"North and South" is based on the Victorian era novel by Elizabeth Gaskell that focuses on the dramatic social impact of the Industrial Revolution on northern England. The story is based in fictional Milton, a stand-in for mid-19th century Manchester. Young, idealistic and rather sheltered Margaret Hale relocates to Milton with her parents, including a dissenting pastor father who has left a comfortable post and lifestyle in a leafy Hampshire village, uprooting his family to follow his conscience. The Hales are now in "reduced circumstances," but certainly very well off compared to the poor mill workers Margaret meets in Milton. She befriends a working-class family led by Higgins, the leader of a new union who is planning a strike. The cotton mill at the center of the drama is owned by John Thornton, a self-made man supporting his widowed mother and ditzy sister in fine, nouveau riche style. John is stern at first, proud, confident and even rigid in his opposition to negotiations with his workers. He's also strong and very handsome in a brooding way. Both he and Margaret fall for each other, but they're stubborn and self-righteous, and there are the usual misunderstandings and plot obstacles in their path to love. As a viewer, you hope these two can somehow work it out.
Of the excellent supporting cast, Sinead Cusack as John's rather possessive and critical mother, Tim Piggott-Smith as Margaret's loving and learned father, and Brendan Coyle (later famous as Bates on "Downton Abbey") as the union leader Higgins all stand out. The costumes and set design all evoke the period well.
"North and South" is most successful at examining the rapid changes industrialization brings to England, the burgeoning labor movement fighting for better working conditions and wages, and the cultural clash between the more genteel South (exemplified by the Hales) and the harder-edged industrial North (the new-money entrepreneurs in "trade" like the Thorntons).
Margaret is also a bit of a proto-feminist. You could see her as a suffragette a few decades later in her life. Some of the plot twists are abrupt, and seem a little forced and implausible. I agree with other reviewers that the series modernizes a key romantic interaction between Margaret and John in a jarring way. I think the director felt modern audiences need classic Victorian novels to be spiced up. That's common in recent screen adaptations of this type. But it's well acted, great cast, and tells a compelling story.
Of the excellent supporting cast, Sinead Cusack as John's rather possessive and critical mother, Tim Piggott-Smith as Margaret's loving and learned father, and Brendan Coyle (later famous as Bates on "Downton Abbey") as the union leader Higgins all stand out. The costumes and set design all evoke the period well.
"North and South" is most successful at examining the rapid changes industrialization brings to England, the burgeoning labor movement fighting for better working conditions and wages, and the cultural clash between the more genteel South (exemplified by the Hales) and the harder-edged industrial North (the new-money entrepreneurs in "trade" like the Thorntons).
Margaret is also a bit of a proto-feminist. You could see her as a suffragette a few decades later in her life. Some of the plot twists are abrupt, and seem a little forced and implausible. I agree with other reviewers that the series modernizes a key romantic interaction between Margaret and John in a jarring way. I think the director felt modern audiences need classic Victorian novels to be spiced up. That's common in recent screen adaptations of this type. But it's well acted, great cast, and tells a compelling story.