The Grey Women somehow reminds me of Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Annotated by Anne Brontë: Ageless Literary Classic. Such a good story wrapped in 70 pages. Exciting at the same time poignant.

This set of short stories is hit or miss, as most collections of short stories are. The first story is by far the strongest, but overall I liked the others. The brief commentary I give on each story below will not contain spoilers. All in all, if you like Elizabeth Gaskell and short stories, it is w

ENGLISH: Eight stories by Gaskell, quite good all of them, although I liked best those in the Cranford collection. Most of them are moral lessons, some of which I found somewhat sentimental, although all in all I quite liked them.

The story of the title (The Grey Woman), also the longest, is a formid

The Gray Woman short story was surprisingly gripping, about a woman falling into and escaping from an abusive relationship. This edition has versions of the short stories that have been "translated" into modern English. The originals are in appendixes.

The first story, "The Grey Woman" is a standout. Many of the other stories were pieces of their time and haven't remained contemporary. I wonder if when many of these stories were written when Gaskell was tired out from childbirth and not a her full writing prowess.

These lovely little stories, many of which are about children or young people, are more often than not morality tales. They often feature kindness and generosity in the face of great difficulty. The characters are well rounded and I enjoyed the description of life (usually of the lower classes) in V