The Oxford Bookworms Library: Oxford Bookworms 4. Cranford: Stage 4 - Tapa blanda

Life in the small English town of Cranford seems very quiet and peaceful. The ladies of Cranford lead tidy, regular lives. They make their visits between the hours of twelve and three, give little evening parties, and worry about their maid-servants. But life is not always smooth - there are little arguments and jealousies, sudden deaths and unexpected marriages . . . Mrs Gaskell's timeless picture of small-town life in the first half of the nineteenth century has delighted readers for nearly 150 years.

Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) was a friend of Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens, who first accepted Cranford for publication in his magazine Household Words. Among her other books are the novels, Mary Barton and North and South, and the famous Life of Charlotte Bronte. "