Northern Rain

A North & South Variation

By: Nicole Clarkston

Narrated by: Stevie Zimmerman

Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

There is nothing like a long walk in the rain to guarantee a little privacy...unless the last person you wish to encounter happens also to be in search of solitude.

John Thornton is a man of heavy responsibilities who has many things on his mind, but the most troublesome of them all is Margaret Hale. She wants nothing to do with him, and he wishes he could feel the same. When a moment of vulnerability allows her a glimpse into his heart, she begins to see him very differently.

Is something so simple as friendship even possible after all that has passed between them? Thornton has every good reason to move on, not the least of which is the lovely Genevieve Hamilton and her wealthy father. Will Thornton act according to duty and accept an opportunity to save his mill, or will he take a chance on love, hoping to change Margaret's mind?

©2016 Nicole Clarkston (P)2016 Nicole Clarkston

Superbly written with fantastic narration

This rewrite of North and South exceeded expectation. This has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. The author remained true to the original with the personalities retaining their original inner thoughts and concerns. Loved this book. The narrator however in this Audible version was genius! I have listened to other books narrated by her but she outshines even her previous works. Her characters voices were believable and very convincing. The North and South dialects were so convincing I often felt it was being presented by more than one person. I will read more from this author and most definitely this narratt!

Well done

North and South is one of my favorite books. This variation is excellent. The story occasionally falters but the love story is intense and endearing. The rough Mr. Thornton and the demure and elegant Miss Hale are larger than life characters. The story line does not follow exactly the original book but I like how they portrayed Mrs.Thornton and Mr. Hale. The narrator does a superb job with Margaret and John and their conversations, their sighs and endearments.

Decent story

This was a decent story. I thought the conflict was a bit far fetched and the resolution a bit confusing, but it was an enjoyable read. Narrator is enjoyable to listen to.

Solid on its own, and lovely as a variation

As a standalone novel this is a wonderful weekend listen/read with strong characters, plot, atmosphere, and social interest.
As a variation, this book shows Nicole Clarkston has a genuine understanding of and respect for Elizabeth Gaskell's style of writing. Although there is a bit more of a dramatic turn to some of the plot lines, this book infuses enough of Gaskell's voice to make this is a worthwhile variation. The characters are written pretty faithfully to the original, and although there were a couple of times I felt Margaret was slightly more unsure of herself than how I think Gaskell wrote her, and Fanny and a couple new characters were given a sort of villain makeover that felt more like Austen than Gaskell, overall the characters are mostly congruent to the originals. And with the more modern touch of narrating more directly from the characters' viewpoints, we get a bit more depth of understanding of their inner thoughts. And I enjoyed that Mrs. Thornton was featured more heavily.
Northern Rain does focus more narrowly on the romance than the original, but Clarkston thankfully also weaves in some social commentary/observation of the contemporary issues, along with some philosophical and moral questions, just as Gaskell did, upholding some of the complexity that makes the original North and South such a compelling classic.

Northern Rain

I love the books by Nicole Clarkson. She does such a great story. Stevie Zimmerman is very easy to listen to. 5 stars for sure.

Solidly Good!

Very enjoyable story and Stevie Zimmerman (voice artist) is amazing! I loved the sound of her voice and the skill of her reading!

story is good

story is good and well written, apart from some unnecesary delay reason at some point.