I thought that I had written a post on this book, but clearly not... I finished this book a little while ago. As far as I can tell, its completely unrelated to Elizabeth Gaskell's other book, Cranford, but it is based in a little village. Molly Gibson is the village doctor's daughter. Her mother died when she was young, and Molly's life changes when her father marries again in attempt to ensure that Molly has a significant female influence in her life and to protect her from unwanted male attention. Molly also gains a step-sister in the form of Cynthia. The novel follows the stories of these young girls as they become more aware of male attention, and the attempts of Molly's stepmother to ensure suitable marriages for her daughters. Its a sweet tale, with a little intrigue added. Molly's character was a little sickeningly sweet and perfect for me, which is probably why I enjoyed reading Cynthia's story a little more. The novel finishes abruptly and as I was reading a freebie electronic copy of the story, I initially assumed that maybe a part of it hadn't downloaded properly. It turns out that Elizabeth Gaskell died before she was able to complete the novel. A quick internet research tells me that apparently she had discussed the ending of the novel with a friend, and apparently (and unsurprisingly) the plan was for a happily ever after... perhaps the abrupt ending actually left more up to the imagination.
