Are There Any Sequels To North And South Book Ii?

Question

Elizabeth Gaskell's 'North and South' is a classic, but after finishing it, does the story continue in published sequels by other authors?

Sook Lee · Answer

I'm unsure which "North and South" you are referring to - the original Victorian novel by Elizabeth Gaskell or a web novel series inspired by it. If it is the latter, you should be able to find information about whether or not it has been completed on the author's page. In the meantime, I've been reading "I Married His Enemy: Return Of The Forgotten Princess" by Cuckoo CowOOT - it's a complete multi-book story about a royal outcast using a dangerous political marriage to find her way back to her true identity.

Yasmin · Answer

I know that there is no direct sequel to the novel, and most of the other works by Gaskell that I have mentioned have very different flavors to them. However, one of her novels in particular, ‘Wives and Daughters’ has a similar flavor to ‘North and South’ in that it is a very romantic novel, with lots of social commentary. It is, however, unfinished when Gaskell died. In the meantime, there is loads of Margaret Hale and John Thornton fanfiction out there that continues their lives after the mill strike has ended, in lots of different ways and with lots of different flavors to them.

If you want something more official, the 2004 BBC adaptation of North and South expands upon a few scenes, creating a beautiful, though often soft, alternative to the novel. Meanwhile, Mary Barton explores the same class struggles but with a much grittier edge. Together, the three novels create a wonderful commentary on society from the author’s perspective.

Quentin · Answer

I was aware that there were no official sequels written by Elizabeth Gaskell for 'North and South'. Although she left a number of works unfinished at the time of her death, her method of working in isolation meant that she never wrote what might be called a 'serial' in the sense of a number of interconnected social novels, only to be completed by another hand.

In terms of other, thematic, novels, I have already mentioned ‘Shirley’, by the great Charlotte Brontë, another novel that takes on industrialization from a strong feminist perspective. For a serious romance with real social depth, George Eliot’s ‘Daniel Deronda’ is a wonderful choice. And for a reimagining of a classic novel by a modern author, I would love to see Jo Baker’s ‘Longbourn’ adapted into a film. I’d even be happy to see a ‘North and South’ novel from the perspective of Higgins!

The 1975 TV adaptation provides an epilogue to the story not found in the book. Many of the current audiobook versions of the novel are furnished with liner notes detailing hypothetical sequels to the work. There is even a current role-playing game (RPG) in which the reader is able to continue the life of the Mr. Thornton character in a text-based ‘interactive’ story found in the ‘Choice of Games’ app.

Alternatively, academic essays that attempt to explore the novel’s unresolved themes are more or less interesting than others, particularly when read in relation to Dickens’ Hard Times and how Gaskell’s optimistic reading of the industrial revolution differed from his.

Clara · Answer

After becoming completely absorbed in the winter season’s North and South last year, I was immediately on the lookout for a sequel. Although the great author never wrote a sequel to North and South, there are other works by Gaskell that are similarly connected to the novel. Fans of light-hearted episodic fiction might enjoy Cranford, while those seeking similar fireEvent protagonists in love stories might enjoy Jane Eyre or Northanger Abbey.

The incredible fan culture created for North and South is also really wonderful to see. Tumblr threads have been created to chart every glance between Margaret and Thornton after the show ended, and Archive of Our Own has thousands of pieces of North and South fanfiction, some of them long novella-length stories, including ones where John becomes a mill detective.

The 2004 adaptation of North and South has been released on DVD with deleted scenes including a sweet gift scene where John gives Margaret a first edition of Byron’s poetry in a nod to their ‘happily ever after’. The DVD commentary goes into more detail about this scene and why it was cut from the full length program. Meanwhile, for fans who want more, the Gaskell Society’s journals contain a number of long, well-researched articles by fans including essays speculatively continuing the lives of the characters after the end of the book using their knowledge of the 1850s trade laws and suchlike. It’s not really mainstream but is loads of fun for hardcore fans of the novel.

nurseituriaga · Answer

I got confused too looking for North and South Book 2 after watching the BBC miniseries. I spent over an hour searching for the book. I finally realized that it was a standalone novel and that the author Elizabeth Gaskell never wrote a sequel to the novel. However, there are other industrial novels written by the author including Mary Barton, which explores similar issues of class but with different characters in a bleaker setting. Cranford is another novel by Gaskell but it is completely different in terms of tone and setting. It is a really light and fun novel that follows the lives of the villagers in a small English village.

