Cranford  By  cover art

Cranford

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Prunella Scales

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

A vivid and affectionate portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-19th century, Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women, relating the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances.

Through a series of satirical vignettes, Gaskell sympathetically portrays changing small town customs and values in mid-Victorian England, in a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women. Her wry account of rural life is undercut, however, by tragedy: with such troubling events as Matty's bankruptcy, the death of Captain Brown and the unwitting cruelty of Peter Jenkyns.

Gaskell was an accomplished writer who had many of her stories published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words. She was also friends with Charlotte Brontë and after her death, her father, Patrick Brontë, chose Gaskell to write The Life of Charlotte Brontë.

Narrator Biography

Prunella Scales is a classically trained stage actress but is best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers (1975-1979) and for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (1991), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA.

Her film appearances have included Stiff Upper Lips (1997), Howards End (1992) and Wolf (1994). She was awarded the CBE for her services to drama in 1992 and the Patricia Rothermere Award for her contributions to British Theatre in 2001. More recent appearances have included the mini-series The Shell Seekers (2006), a production of Carrie's War at the Apollo Theatre (2009) and Horrid Henry: The Movie (2013).

Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table and Anne Fine’s Charm School are among the many audiobooks Prunella Scales has narrated.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Cranford

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  • 03-26-12

Quietly, subtly sweet and heartwarming

If you don't listen closely, you may miss the subtle sweetness of this heartwarming tale. There were times, mostly in the beginning, when my mind wandered and I became impatient with the seemingly trivial accounts of this Cranford lady or that. But I'm SO glad I kept listening, and had the opportunity to get to know and love Miss Mattie! What an example of the embodiment humility, kindness, and justice she is! The only other Elizabeth Gaskell novel I've read is "North and South." I loved it, and was expecting something similar from "Cranford." The novels couldn't be more dissimilar when it comes to plot and pace, but when it comes to highlighting the beauty of human decency, both do an excellent job.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

throughly enjoyed this

A lovely, gentle satire of the Ladies of Cranford. Written with affection and respect and an incredible eye to detail (which I enjoyed) and exceptionally well read by my favorate narrator.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely charming!

After having seen Cranford and Return to Cranford on PBS, my daughters and I were interested in hearing the original story. We were delighted! What a wonderful book to listen to by the fireside as we did this winter. We're great fans of Elizabeth Gaskell now.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

One of my go-to listens!

I love this book! Its a series of vignettes of the lives of women in Cranford. I first decided to listen to this when they announced that it was coming to masterpiece classic, and while i thoroughly enjoyed the show, the book is so much better. Even after so many listens, I still crack up at the antics of some of the characters. Prunella Scales does a wonderful narration and Mrs Gaskell does a great job making the everyday lives of Victiorian women entertaining. I would recommend this to those who enjoy the novels of Georgette Heyer and are looking for something similar yet different.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

4 stars for narrator; 3 for novel

The is <i>very</i> gentle social satire, and a poor cousin to most of Austen's, but I liked the book very much under the circumstances in which I listened - Lying sick in bed for a couple of days, I enjoyed the novel in just two sessions. However, if you're looking for something to inspire your morning work out, this wouldn't be it!

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An Enjoyable, Disjointed Patchwork

I listened, unaware of this book’s odd pedigree: a village character sketch that somehow grew into a sort-of novel. Finding it a tad disjointed at the start, as things proceeded, I feared I was the disjointed one. But no, preoccupied with another three-volume project, it’s generally admitted now that Mrs. Gaskell let this one get away from her.

Still, there’s much here to enjoy. The parallels to Austen go beyond mere setting and cast. Gaskell plays an Austenian trick—bringing us to the point of disliking a character thoroughly, then shaming us by showing how we’ve misjudged them—several times. This lets her (and us) simultaneously laugh at and empathize with the Cranford ladies as they struggle to maintain social standards in the face of railroads and other social upheavals (like marriage).

I’ve always enjoyed Prunella Scales, but I fear I was distracted from her fine reading by that same disjointed feeling (she seems to be getting it…why can’t I?). Still, she does a fine job here, and never more so than with the slyly funny Austenian lines.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

An absolute delight !

Such a wonderful little story ! It might be said that nothing much happens, and if you are looking for plot-driven entertainments, you won't find it here. This is a story about the ladies ( and a few men ) of Cranford, in a time and society that are in the past. This lovely story celebrates the kindness and goodness of people, even as it also sees the humor in the eccentricities of its characters. If you enjoy the world of Jane Austen, this comes very close. And, perfect narration !

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Slow but beautiful

This is a slow moving novel that beautifully portrays life in a Victorian small town, where delicacy is the order of the day despite poverty. It isn't tragic, but there is a sense of gentle sadness about the stifled lives of the ladies of Cranford and their lost chances.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great Narrator

I was so glad I picked this narrator. Scales has a very pleasant voice and never distracted from the narrative. She has a great ability to bring out the emotions in a story without being overt or obnoxious about it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

fantastic narration, dull content

Prunella Scales does an amazing job narrating, but I found myself waiting for some sort of climax and was shocked and dismayed when the book ended without any.

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3 people found this helpful