Wives and Daughters

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell is a Victorian novel set in the 1830s English Midlands, centering on Molly Gibson, the sensitive daughter of a widowed local doctor. When her father remarries the vain Hyacinth Kirkpatrick, a former governess, Molly gains a glamorous but troubled stepsister, Cynthia, sparking tensions, secrets, and romantic entanglements involving the Hamley family and their sons. The story explores evolving class dynamics, family loyalties, love, and social expectations in a provincial town, blending warmth, scandal, and keen social observation.