A North and South Christmas Story

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More Than Thornton is pleased to announce a new North and South novella by Caroline Malcolm-Boulton.

The Woollen Olive Branch is a festive retelling of Elizabeth Gaskell's beloved classic novel, North and South.

As the winter nights draw in, Margaret Hale feels increasingly overwhelmed by her feelings for John Thornton, the man whom she refused, and in turn, he longs to tell her that he still loves her faithfully, in spite of their past misunderstandings.

Having not seen each other for several weeks following first the incident at Outwood, and then his jealous condemnation of her character, the hero and heroine of the story miss one another sorely, both praying for an olive branch to offer the other in friendship at Christmastime.

Here’s an excerpt from The Woollen Olive Branch: A North and South Retelling

by Caroline Malcolm-Boulton (The Scribbler CMB)

“John turned it over in his hands to inspect it more closely. It was perfect in its imperfection. It was lengthy and thick, but not extravagant in either way, and the yarn was robust yet delicate, promising to wrap his neck in woollen warmth. There were tiny holes here and there marked by frogging, nothing really, but it was charming to think, rendering it seamless to his eye, because it told him that Margaret, despite her flawlessness, could make mistakes. The thought that she had made this with evident care caused his heart to gallop in his chest, and while his former self would have doubted that true forethought had been knitted into its folds, loop by loop, there was a demonstration of dedication to every purl. But there was one detail which interested him the most.”

UK Amazon link

Interview with the author

If you’ve attended some of the North and South talks given by Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, you may already recognize the author, Caroline Malcolm-Boulton! Caroline presented a few of the talks, including the one about John Thornton as a gentleman.

I’m pleased to welcome Caroline to my blog. I’ve asked her to talk about how she fell in love with North and South and to give us her thoughts about writing fan fiction.

Falling in love with Gaskell’s story

I first came across North and South at age eleven when the 2004 BBC series aired. Growing up in a family that had always cherished the classics, we were excited every time a new adaptation came to our screens, so it was a real treat to sit down and watch it together. Even so, I’m sorry to say, that like most people, we’d never heard of North and South before, given that Elizabeth Gaskell did not, and still does not, get the recognition she deserves. Still, while her lack of applause and appreciation is inequitable, it did have a silver lining, which was that we were able to watch it without knowing what was to come.

And well, it goes without saying that I fell in love immediately.  

I was captivated by the storyline, the drama, the costumes – all of it! It was also really fun to see so much of Edinburgh, a city I live close to and know very well indeed. And being only eleven, I was really too young to be influenced by the Richard Armitage affect, so I could just enjoy the story for what it was: an inspiring and timeless tale of love and the struggle for equality in all areas of life.

One of my fondest memories is watching the station scene for the first time. Up until then, we had this tiny box-like television, but we then got a new one that had high definition sound and picture, and the first thing we watched was the last episode of North and South. It was winter, so it was dark, and I vividly recall sitting in awe as the final scene played out, the beauty of all the creative elements coming together perfectly.

Over the next seventeen years, my fascination with North and South grew. I read and watched it frequently, I studied it at university, and I was involved in a touring stage adaptation of it in 2015, helping to write the script and also being privileged to play Fanny Thornton. Now, on the brink of my thirties, I work as a freelance Arts and Film/Television journalist, and am delighted to say that I’ve dedicated much of my time to exploring the life and legacy of Gaskell.

Writing Fan Fiction

Then, in 2020, I discovered fan fiction. I’d heard of fanfic before, but to be honest, I didn’t really understand it, and I thought it was a bit weird. However, when Covid-19 hit, everything in Britain was closed, apart from supermarkets and pharmacies, meaning that many items, such as books, weren’t easy to get your hands on. This posed a problem, because I’d read all the books in my small flat, and I didn’t have an e-Book, but one of my friends worked for the postal service, and she was feeling overburdened by the immense increase to her workload with everyone buying things online. Therefore, I felt it wouldn’t be right to sympathise with her and then go off and order something myself, so I didn’t know what to do.

It was then, for reasons that I will never know, that I thought about trying fan fiction. I intentionally chose to start with North and South, partly because it’s one of my favourite books, but also because I instinctively knew that other fandoms, such as Jane Austen, would maybe be a bit too busy and overwhelming for a newbie.

