Elizabeth Gaskell's great Victorian novel combines romance with social conflict. When Margaret comes to live in the industrial north of England, she is shocked by the antagonism between mill workers and their masters. Her sympathies lie with the workers, yet she is increasingly drawn to the stern mill-owner John Thornton.This abridgement of Elizabeth Gaskell's humane and thoughtful work is two thirds of the original length, and includes a section on the book's historical context. It makes this classic novel more approachable for the modern reader. I'm a qualified teacher and librarian who has had seven children's books published in traditional form in the UK and USA. I've also had about sixty short stories published in British and Australian magazines.In 2012 I set up a child-friendly website, to offer free children's stories, ebooks and printable puzzles. Five years later I created my second site, as a home for free abridged classic novels and classic poetry ebook collections. Keeping both sites going is proving a full-time job, but a very enjoyable one!

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