In Cranford nobody is very rich, but you must not talk about being poor! Indeed not! That would be a very vulgar thing to do. And in Cranford it is important not to be vulgar. At the Honourable Mrs Jamieson's evening parties there is only thin bread-and-butter (expensive food would be vulgar), and Miss Deborah Jenkyns is extermely cross when Miss Jessie Brown talks openly about her shopkeeper uncle. An uncle in trade! What horror! The rules of society were different 150 years ago, but people stay the same. The ladies of Cranford are just like people in any age. They can be sad, happy, proud, brave, angry, jealous—and very kind. When dear, gentle Miss Matty is in trouble, everybody wants to help her. And though there are many sadnesses in Miss Matty's life, there is also a very happy surprise waiting for her...

A portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid nineteenth century, Cranford relates the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of vignettes, Elizabeth Gaskell portrays a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women. Her wry account of rural life is undercut, however, by tragedy in its depiction of such troubling events. Written with acute observation, Cranford is by turns affectionate, moving and darkly satirical.

Elizabeth Gaskell was one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. Gaskell's novels were known for their vivid depiction of Victorian society and many of them have been adapted into critically acclaimed films and television series.