Northern Pride and Southern Prejudice

Amy Routledge looks at BBC’s North and South

NOT ONLY did the BBC series North and South produce a romantic hero to rival Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy (in the form of Richard Armitage’s John Thornton), it truly does justice to Gaskell’s social and romantic masterpiece.
Perhaps it is because North and South is so rich in visual detail that it is successful on film; Opportunities for dramatic shots are many, and the novel’s industrial backdrop immediately makes for on-screen interest.
The few deviations from the plot, such as Margaret’s venture into the mills, often even serve to enhance the screen version – although I would argue Thornton’s brutal beating of a worker creates a much more negative first impression of him than is required.
Viewers are given increased insight into the working conditions of the Victorian age, and Margaret’s voice-over: ‘I believe I’ve seen hell and it’s white, it’s snow white’, provides a poignant response to the clouds of cotton which surrounded and slowly killed the mill workers of Victorian England.
At the end of the series, Margaret and Thornton meet symbolically half way between north and south, in a finale that is significantly more atmospheric than Gaskell’s use of the Lennox’s study at the end of her novel.
The BBC TV adaptation beautifully portrays the developing romance between Margaret and Thornton, set against a detailed and realistic backdrop of social tension.