North and South: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

North and South is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1854. It originally appeared as a serial in the magazine, Household Words. The title indicates a major theme of the book: the contrast between the way of life in the industrial north of England and the wealthier south.

The heroine, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a Nonconformist minister who moves to the fictional industrial town of Milton after leaving the Church of England. The change of lifestyle shocks Margaret, who sympathises deeply with the poverty of the workers and comes into conflict with John Thornton, the owner of a local mill. As a result of an encounter with a group of strikers, he falls in love with her, but she rejects his proposal of marriage. Later, he sees her with her brother, whom he mistakes for another suitor, and quarrels with her for having lied to him. Margaret, once she believes she has lost his affection, begins to see him in another light, and eventually they are reunited.