I recommend not reading a sequel to North and South. The open ending of the novel is wonderful in that it allows the reader to create their own future for Adella, Philip and Margaret. And there are so many other wonderful novels and films of historical romance. Right now there are authors like Courtney Milan and Meredith Duran who are writing smart and socially conscious historicals. Or you could always go back and rewatch the miniseries – the scenes on the platform at the end of the novel are among the most rewatchable moments of the series and each glance between the two leads is full of meaning. The novel is perfect just as it is.

Amanda Marie DeGra · Answer

The sequel to a romance is often written because the romance itself is so very modern and because the readers are left to wonder how the relationship will evolve and how the two protagonists will deal with problems along the way. That partnership feels like a hard-won thing and, in modern romance novels, is frequently granted the ‘happily ever after’ and a lengthy epilogue detailing the couple’s acrimonious marriage years later. But not in the work of Gaskell – she’s determined to make her readers work to imagine a long and happy partnership between Margaret and Thornton.

Dorothy L. Sayers is another author who has portrayed a mature relationship in a series of her mystery novels. Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane are equals who face the world together in novels such as Strong Poison, Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon. These novels are in a different genre to North and South but they do portray a slow-building lifelong relationship which is what readers of Margaret and Thornton would expect to see.

Mummy's baby.loves writing · Answer

This novel is one of those few stories so strong and fully developed that readers often ponder whether they really are finished. Clearly, nobody wants a sequel to a dull book, and the interest in continuing the lives of Margaret Hale and Mr. Thornton above and beyond the very satisfying closure provided to both by the end of the novel is a great compliment to Gaskell and her masterpiece. The unresolved tension of industrial progress versus human dignity, of North versus South, is never resolved in history, so perhaps in that sense the story simply needs to continue because the conflict is still with us.

But then again, the best sequel to Milton might be some nonfiction about the Industrial Revolution, the labor movement, or women’s roles in the 19th century. Understanding how real history worked in Milton would add a new layer of appreciation to the novel. This factual account of the era in which Gaskell wrote would serve as the gritty backdrop to her story and thus transform her singular tale into a portal to understanding the era in which she lived.

teamlod belleza · Answer

A decent discussion could be had about the 1975 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Much of the subplots and scenes with Margaret’s brother Frederick are left out of the 2004 film adaptation, and thus the 1975 film is much more novelistic and feels like more ‘material’. The characters are also interpreted differently and thus older Margaret and less brooding Thornton are portrayed in this version. A very interesting comparative study of two versions of the same story.

In search of more story content? There are plenty of other adaptations including a 1975 radio adaptation as well as the recent audiobook read by Juliet Stevenson. Her versions bring out interesting aspects of the novel and highlight its timeless theme. They are not sequels but more of a continuation of the novel and its themes. Each adaptation brings up new questions and allows us to delve deeper into the novel and the story and even bring in new audiences to the novel and its themes.

C.Ellica · Answer

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall a parody or modern retelling of North and South called ‘North and South: The Boardroom’ or something equally as vapid. I believe it was a self-published Kindle book where the north/south conflict was played out through a corporate merger between a tech-savvy Northern firm and an old money, family-run Southern business. But hey, that’s not what you’re looking for. Classic-inspired romances are a huge market and most of them have fairly misleading titles.

Stick with the original and its many great adaptations. If you’re looking for a historical, enemies-to-lovers story, I recommend you look to authors like Julia Quinn (who writes lighter novels than this) or her contemporaries like Lisa Kleypas (the Wallflowers series is particularly good) or Loretta Chase (Lord of Scoundrels is a masterclass in the genre and a cracking good read). These authors write in series, so if you like the first book in a series by any of them, you’ll find the rest of the books in that series are set in the same universe and contain many of the same characters. It’s not Thornton and Margaret, but it will scratch that same itch for more stories in a similar tonal universe.

Are There Any Sequels To North And South Book Ii?

9 Answers

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