STAGE

Cranford
Elizabeth Gaskell

Introduction

This ungraded summary is for the teachers use only

and should not be given to students.

The story
Cranford is the story of the inhabitants of the small
town of Cranford in the middle of the nineteenth
century. It is told from the point of view of the
narrator, a woman who does not live in the town, but
who visits it frequently over a number of years. Most
of her friends in the village are women who are not

Background to the story

rich, but who try hard to keep up the appearance of

Elizabeth Gaskell (181065) was married to a Unitarian

not being poor.

minister, and lived most of her life in and around

The story begins with the arrival of Captain Brown

Manchester in the north of England. Many of her

and his two daughters. The Captain shocks the town

novels look at the lives of both rich and poor inhabitants

by saying that he is poor, but eventually everybody

of the new industrial cities of the time. Her writing (for

grows to like him. Unfortunately, the captain is killed

example in her novel North and South) often highlights

by a railway train.

the problems and poverty of working people and can

A few years later, the narrator returns to Cranford

be compared to Dickens. Indeed Dickens published

to stay with her friend Miss Matty Jenkyns and her

Cranford in serial form in his magazine Household

servant Martha. They spend a lot of time discussing

Words. Cranford itself, however, is not an industrial

the past. Mattys elder sister is dead. She also had a

novel. It centres on a small town near Manchester,

brother, Peter, who she believes to be dead as well.

and the inhabitants may not be rich, but they are not

Peter ran away to sea when he was young, and the

working people. The narrow environment of the novel

last she heard of him, many years before, he was

and the way the characters are examined also

in India.

invites comparison with Jane Austen, but Gaskell is

A few months later, during another visit, the

generally kinder and gentler with her characters.

narrator and some of the Cranford ladies go to see

a conjurer, Signor Brunoni. They are very impressed

Before reading

with the show. Signor Brunoni (whose real name is

Here are some ways to help your students approach

Brown) has an accident after the show and is forced

the story:

to stay near Cranford with his wife and child, while

he recovers. He mentions that while he was in

Give students the title of the book and show them

the picture on the cover. Ask them to try and guess

India learning magic, he was helped by a man called

what kind of story it is.

Jenkyns who lived in Chunderabaddad.

2

Shortly after this, Miss Matty loses almost all her

Give students a copy of the text on the back

money when her bank fails and the narrator writes to

cover of the book, and of the story introduction

Mr Jenkyns in India, to ask him if he is Peter Jenkyns.

on the rst page. When they have read the texts,

Everybody in the town wants to help Miss Matty, and

ask them a few questions about the story, or use

Martha, Mattys servant, refuses to leave her. It is

the Before Reading Activities in the back of each

Bookworm.

arranged that Martha will marry her young man, Jem,

and they will live in Miss Mattys house. Matty will

turn the front room into a shop and sell tea.

Use the pre-reading activity in this worksheet.

If there is a recording of this title, play the rst few
pages and stop at an interesting point.

Peter Jenkyns returns from India, and is happily

reunited with his sister. Neither the brother and sister
are rich, but the rest of their lives will be happy.

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STAGE

Cranford
Pre-reading activity
Match the words with the pictures

e One by one, Miss Matty dropped the letters

into the fire.
f I dont mind marrying Martha, Jem said.
g We were surprised and delighted all except
Miss Pole.
h Just give me your note, please, Mr Dobson,
said Miss Matty.

a Mrs Jamieson still did not see her.

b What busy work Miss Matty and I had in the
afternoons!
c The little maid had to get the tea-tray from
under the sofa.
d I once saw something strangely like a young
man hiding behind the kitchen clock.

To the teacher
Aim: To familiarize students with the story and its

answers with them. Then ask them to try and put

setting

the pictures into the order they might appear in the

Time: 1015 minutes

story and perhaps to suggest a story which might

Organization: Give one copy of the worksheet to

link these pictures. It is not important if they get the

each student or each group of students. Ask them to

correct order. The important thing is to suggest an

match the words with the appropriate picture. When

order which makes sense of the pictures.

the students have completed this task, check the

Key: 1e, 2g, 3d, 4b, 5f, 6c, 7h, 8a.

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STAGE

Cranford
While reading activity
Whos who?

THE LADIES

DESCRIPTIONS

Mrs Jamieson

The younger of two sisters, marries a man

called Gordon.

Miss Brown

The younger of two sisters, she is not married.

Miss Jessie Brown

A good friend of Miss Matty.

Mrs Fitz-Adam

The elder of two sisters, is very ill, dies in Chapter 2.

Miss Flora Gordon

A very fine lady, related to the late Lord Glenmire.

Miss Matty Jenkyns

The doctors sister.

Mrs Pole

A Scottish lady who has never seen the Queen.

Miss Deborah Jenkyns

The daughter of Miss Jessie Brown.

Lady Glenmire

The elder of two sisters, she stopped her sister

from marrying.

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To the teacher
Where: At the end of Chapter 5

students, a copy of the worksheet and ask them

Aim: To consolidate knowledge of some of the

to match the correct character with the correct

principal characters

description. It can be difcult to get all the characters

Time: 1520 minutes

clearly distinguished in this novel. This activity

Organization: Give each student or group of

can help.

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STAGE

Cranford
After reading activity
What happened in India?

Look at these sentences about Peters life. Do you

think they are true or false? Choose your answers.
EVENT

TRUE OR FALSE

Peter was a good boy at school.

He went to Liverpool to sail on one of the Kings ships.

He went to war against the Spanish.

He was taken prisoner by the Spanish.

He got married.

He went out to India on his ship.

He fought in a war in India.

He was very badly hurt in the war and nearly died.

He didnt write any letters home while he was in India.

He was taken prisoner by the Burmese.

He met a beautiful Indian girl and married her.

He didnt have enough money to come back to England.

He travelled all over India and learnt conjuring tricks.

He travelled to China and Japan.

He went to live in Chunderabaddad.

He became a planter and started to grow tea.

He became very rich.

He helped Mr and Mrs Brunoni.

He received a letter from Cranford telling him his elder sister

had died.

He received a letter from Cranford telling him his younger sister

had lost her money.

He returned to Cranford.

To the teacher
Aim: To develop understanding of Peter Jenkyns life

are in the book, some (especially those about his

and character

life in India) are not, and the students will have to

Time: 1520 minutes

guess. When they have done this, they can use the

Organization: Give students a copy of the table and

information to write a brief history of Peter Jenkyns

ask them to work in pairs and mark which things may

life which remains something of a mystery at the end

be true and which may not be. Some of the answers

of the book.

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