Ruth n/e (Oxford World's Classics) - Softcover

Gaskell, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199581959 ISBN 13: 9780199581955

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2011

Synopsis

'I think I must be an improper woman without knowing it, I do so manage to shock people.'

Elizabeth Gaskell's second novel challenged contemporary social attitudes by taking as its heroine a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton is an orphan and an overworked seamstress, an innocent preyed upon by a weak, wealthy seducer. When he heartlessly abandons her she finds shelter and kindness in the home of a dissenting minister and his sister, who do not reject her when she gives birth to an illegitimate child. But Ruth's self-sacrificing love and devotion are tested to the limit by a twist of fate that brings her past back to haunt her.

Gaskell's depiction of Ruth lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards, and her novel is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception.
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About this title

Review:

"A generally good teaching edition at a reasonable price."--Christopher C. Dahl, University of Michigan, Dearborn"Essential that this remain in print for Victorian culture studies."--Linda Shires, Syracuse University"I'm happy that you have made Ruth affordable for classroom use. Ruth illuminates many of the conflicts over 'the fallen woman' as Christian martyr or feminist hero seen in more famous Victorian novels such as Tess and The Scarlet Letter. Your edition is well-edited and readably printed."--Dr. Jeanette Shumaker, San Diego State University (Imperial Valley Branch)"OUP is the only publisher of this in paperback. It's a significant book for any Victorian literature course and particularly for one on Victorian women."--Eleanor McNees, University of Denver

Book Description:

¿She had no penitence, no consciousness of error or offence; no knowledge of any one circumstance but that he was gone.¿

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0199581959
• ISBN 13: 9780199581955
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432
• Editor: Dolin Tim