Comments on: Lois The Witch

By: Elisabeth Gaskell, Lois the Witch and other stories (1861) « Smithereens

Elisabeth Gaskell, Lois the Witch and other stories (1861) « Smithereens — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:15:08 +0000

[...] civilized centre of the world and the savage, backwards rest of the world. But I learnt through Stefanie at So many books that Gaskell loved America (although she never travelled there) and her opposition [...]

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:36:12 +0000

Jane, if it is among your least favorite and I enjoyed it in spite of the flaws, then I have some good Gaskell reading to look forward to! Manasseh was delightfully creepy I thought. And thanks for the info about Gaskell’s early pen name. What a very interesting choice on her part.

By: JaneGS

JaneGS — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:27:45 +0000

This is actually one of my least favorite Gaskells, and you nailed some of the issues I had–the narration is pretty clumsy, and makes it not a particularly pleasant read. The family that poor Lois lives with is pretty creepy (Manasseh is the stuff nightmares are made of), and I just remember it as a dark, sad story.

As pure FYI, early in her writing career, Gaskell published a few stories under the psuedonym Cotton Mather Mills, and Cotton Mather was someone with whose sermons and life she was very familiar with.

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:59:41 +0000

Rebecca, I have always been fascinated by the witch trials too both the Salem and European ones. Thanks for starting up the Circuit!

Susan, you know, I love Witch of Blackbird Pond when I was a kid but I don’t recall the story any longer. Your comment makes me want to find a copy for a re-read!

Karenlibrarian, it is an interesting book. I’m glad you liked the background information.

Paperback Reader, now I’m curious about Gaskell’s English settings! This was an interesting place to start given I have never read her before.

Dorothy, oh yes, don’t miss this one. I was really surprised at Gaskell’s psychological grasp of the events. She was spot on with many of the things modern historians have said about the trials.

Litlove, thanks for just adding a new book to my TBR list! The two books would make an interesting comparison.

JoAnn, thanks for the mini-series recommendations!

Grad, I have to stop and think how her name is spelled every time so don’t feel bad. I’m sure your parents got their money’s worth with your education. I think I only ever heard about Gaskell in a women’s lit course and then she was only ever mentioned, we never read her.

Emily, not high school at all. The short length along with the topic is what attracted me. Gaskell also wrote some gothic short stories you may find interesting.

CripseChoothe, I’m using Mistylook. Thanks!

Danielle, I think it gets included along with her Gothic Tales short stories so you might want to look for it there. I was surprised to learn how interested she was in America. I’m glad you joined the Circuit!

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:01:40 +0000

I have been ‘collecting’ Elizabeth Gaskell’s books but this is one I hadn’t come across. I like the idea that she was so interested in America–so much so to do research and set a book here. It would be interesting to compare that to the one I’m reading now–Wives and Daughters set firmly in the Victorian period. And I recently joined the Classics Circuit so hope I can read along later!