It proved to be one of the best decisions of my life.

I quickly became aware of the diversity out there in terms of styles, takes on characters and themes, and even quality of writing. Some stories were exceptional, doing Gaskell justice, and some were not to my taste at all. It’s incredible to see the infinite number of options there are for retellings and continuations, and each writer clearly has a very personal relationship with North and South. But then I realised something. If these people had the right to write their respective interpretations of my favourite book, then why couldn’t I?

So I did.

And here I am, two years later, with over half a million words and 33 stories so far.

It’s been an incredible journey, one which I hope is far from over, and I’ve learnt a lot about myself, grown as a writer and reader, and met some wonderful fellow fans along the way. It’s also prompted me to encourage others to write, because I strongly feel that writing has numerous benefits in terms of a person’s cognitive and creative welfare, and I’ve been proud as punch to see so many friends take up the pen. Fan fiction is a unique genre, and I appreciate if people feel unsure about it, but I’d highly recommend they give it a go. I always say that reading a new book, an original book, is like going on an adventure, we don’t know where it’s going to take us. But reading fan fiction is like coming home to something familiar and safe, to people and places that we hold dear in our hearts, and there are no two characters whom I hold more dear than John and Margaret.

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The Woollen Olive Branch (Before We Were Us)

By Malcolm-Boulton, Caroline

Buy on Amazon

More Than Thornton is excited to see one more story added to the collection of North and South books for our shelves (or Kindle)! And because Caroline is such a prolific writer, I know there will be more stories coming in the future. Fan fiction readers, stay tuned!

The healing effect of nature in 'North and South'

Turning to nature in times of great turmoil or sorrow can be therapeutic. The beauty, stillness, and majestic vastness of nature can calm our thoughts and give us a more expansive perspective.

Reading North and South again, I was struck by how often Margaret turned to nature for solace and strength. This is especially true at the close of the story, when she is far from Milton and evaluating how to go forward with her life.

We know from the very beginning of the book that Margaret has a strong connection with nature. Her eagerness to go home to Helstone every summer has a good deal to do with the freedom she feels there to roam the countryside and take in its beauty every day.

Margaret used to tramp along by her father’s side … revelling in the sunshine and the herbs and flowers it called forth.

[Margaret] was so happy out of doors, at her father’s side, that she almost danced…

(Chapter 2)

Once in Milton, it’s more difficult for Margaret to escape to a place of beauty, but she does seek nature by taking walks to the fields around the town. She is coming back from one of these walks when she meets Bessy Higgins. Impulsively, she shares the beauty with Bessy, by giving the sickly girl the wildflowers she had picked.

Unfortunately for Margaret, the chance to get away to nature is almost non-existent during the long months of her mother’s sickness and her father’s subsequent grief.

Gaskell tells us, however, that after being chastised by Mrs. Thornton for her impropriety, Margaret takes a brisk walk to the country to try to avoid reflecting too deeply on her distraught feelings.

It’s not until Margaret moves away from Milton—not until her parents have both died—that she has time to really think about all that has happened to her and how she feels.

After an emotional day visiting Helstone again, Margaret confesses to Mr. Bell her lie and what Mr. Thornton must think of her. Although she asks Mr. Bell to explain her circumstances to Mr. Thornton someday, she still believes that she has lost Thornton’s love forever.

That night she feels her loneliness deeply:

…she sate long hours by the open window, gazing out on the purple dome above, where the stars arose, and twinkled and disappeared behind the great umbrageous trees….A sense of change, of individual nothingness, of perplexity and disappointment, over-powered Margaret.

“…I am so tired—so tired of being whirled on through all these phases of my life, in which nothing abides by me, no creature, no place…”

(Chapter 46)

Photo by Tyler Domingue

She looks to the heavens again after Mr. Bell dies:

…when night came—solemn night, and all the house was quiet, Margaret still sate watching the beauty of a London sky…the faint pink reflection of earthly lights on the soft clouds that float tranquilly into the white moonlight, out of the warm gloom which lies motionless around the horizon….On such night as this she remembered promising to herself to live as brave and noble a life as any heroine she ever read or heard of in a romance….straight alone where she stood, in the presence of God, she prayed that she might have strength to speak and act the truth for evermore.

