her stepmother Hyacinth and her step sister Cynthia who is close to her own age and eventually becomes very dear to her.

Overall, I found this book to be interesting though my heart ached for Molly who was always trying so hard to be agreeable and helpful while also obviously in love with one of her neighbors who she had grown up with but whose affections seem to have been caught by Cynthia who she loves as a sister and just wants both of them to be happy.

My favorite characters are Molly, Roger, Mr. Gibson and Mrs. Hamley who are all very dear! I really didn't care for the criticisms that Mrs. Gibson (Molly's step mom) would heap on poor Molly and Cynthia would have been better off admitting what happened before making Molly feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Full of small town life, young love, mystery and the bonds of family, I'm glad to have finally read this book.

Trigger warnings: death of Mothers, racial slurs, gossip, forced engagement, illness, death of a son,
9 people found this helpful
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HMS Warspite
5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Gaskell's Best...
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2012
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"Wives and Daughters" was Elizabeth Gaskell's last, longest, and perhaps best novel. Set in an 1830's rural English village, it deftly mixes domestic drama and comedy with some rather subversive social commentary.

At the center of the story is Molly Gibson, the daughter of the village doctor, who has been motherless from a young age and raised by her father. She is modest, considerate, and honest, if a little unworldly. When one of the doctor's trainees takes in a romantic interest in the seventeen year-old Molly, the panicked Mr. Gibson packs her off to Hambley Hall, where Squire Hambley, his invalid wife, and their sons Osborne and Roger treat her as a member of the family. Mr. Gibson rather precipitously proposes to a widowed school teacher, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, who has her own daughter, Cynthia, about Molly's age.

Her new family will be a challenge for Molly. The new Mrs. Gibson is vain, shallow, and manipulative, while Cynthia is a pretty and talented flirt who attracts the attention of many young men, including a marriage proposal from Molly's favored friend Roger Hambley. Molly becomes a keeper of confidences and painful secrets; her loyalty to her new sister will involuntarily involve her in Cynthia's indiscretions, which threaten to ruin both their reputations.

The novel was written for magazine serialization, with episodic chapters. The characters are well-developed and very human; even the ostensible villains are fully rounded and often sympathetic. The social behavior of men and women is repeatedly constrasted, often for humor but also to highlight contradictions. Mrs. Gaskell takes her time telling the story, but readers won't notice the length. The author died just before finishing the novel; a final note sketches the ending toward which she was plainly heading.

"Wives and Daughters" is very highly recommended to fans of Elizabeth Gaskell and her excellent novels.
19 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Albina Baumung
5.0 out of 5 stars Great purchase
Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2023
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Came in quickly and in great condition!
This story is just so wonderful and a must have classic on anybody’s bookshelf!
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Painfree
5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating storyline
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2023
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Wives and Daughters had me hooked from the very start.
it revolves around the lives of these fascinating characters, their relationships, and the drama that unfolds. I really got a sense of the time period and the social dynamics of the era.

What I loved most about Wives and Daughters is how well-developed the characters are. They feel so real, like actual people I could meet in myown life.
I found myself rooting for some characters, despising others, and feeling all sorts of emotions along the way.

The writing style is absolutely beautiful. Elizabeth Gaskell has a way with words that just draws me in. The descriptions are vivid, and the dialogue is engaging. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts and welling up at others.

It's a bit on the longer side, but every page is worth it. The pacing is just right, and there's never a dull moment.

If you're into historical fiction, complex characters, and a captivating storyline, then Wives and Daughters is a must-read. It's a true gem that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Could life deal Molly Gibson a worse hand?
Reviewed in India on March 28, 2020
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Her new step mom Hyacinth shreds her with well-chosen, cutting words, rubbing salt in her wounds. Her hero, Roger Hamley falls in love with her step sister Cynthia Kirkpatrick who uses her little arts and wiles. She takes advantage of Molly but Molly is too nice to get back at Cynthia any other way. Meanwhile, her busy doctor father wonders why can't a man who works hard all day have a little rest when he comes home?
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MME E OVERDEVEST
5.0 out of 5 stars bon
Reviewed in France on September 13, 2019
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bien écrit, agréable a lire mais pas bon format (A4!)
One person found this helpful
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Wives and Daughters
Reviewed in Germany on November 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
'Wives and Daughters' tells the everyday story of a small community with its poor farmers, middle class and rich nobility. It was just as lively and well-written as 'Emma' by Jane Austen, so if you liked the latter you will enjoy this one too. Furthermore, the characterization of the cast and the dialogues between them were fantastic. The story has an open end which could be ungratifying for some, yet for me it wasn't. I cannot understand why 'Wives and Daughters' has not become a classic because in my eyes it deserves to be one. With this novel Gaskell has proven to be as talented a writer as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, maybe even a better one.
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