17 - Chapter 16 - Peace to Cranford

from Cranford · host Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Step into the charming world of Cranford, a quaint market town where a group of respectable ladies navigates the intricacies of life, love, and societal change. As they uncover secrets, share gossip, and confront the arrival of new residents and innovations, the humor and heart of Victorian society come to life. Originally published in episodes between 1851 and 1853 in Charles Dickens’ Journal Household Words, this delightful tale is accompanied by a short sequel, The Cage at Cranford, written a decade later and featured in All the Year Round. In a heartfelt letter to Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë expressed how reading Cranford felt “as pleasant as a quiet chat.” Join us for this genteel yet witty exploration of life in a time gone by, distinctly different from Gaskells more intense works like Mary Barton or North and South. (Summary by Noel Badrian)

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Nov 17, 2025

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17 - Chapter 16 - Peace to Cranford

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Cranford (version 2) by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810 - 1865) LibriVox Cranford is set in a small market town populated largely by a number of respectable ladies. It tells of their secrets and foibles, their gossip and their romances as they face the challenges of dealing with new inhabitants to their society and innovations to their settled existence. It was first published between 1851 and 1853 as episodes in Charles Dickens’ Journal Household Words. Appended to this recording is a short sequel, The Cage at Cranford, written ten years later and published in the journal All the Year Round. In a letter to Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte wrote: “Thank you for your letter, it was as pleasant as a quiet chat, as welcome as spring showers, as reviving as a friend’s visit; in short, it was very like a page of Cranford.”... Cranford is a genteel and humorous look at Victorian society by Elizabeth Gaskell, and is quite a change from her more gritty novels like Mary Barton or North and South. (Summary by Noel Badrian) Cranford Radio Bernie Wagenblast Cranford Radio presents the sounds and voices of Cranford, New Jersey. Hosted by Bernie Wagenblast. Round the Sofa by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810 - 1865) LibriVox Round the Sofa (1859), is a book of stories by the lady that Charles Dickens called his “dear Scheherazade” due to her skill as a story teller. That Lady was Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell (North and South, Wives and Daughters, Cranford etc.). Mrs. Gaskell begins with Round the Sofa, a short story which she uses as a device to stitch together six previously published stories into a single work. It introduces us to a set of characters who take turns to recount stories to one another during their weekly soirée. My Lady Ludlow tells the story of the widowed, aristocratic Lady Ludlow and her fierce resistance to change. It is told through the eyes of one of her young charges. Incidentally, it was one of the books used to create the TV series Cranford. An Accursed Race is actually an essay about a persecuted minority group, the Cagots in Western France. The Doom of the Griffiths. A Gothic short story about a cursed family and set in Wales. Half a Life-Time Ago. A novella set in the Wiltshire Dales. Mr. Harrisons Confessions Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Elizabeth Gaskells enchanting tales of Cranford are often linked to her childhood in Knutsford, a quaint town in Cheshire, where she spent time in her youth. This connection is emphasized in her 1849 essay, The Last Generation in England, where she fondly recalls the town in which I once resided. It‚Äôs clear that Knutsford served as the inspiration for Cranford. In 1851, while crafting Cranford, Gaskell also penned a novella titled Mr. Harrisons Confessions, which explores the life of a country doctor in a small provincial town‚Äîlikely modeled after Knutsford, a place she cherished. The narrative centers on the arrival of a young doctor and the efforts of the towns women to define his position in society and, of course, to find him a suitable wife. Often seen as a prequel to Cranford, this story, along with Gaskell‚Äôs other works like My Lady Ludlow and Cranford, inspired the BBCs 2007 television series adaptation. (Summary by Noel Badrian)

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