Customer Reviews
Cranford - By: Donna Mcmanus, 14 Feb 2008 
I bought this after seeing the wonderful series on BBC 1 staring Judy Dench, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon & so many others.
It is never a good idea to read the book before or after watching something dramatised - either on TV or film & I suppose this is no different. (The book is usually far superior!) You can't help comparing it to the characters from Cranford on BBC 1! Quite a few things are different - notably the stories are told very much separately & not intertwined as they were on BBC 1. Also Mr Harrison's story (where he gets mixed up with 3 women) & Lady Ludlow's story aren't even setin Cranford butin another northern town. However - this is as Elizabeth Gaskell wrote it & her style of writing is a pleasure to read. I have to admit I enjoyed the TV series more.
This is well worth it if you enjoyed the TV series but also if you didn't see it & want to dip into the Cranford Chronicles by starting with these lovely stories. As the above reviewer states this book includes Cranford, The Cage at Cranford, Mr Harrisons Confessions & My Lady Ludlow.
This book includes all of the source material for the TV series - By: Dr. Lisa J. Pearce Collins, 12 Dec 2007 
This isn't really a review because I haven't read the book.
However, I bought it because I was looking for a version to include "Cranford", "My Lady Ludlow" & "Mr Harrison's Confessions" which are the 3 works used as source for the TV series. Failing to find such a book on Amazon I decided to start with this one.
Now that I has arrived I can see that all 3 works ARE included - together with an extra story "The Cage at Cranford". It is bizarre that this isn't made clear when you buy the book!
