Ruth - Couverture souple

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810 – 1865) often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published anonymously in 1848. The best-known of her remaining novels are Cranford (1853), North and South (1854), and Wives and Daughters (1865). She became popular for her writing, especially her ghost stories, aided by Charles Dickens, who published her work in his magazine Household Words. Her ghost stories are in the "Gothic" vein, making them quite distinct from her "industrial" fiction.

One of the less familiar of Mrs. Gaskell's novels, Ruth was in its own time a cause celebre which not only contributed substantially to its author's growing reputation but also won the approval of a number of her distinguished contemporaries. The text used for this edition is based upon that of the first edition published in 1853.