Wives and Daughters

Wives and Daughters, An Every-Day Story is a novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. It was partly written whilst Gaskell was staying with the salon hostess Mary Elizabeth Mohl at her home on the Rue de Bac in Paris. When Mrs Gaskell died suddenly in 1865, it was not quite complete, and the last section was written by Frederick Greenwood. The story is about Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed doctor living in a provincial English town in the 1830s. Plot summary The novel opens with Molly Gibson as a young child, being raised by her widowed father, Mr. Gibson, the local doctor. During a visit to the local aristocratic 'great house' of Lord and Lady Cumnor, Molly loses her way on the grounds of the estate and falls asleep under a tree. Lady Cuxhaven (one of the daughters of the house) and Mrs. Kirkpatrick (a former governess to the Cumnor children) find Molly and put her to bed in Mrs. Kirkpatrick's room. The Cumnor family refer to Mrs Kirkpatrick as “Clare”, the name by which she had been known when a governess. Clare appears to be a kind woman and assures Molly that she will wake her up when it is time for the entourage to leave. However, she forgets to do so, and Molly is stranded in the mansion. She is distressed at the thought of having to spend the night there. To her relief, her father soon arrives to collect her.