ABSTRACT
RuthwasGaskell'ssecondfull-lengthwork.SinceMaryBartonshe hadwrittenanumberofshortstories,mainlyforHouseholdWords; evenCranford,whichbegantoappearinDecember1851,onlysaw volumepublicationinmid-1853.Plannedlikeherfirstnovelto appearinthreevolumes,Ruthisalargeadvanceinconstruction.Not onlywastherenoneedtoaddextramaterialatalatestage(p.73 above),buttheplotistightlyknitup,sothatRuth'sstoryisalways atthecentreandtheotherplotdevelopments(theBradshaw children,forinstance)playtheirpartbyforwardingitandby commenting-optimisticallyinthecaseofJemima'sfindingof happiness,ironicallythroughRichard'sforgeryanditschallengeto hisfather.Thestoryfallsroughlyintothreeparts,correspondingto volumedivision:thefirstuptoRuth'sarrivalatEcclestonwiththe Bensons,thesecondendingwiththerejectionofBellingham's marriageoffer.Thethree-volumenovelwastheestablishedformfor anyhopingtobeboughtinlargenumbersbythecirculating libraries.1ItwasamarkofRuth'ssuccessthatoneLondonlibrarian withdrewthenovelas'unfitforfamilyreading'(223).
