Cranford by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford is a charming, gently humorous portrait of life in a small English town in the mid-19th century. Centered around a community of mostly single and widowed women, the novel captures their daily routines, small dramas, and quiet acts of kindness with warmth and subtle satire. Through the eyes of a visiting friend, Gaskell explores themes of tradition, social change, and female friendship. Endearing and insightful, Cranford remains a beloved classic of Victorian literature.