(Chapter 48)

And finally, in the most poignant and enduring episode of relying on nature to nourish her, Margaret spends several days on the beach, just thinking…thinking, as she stares out to sea:

She used to sit long hours upon the beach, gazing intently on the waves as they chafed with perpetual motion against the pebbly shore, —or she looked out upon the more distant heave, and sparkle against the sky, and heard, without being conscious of hearing, the eternal psalm, which went on continually. She was soothed without knowing how or why.

..all this time for thought enabled Margaret to put events in their right places, as to origin and significance, both as regarded her past life and her future. Those hours by the sea were not lost, as any one might have seen who had had the perception to read, or the care to understand, the look that Margaret’s face was gradually acquiring.

…she had learnt, in those solemn hours of thought, that she herself must one day answer for her own life, and what she had done with it….

(Chapter 49)

During this sacred time of considering the endless power and beauty of the seaside, she makes her decision about her place and purpose in the world. Margaret regains her spiritual strength and takes command of her situation. She lets her London family know that she will now be deciding for herself how to spend her time and efforts. She begins to spend time doing what she feels is important, which includes going to some of the more wretched places in London to try to make a difference in the lives of those who truly need her compassion and care.

And all this she does with the conviction that she will never marry—never live in Milton again. She believes John Thornton could no longer be in love with her, a liar.

So, with the aid of nature’s vast, infinite persepctive, she carves out a secondary dream of a purposeful life, in which she can give her love to those who need it. How beautiful it is, then, when her first dream of happiness is fulfilled—when she discovers Thornton’s steadfast love and a whole new life waiting for her in Milton.

Do you remember a time when you found comfort or peace from nature?

What are your favorite places to absorb the beauty of nature?

Captain Wentworth & John Thornton and the agony of devotion

Whose heart isn’t affected by Captain Wentworth’s eight year wait for Anne Elliot? Eight long years! A man must truly be captured by a woman to wait that long for her.

Re-reading Persuasion recently, I was once again impressed at his unbreakable admiration and affection for Anne. Even though he is surly and proud about the breakup, he still loves her. He tries his hand at paying attention to Louisa Musgrove, but his heart is never in it. Tragic events bring out Anne’s amazing strength of character: calm in crisis, practical wisdom, sincerity, compassion, and self-sacrifice. He knows no other woman can compare.

John Thornton also witnesses the powerful strength of Margaret’s character, and never more so than during the frightening danger of the riot. Margaret forcefully insists he talk to his suffering workers, she doesn’t flee the situation but faces it, she follows him down to bar the door behind him when he goes out and races out moments later to try to calm the mob! And of course, most of all, she shields him with her body when she sees he’s in danger. Her prime motive in all this: compassion. From this moment on Thornton’s completely captivated.

The reader knows for certain that no other woman will do for Thornton now because Gaskell reveals his agonizing, stubborn devotion to Margaret after her rejection of him.

He said to himself that he hated Margaret, but a wild, sharp sensation of love cleft his dull, thunderous feeling like lightning, even as he shaped the words expressive of hatred. His greatest comfort was in hugging his torment; and in feeling, as he had indeed said to her, that though she might despise him, condemn him, treat him with her proud sovereign indifference, he did not change one whit. She could not make him change. He loved her, and would love her; and defy her, and this miserable bodily pain…

 All that he gained in return for his sixpenny omnibus ride, was a more vivid conviction that there never was, never could be, any one like Margaret; that she did not love him and never would; but that she - no! nor the whole world – should never hinder him from loving her.

So how much time does John Thornton spend loving Margaret without any hope of reciprocation? About two years! Two years of agony, trying to go on with his life without hope of having Margaret as his wife.

Captain Wentworth might have spent only two years without Anne if he had only swallowed a bit of his pride and returned to see her earlier. At the end of the novel he asks Anne if she would have accepted him after his return from a successful voyage (netting him two thousand pounds), a point in time two years after their breakup. Anne exclaims that she would have, and he admits that he was too hurt and prideful to try it – at the price of six more years of waiting!

