Cranford is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in episodes in Charles Dickens's magazine Household Words from 1851 to 1853. It describes with gentle humour the life of a small English country town ruled by genteel ladies of modest means, and the changes that slowly reach it.
The ladies of Cranford
Cranford is in the possession of the Amazons, as the narrator says: almost all the respectable households are kept by women, mostly unmarried or widowed.
They live by strict rules of elegant economy, pretending not to care about money while carefully saving every candle.
Miss Matty
The central figure is Miss Matty Jenkyns, a kind and timid lady who loses her savings when her bank fails.
The way her friends secretly help her is one of the most touching parts of the book.
A changing world
The arrival of the railway, the new banks and new ideas disturb the old customs of the town.
Gaskell based Cranford on Knutsford, in Cheshire, the small town where she had grown up.
Anecdotes
The cow in flannel
In one famous episode, a lady's cow falls into a lime pit and loses its hair; on the advice of a neighbour, it is dressed in grey flannel.
Dickens's editor
Dickens admired Gaskell's work and published much of it in his magazine, though the two writers sometimes disagreed over cuts and deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
Where was Cranford first published?
In Dickens's magazine Household Words.
Which real town inspired it?
Knutsford, in Cheshire.
Who is Miss Matty?
A gentle lady who loses her savings and is helped by her friends.