Classics Discussion Group at the Library

The Classics group will meet to discuss Mary Barton on Monday, July 25 at 3:00p.m. at the East Haven Beach House on Cosey Beach Avenue.

Mary Barton first appeared in 1848, and has since become one of the best known novels on the 'condition of England,' part of a nineteenth-century British trend to understand the enormous cultural, economic and social changes wrought by industrialization. Gaskell's work had great importance to the labour and reform movements, and it influenced writers such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle and Charlotte Brontë. The plot of Mary Barton concerns the poverty and desperation of England's industrial workers. Fundamentally, however, it revolves around Mary's personal conflicts. She is already divided between an affection for an industrialist's son, Henry Carson, and for a man of her own class, Jem Wilson. But Mary's conflict escalates when her father, a committed trade unionist, is asked to assassinate Henry, who is the son of his unjust employer.

Hagaman's book discussion groups are free and open to everyone. If you are interested in joining, contact Cynthia at 203-468-3891 or Register Online on our events page.

Sponsored by Hagaman Memorial Library.