Thornton, too, could have shortened the length of his agony if he had perceived any change in Margaret’s manner towards him. She was wholly in love with him at the time they said their parting words to one another in Milton, but he was still too hurt to see it. He had a fleeting impulse to ask again but suppressed it:

 “He started forwards…to hand Mrs. Shaw down to the carriage. As it drove up , he and Margaret stood close together on the door-step, and it was impossible but that the recollection of the day of the riot should force itself into both their minds. Into his it came associated with the speeches of the following day; her passionate declaration that there was not a man in all that violent and desperate crowd, for whom she did not care as much as for him. And at the remembrance of her taunting words his brow grew stern, though his heart beat thick with longing love. ‘No!’ said he, ‘I put it to the touch once, and I lost it all. Let her go, - with her stony heart, and her beauty; - how set and terrible her look is now, for all her loveliness of feature! She is afraid I shall speak what will require some stern repression. Let her go. Beauty and heiress as she may be, she will find it hard to meet with a truer heart than mine. Let her go!’

That mistaken impression of her feelings cost him over a year of loneliness and pain!

Of course in the case of both of these men, their long struggle and agony only added to the romantic drama of their powerful feelings. It’s tremendously satisfying to see their brooding faces break into joy when they realize that they were wrong — that they have been loved and cherished right back!

Where are the bonnets in North and South?

Easter bonnet season upon us, so let’s talk about feminine headwear in North and South, both in the book and in the BBC miniseries.

Bonnets in the Novel

The first mention of a bonnet in Gaskell’s book concerns our little rebel, Margaret Hale, who has taken her bonnet off.

Henry: “What is this hanging from the branch of the tree? Not a bird’s nest, surely.”

Margaret: “Oh no! that is my bonnet. I never can draw with my bonnet on; it makes my head so hot.”

Apparently, she can’t be bothered with the bonnet when it’s uncomfortable. And that’s not the only time she takes her bonnet off when it’s in the way. After she sends Thornton down to speak to the rioters, she tears off her bonnet so that she can hear what he is saying outside.

There’s every indication in the novel that Margaret does follow the proper custom of the day in wearing a bonnet whenever she goes out. Gaskell describes her hastily putting on her bonnet and her shawl before going to see Bessy in Milton. Even Bessy and Mary wear one.

Did you know that the first time John Thornton ever sees her, Margaret is wearing a straw bonnet with white ribbon? This surprised me. I’ve read their first meeting scene many times, but somehow I didn’t remember that she was wearing a bonnet!

The most memorable section in the book regarding bonnet wearing is when Henry discerns something new and vibrant in Margaret towards the end of the story. This is after Margaret has spent several days at the ocean’s edge silently contemplating all that has happened to her. It’s at the seaside that she makes a courageous resolution to make the best of her future.

“The sea has done Miss Hale an immense deal of good, I should fancy,” said he, when she first left the room after his arrival in their family circle. “She looks ten years younger than she did in Harley Street.”

“That’s the bonnet I got her!” said Edith, triumphantly. “ I knew it would suit her the moment I saw it.”

“I beg your pardon,” said Mr. Lennox, in the half-contemptuous, half-indulgent tone he generally used to Edith. “But I believe I know the difference between the charms of a dress and the charms of a woman. No mere bonnet would have made Miss Hale’s eyes so lustrous and yet so soft, or her lips so ripe and red - and her face altogether so full of peace and light….”

Good for Henry for seeing the renewed spark in Margaret! (Negative points for Edith.)

Bonnets in the Film

When we think of Margaret Hale, most of us envision her the way she is shown in the BBC’s most recent film adaptation, with that wide-brimmed brown hat.

Margaret’s trademark brown frisbee hat.

Instead of a bonnet, Margaret is seen in her everyday hat throughout most of the story. It’s not hard to surmise why this was done. Bonnets make women look diminutive to the modern viewer. Although stylish and beautiful, they represent an era when women were believed to be the weaker sex—a time when women had a great many limits placed upon them.

