Even if you're familiar with the BBC mini-series adaptation of this novel, I would suggest you give this novel a chance for it is cleverly written and is a masterpiece in its own right. Elizabeth Gaskell's novel is beautifully descriptive in depicting 19th century social differences in the characters of southern England's Margaret Hale and northern England's cotton-mill owner, John Thornton. A love story develops between these two despite their differences. Elizabeth Gaskell writes men well, delving into their innermost thoughts, which I found refreshing as compared with her contemporaries. I enjoy Jane Austen but now I am also a fan of Elizabeth Gaskell because of North and South.