Friday Loves: NORTH & SOUTH

I may have done this one before, but I can't help myself. Especially since the WIP I'm working on right now is a NORTH & SOUTH retelling. I watched the four-part movie this past week to get those inspo juices flowing, so of course I have the whole thing fresh in my mind.

I bought an Elizabeth Gaskell boxed set of movies for my mom once, it was something she'd asked for. I'd never heard of Elizabeth Gaskell or her books. When I took a look at the movies, the one I really wanted to watch was WIVES & DAUGHTERS. It seemed like totally my thing, and it was. I loved it. I've gotta admit I turned up my nose a bit at NORTH & SOUTH based on the movie blurb. I wasn't really into strikes and industrial revolutions and what-not. I wanted the love stories, a la Jane Austen.

 

I don't know what convinced me to finally watch NORTH & SOUTH. It was probably the mere fact that I'd already watched WIVES & DAUGHTERS and CRANFORD (my mom's fave) and that left just one. I can't remember. But I fell in love from part one (or more likely the part where Margaret witnesses Mr. Thornton beating up one of his workers). It's been a favorite of mine ever since.

 

After writing SWAY, my PERSUASION retelling, I toyed with the idea of retelling all of Austen's works, but finally kiboshed that idea. Like my love for the movie, I can't really remember when I suddenly decided to write a retelling of this story, but I did. I seem to have a memory fail about lots of things N&S because I can't even remember when I wrote my first draft. (I think I started it during NaNo, but I feel like I didn't finish it until January?) I read the book for the first time last October so it must have been around then sometime.

 

Anyway, I'm excited about this WIP and where it's going, even though writing the male POV (Mr. Thornton's) is harder than I thought it would be. And I'm always excited about the movie version- it is excellent! I want to start it again from the beginning, even though I finished watching it just last night. If you're a fan of Austen, or period dramas of any kind, definitely check out NORTH & SOUTH. And to convince you...

*swoon*