SOURCE: “Mothers without Children, Unity without Plot: Cranford's Radical Charm,” in Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol. 52, No. 2, September, 1997, pp. 198-220.

In the following essay, Croskery probes the charming, complex, and experimental narrative technique of Cranford, arguing that the work represents a significant development in nineteenth century sympathy and reform novels.

Early in the modern critical reappraisal of Elizabeth Gaskell, John Gross perceptively warned that Gaskell's charm might lead critics to undervalue her work despite the fact that “her reputation has held steady for a hundred years.”¹ This is both an odd warning and an apt one, especially in the case of Cranford (1851-53), which is perhaps the most charming of all of Gaskell's works. I will argue that this novel's “charm” presents something of a critical challenge to our current understanding of narrative as something that mimics the compulsions of desire.² With its emphasis on compelling desire and entrapment...