Mary Barton (The Minerva Library of Famous Books) (Association Copy)

xxiv, 422pp.  Half bound in black leather over marbled boards, five raised bands on spine, gilt decorations, gilt titles on spine on red leather spine label.  All edges marbled. Marbled endpapers.  A presentation copy from Mrs Gaskell’s two daughters,’To Amy and Lizzie Hadfield, with the loving good wishes of Meta and Julia Gaskell, 1898′.  12mo.  Boards are worn, rubbed through on corners and around spine ends and joints, spine moderately sunned.  Internally there is some occasional spotting on the first and last few leaves else generally neat, clean and tight.

Margaret, known as Meta, and Julia were two of Mrs Gaskell’s four daughters who survived her.  The inscription from them is interesting and personal perhaps rather than important.  Mary Barton was Mrs Gaskell’s first novel, published in two voumes in 1848.   Although published anonymously, she was widely recognised as the author within a few months.  The story is set in Manchester between 1839 and 1842 and is concerned with the social conditions and challenges of the Victorian working class.  Early reception of the novel was mixed – there was praise for its honesty while others felt it distorted and mispresented employer relationships.