Margaret Hale of the film wears a hat to look more modern and independent, as director Brian Percival admits. The hat allows a freer, more open view of her face. Wearing a hat also often sets Margaret Hale apart from the surrounding characters. The decision to generally keep bonnets off of Margaret was a good one. Wearing a hat instead of a bonnet lends a sense of strength and freedom to her walking about Milton.

The primary time we see Margaret in a bonnet is when she is in a state of mourning, when it’s appropriate for her to appear weaker or subdued. (Film quiz: does Margaret appear in a bonnet in any non-mourning scenes?)

Speaking of appearing strong or weak, it’s significant that although Mrs. Hale and Aunt Shaw are shown wearing traditional lace caps inside as married women, we never see Hannah Thornton wearing a lace frippery on HER stern head! (Incidentally, Edith should be wearing a lace cap as well - but perhaps the film director considered lace caps too matronly for the young and spritely Edith.)

Of course Fanny, Edith, and Ann Latimer all wear bonnets when out in the world. Well maybe not always a bonnet. Strangely enough, Ann is shown wearing a hat twice instead of a bonnet. Maybe she is copying Margaret to get John’s attention!

(Film quiz: When is the other time Ann is shown wearing a hat?)

Fanny, like Edith, loves to think of fashion. Although Fanny resisted John’s insistence on visiting the Hales, her mood was soothed by the opportunity to wear a fetching bonnet. Here is Fanny in her hideous plaid dress, performing her famous wiggle to adjust the hoops of her skirt.

Maria Hale is also concerned about fashion. She doesn’t go to Edith’s wedding because she couldn’t afford a better dress to wear. We see Maria mostly indoors, especially as she becomes an invalid. But here is her lace and flowers bonnet that she wore on her arrival to hell… er…I mean Milton.

In that opening scene of the Hales’ arrival in Milton we also see Dixon wearing a drab, colorless bonnet. She is the only working class woman to be shown wearing a bonnet. Bessy and Mary don’t wear any head coverings in the film, and neither do most of the factory girls. Bonnet strings would be a danger in the mill.

Now look at what we have here! Who noticed that the tense “street meet” scene had a haberdashery display window in the background?! Certainly not I—my attention was always on the pain etched on Thornton’s face as well as on the dagger looks thrown between Ann and Margaret.

Compared to the well-dressed Ann, Margaret looks particularly plain. For display and style, John should definitely choose finishing school Ann. The banker’s daughter is good for financial connections too, right?

I hope this blog post has made you curious enough about bonnets and hats to want to go watch the miniseries all over again! I think I may indulge as well; it’s been over two years since I’ve watched it.

Here’s a final film quiz for you:

What are the four scenes where Hannah Thornton is shown wearing a bonnet?

Now you’ll really have to go watch it! Let me know what I might have missed.

Margaret Hale and Elizabeth Bennet: still relevant role models?

I enjoyed the recent lecture event sponsored by Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and Jane Austen’s House that focused on Margaret Hale and Elizabeth Bennet. The presentation about Elizabeth Bennet pointed out several reasons why she would have been a role model of female empowerment in Austen’s time.

So to continue the conversation, I’d like to share some of the points that I took away from the talk and add a few more qualities these women expressed that make them so admirable. Here are some of the traits that make Elizabeth Bennet and Margaret Hale relevant role models then and today:

The power of ‘NO’

The first and primal point of power in both stories is that both Margaret and Lizzy have the wherewithal to reject not just one but two proposals of marriage: one conveniently comfortable and the other overwhelmingly advantageous. Both of them reject the catch of the county! And they both reject a moderately comfortable proposal of marriage received before that.

How courageously bold it was for these particular women of modest means to say “no” to an opportunity that reasonable persons of the day would assume they should be grateful for!

Self-determination

So why did they reject such tempting offers of security and comfort? After all, finding a wealthy and well-respected husband would have been the aim of any young woman of the age.

The answer is that they know themselves. They know what their highest values are, and so they know the conditions which would make them content or miserable.

They refuse to subjugate their happiness by settling for any kind of loveless marriage. They’re taking charge of their own longterm happiness.

SELF-Confidence

But how dare they? What gives them the notion that they can create their own conditions in life when they are meant to obediently follow the strict patriarchal customs of their world?

