''My Lady Ludlow'' is a novel (over 77,000 words in the

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text) by

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian era, Victoria ...

. It originally appeared in the magazine ''

Household Words ''Household Words'' was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s. It took its name from the line in Shakespeare's '' Henry V'': "Familiar in his mouth as household words." History During the planning stages, titles orig ...

'' in 1858, and was republished in '' Round the Sofa'' in 1859, with framing passages added at the start and end. The novel follows the daily lives of the widowed Countess of Ludlow of Hanbury and the spinster Miss Galindo, whose father was a Baronet, and their caring for other single women and girls. It is also concerned with Lady Ludlow's man of business, Mr. Horner, and a poacher's son named Harry Gregson whose education he provides for. The narrator of the story is Margaret Dawson, an elderly woman and distant relative of Lady Ludlow who was sent to live with the Countess as a teenager.

TV Adaptation

With '' Cranford'', '' The Last Generation in England'' and '' Mr. Harrison's Confessions'', ''My Lady Ludlow'' was adapted for television in 2007 as '' Cranford'', with Francesca Annis as the eponymous character, Alex Etel as Harry Gregson and

Emma Fielding Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding (born 7 October 1970) is an English actress. Early life and education The daughter of a British Army officer, Fielding spent some of her childhood in Nigeria, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Northern Ireland and other ...

as Laurentia Galindo. Mr. Horner's name was changed to Mr. Carter, and was played by

Philip Glenister Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William Bell ...

. The character of Lord Septimus, the Countess' seventh child, is mentioned in the first series as he is in the novel. The book, however, was extended in the first episode of the second series '' Return to Cranford'', featuring the death of Lady Ludlow from bone cancer, and Lord Septimus' return from Italy to claim his estate, where his

ne'er-do-well "Ne'er-do-well" is a derogatory term for a good-for-nothing person; or a rogue, vagrant or vagabond without means of support. It is a contraction of the phrase ''never-do-well''. Colonial context The term ne'er-do-well was used in the ninetee ...

personality is revealed. In the episode, Lord Septimus was portrayed by

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

, with Annis, Etel and Fielding reprising their roles.

External links

* * * Novels by Elizabeth Gaskell 1858 British novels British novels adapted into television shows Works originally published in Household Words {{1850s-novel-stub Victorian novels Novels about nobility