Elizabeth and Ruth

Livi Michael is superb at forcing the reader to confront uncomfortable questions about poverty and the well-meaning outsiders who seek to end it. Recreating the genesis of Gaskell’s most controversial novel, Michael explores the massive strain of a woman juggling the demands of motherhood, writing, and social campaigning in industrial Manchester. This is a powerful look at the ‘fallen’ and the ‘good’ – and the complicated, often heartbreaking reality of those trying to bridge the gap between the two.

-- Antonia Senior * The Times *

The Best New Fiction Manchester, 1849, and a newly famous Elizabeth Gaskell has taken an interest in the case of a 16-year-old Irish seamstress, incarcerated for prostitution. Finding herself unable to offer the girl practical assistance, Gaskell turns to Charles Dickens for advice. From their real correspondence, Michael plucks a pungent tale of hypocrisy and prejudice that nimbly probes the limits of activism in Victorian England.

-- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *

Michael’s prose has a vividness one can smell and touch... This novel is both readable and not an ‘easy’ read, and I thoroughly recommend it.

-- Katherine Mezzacappa * Historical Novel Society *

The prose is fierce and furious, the social conditions sickening and rendered clearly … A reminder of what life was like for all during the industrial revolution.

-- Jackie Law * neverimitate *

A story of hypocrisy, injustice and the obstacles against social reform … I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of the historical fiction genre.

-- Heather Magee * The Bookbag *

A riveting and touching novel about the rigidity of convention and the limits of compassion … vivid scenes bring the two-tiered Manchester society to life. Gaskell was the subtler, more elegant chronicler.

-- Rebecca Foster * Bookish Be