Both Elizabeth Bennet and Margaret Hale are confident of their own worth as intelligent and sensible human beings. They know their own value. They don’t constantly seek approval from others, and they don’t look to others to define who they are. They rely on their own strength of character and purpose to move them through life.

With such self-assurance, they are able to make decisions that may go against the grain of society’s expectations or customs.

INDEPENDENCE

Naturally, a self-assured and confident woman has the right to do as she pleases and go where she likes within reason of her situation and surroundings.

However, Margaret was constrained to never go out walking alone while she was in London, and Caroline Bingley deemed it a type of impertinence that Elizabeth walked from Longbourn to Netherfield on her own.

“To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what could she mean by it? It seems to me to shew an abominable sort of conceited independence…”

The concept of taking the initiative to go see her ill sister, despite the muddy weather and the distance shows a great independence of mind.

Margaret also took great freedom in Helstone and in Milton to walk alone where she liked. Visiting Bessy, she often went to the section of town where the mill workers lived, walking down alleys in which her cousin Edith would have never stepped foot.

Calm Strength in a Crisis

Both Margaret and Elizabeth showed great strength and maturity in meeting any unexpected crisis. Elizabeth has had to endure her mother’s almost daily rants for years, so when the real crisis of Lydia’s running away comes upon the family, she’s able to keep her head and not fall into hysterics.

Margaret shows extraordinary strength and calm in the succession of unimaginable upheavals and deaths that happen in a span of three years. She does have moments when she breaks downs—even faints dead away—but for the most part she soldiers on despite practically every conceivable difficulty and loss.

Concern for Others

One of the reasons they are able to stay calm and strong is because they know that others depend upon their help. Elizabeth does all in her power to help Jane and even her foolish sister, Lydia. Lizzy loves her family, despite their faults.

Margaret is a tower of strength for her parents. She wants to help Bessy, her brother, and the starving workers. She exhibits a sincere caring for those around her. It gives her purpose to be helping others.

Aware and Alert

In order to be of any help, you first need to be aware of the situation of others. Margaret tries to learn and expand her understanding of the world around her in Milton. She’s interested in hearing the experiences of the poor workers and the ideas of the rich manufacturers.

Elizabeth is also very intelligent and observant. She pays attention to everything that is going on around her and often perceives the motives behind the behavior of others.

PERCEPTIVE OF THEIR OWN FAULTS

Of course, Elizabeth and Margaret are not always keenly aware of what’s really going on. They most definitely have their prejudices and blindspots.

But when they do come to realize that they have judged in error, they are able to acknowledge their mistaken perspective and change their minds.

Although it’s an uncomfortable awakening, here is Margaret’s reaction when she realizes Mr. Thornton has saved her from the police inquest:

Mr. Thornton, above all people, on whom she had looked down from her imaginary heights till now! She suddenly found herself at his feet, and was strangely distressed at her fall.

Not Intimidated

One of the greatest scenes in Pride and Prejudice is the dramatic confrontation between Elizabeth Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Although Lady Catherine acts as a sovereign superior in every manner and situation, Elizabeth refuses to be subjugated by the ridiculous and rather vicious warnings of Lady Catherine to stay away from her nephew, Mr. Darcy. It’s a fantastic fireworks show of self-confidence, amazing poise, and self-determination on Lizzy’s part—all in one scene!

Margaret also faces a rather haughty attack on her character by the stern and commanding Mrs. Thornton. And likewise, Margaret refuses to be subjected to false accusations against her character and swiftly leaves the steely matron quite nonplused after their brief interaction.

“What must you think of me, madam?” asked Margaret, throwing her head back with proud disdain, till her throat curved outward like a swan’s. “You can say nothing more, Mrs Thornton. I decline every attempt to justify myself for anything. You must allow me to leave the room.”

And she swept out of it with the noiseless grace of an offended princess. Mrs. Thornton had quite enough of natural humour to make her feel the ludicrousness of the position in which she was left. There was nothing for it but to show herself out.

I’m sure there are more traits or qualities which make these two literary heroines great role models for women — or anybody! What do you love most about these fabulous ladies and their spirited power?

And don’t forget to check out upcoming online events at Gaskell’s House. This year their focus is on North and South!