Livi Michael is superb at forcing the reader to confront uncomfortable questions about poverty and the well-meaning outsiders who seek to end it. Recreating the genesis of Gaskell’s most controversial novel, Michael explores the massive strain of a woman juggling the demands of motherhood, writing, and social campaigning in industrial Manchester. This is a powerful look at the ‘fallen’ and the ‘good’ – and the complicated, often heartbreaking reality of those trying to bridge the gap between the two.
