Preface; Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Summary

Elizabeth Gaskell is the author of the fiction novel Mary Barton, a tale of Manchester life. She writes the novel after the death of her son, William, who died from scarlet fever. The book concerns the working class life in Manchester, England, in the late 1830s and early 1840s, when there was a clear contrast between the poor factory workers and the rich factory owners.

In chapter one, outside Manchester are fields called the Green Hey Fields, which are very popular with the working class for vacation. Among the fields, John Barton walks with his pregnant wife, Mary, who is crying, while his thirteen-year-old daughter, also named Mary, plays in the fields. They meet Wilson and his wife, Jane, and their young twin sons. The women sit together so Mrs. Wilson can comfort the elder Mary, and...