Through Darkened Clouds - a new N&S novella

My latest North and South story is now available for purchase or to read on Kindle Unlimited at Amazon! Through Darkened Clouds is a second-chance, closed-door novella that takes the reader to Helstone, Milton, Oxford, and London with dear Mr. Bell playing a vital role.

I have loved writing John and Margaret romance stories—taking the original and twisting the plot to find out what would happen differently. And it’s been my greatest pleasure to discover that fans of North and South (and Richard Armitage!) enjoy reading my stories. Thanks so much for everyone who has read, purchased, and/or left comments or reviews. I love hearing from you!

This month marks 15 years since I published my first novel, A Heart for Milton. It’s been a wonderful adventure to become a published author. The North and South community has a special place in my heart.

Thank you all for your interest in my blog and my stories.

-Trudy Brasure

The profound power of a long, silent hug

I’ve written before about the power of human touch in North and South. One of the aspects of Gaskell’s writing that I adore is how vividly she brings to life the very human emotions of her characters. Our modern impression of Victorian society has us feeling pity for those staid and distant Victorians, who are forbidden to express their real feelings under the crushing weight of propriety.

Although propriety was indeed a factor in controlling outward behavior, Gaskell lets us see what is underneath any tempered covering.

Her characters agonize, yearn, worry, regret, envy, and love. They are real human beings with mixed emotions and motives. And the deepest feelings are expressed not so much in dialogue as in the body language: gestures, touches, and looks.

Let’s take a look at three powerful scenes in the book that included a long, silent hug that showed deep emotion.

First, there’s the pivotal moment when Mr. Hale reveals his decision to leave Helstone to his daughter. This is explosive news to Margaret, and she rightly exclaims her disbelief:

Margaret and her father have an affectionate moment. (from the BBC’s North and South)

‘Oh, papa, cried she, with sudden passionate entreaty, ‘say - tell me it is a night-mare — a horrid dream — not the real waking truth! …

‘I do mean it, Margaret. You must not deceive yourself into doubting the reality of my words - my fixed intention and resolve.’ He looked at her in the same steady, stony manner, for some moments after he had done speaking. She, too, gazed back with pleading eyes before she would believe that it was irrevocable. Then she arose and went, without another word or look, towards the door. As her fingers were on the handle he called her back. He was standing by the fireplace, shrunk and stooping; but as she came near he drew himself up to his full height, and, placing his hands on her head, he said, solemnly:

“The blessing of God be upon thee, my child!”

“And may He restore you to His Church,” responded she, out of the fulness of her heart. The next moment she feared lest this answer to his blessing might be irreverent, wrong — might hurt him as coming from his daughter, and she thew her arms round his neck. He held her to him for a minute or two…

This is a desperate yet tender scene between father and daughter. Mr. Hale’s decision to leave the church has been brewing in his mind for a long time, but it comes as a terrible shock to Margaret. Her whole life will be upended by this unwanted change.

Yet, their affection for each other remains constant. Neither wants to hurt the other, and Mr. Hale holds his daughter close for a few moments to confirm to himself the unwavering bond of care between them—despite the uncertain future.

The silent hug of “a minute or two” is profound, because the tenderness and love felt between people that have a deep shared history together can’t really be expressed in words. Holding tight to each other means much more. We’ve all felt the tremendous emotion of a silent hug, when seeing someone after a long separation, when sharing grief, when celebrating new chapters in life.

Hannah Thornton worries about her son when his business fails. (from the BBC’s North and South)

John and his mother have a similar moment of tender physical contact when the world they have built is collapsing around them. As John realizes that he can no longer afford to keep his mill running, his mother’s concern is evident.

“I sometimes have wondered where justice was gone to, and now I don’t believe there is such a thing in the world, —now you are come to this;

you, my own John Thornton, though you and I may be beggars together — my own dear son!”

She fell upon his neck and kissed him through her tears.

“Mother!” said he, holding her gently in his arms. “Who has sent me my lot in life, both of good and of evil?”

She shook her head. She would have nothing to do with religion just then.

These two have struggled through trauma and years of poverty together. They find binding strength in each other when all else is chaos. So in this moment it seems natural that John would hold his mother to him for his own comfort—and to comfort her. They still have each other, no matter what happens.

Just before they both truly understand the other’s feelings. (from the BBC’s North and South)

The sweet hugs between father and daughter/mother and son were born of harsh circumstances where the assurance of love was needed to buoy determination and strength to meet the future. But the final body-to-body embrace at the end of the book is not one born of hardship, but of unfathomable hope and joy!

I love the ending of Gaskell’s novel, where so much repressed love explodes into barely controlled passion!

By the time of this final scene, it has been about two years since the riot and John’s declaration of love for her. For nearly two years, they each have been suffering from the belief that the other did not love them.

When John comes to London, he hasn’t seen Margaret in over a year. When they are finally alone in in a room together, the passionate tension between them is palpable in every motion—every word. So when Margaret reveals her wish to loan him all her money to save his mill, the tension unravels:

His voice was hoarse, and trembling with tender passion, as he said:

“Margaret!”

For an instant she looked up; and then sought to veil her luminous eyes by dropping her forehead on her hands. Again, stepping nearer, he besought her with another tremulous eager call upon her name.

“Margaret!”

Still lower went the head; more closely hidden was the face, almost resting on the table before her. He came close to her. He knelt by her side, to bring his face to a level with her ear; and whispered—panted out the words:—

“Take care.—If you do not speak—I shall claim you as my own in some strange presumptuous way.—Send me away at once, if I must go;—Margaret!”

At that third call she turned her face, still covered with her small white hands, towards him, and laid it on his shoulder, hiding it even there; and it was too delicious to feel her soft cheek against his, for him to wish to see either deep blushes or loving eyes. He clasped her close. But they both kept silence.

Imagine the power of that “He clasped her close.”

He held her silently for a time while all that pent-up, agonized longing vanishes with the incredible realization that she loves him—his suffering turned to indescribable hope and joy.

She feels the same incredulous wonder as he holds her tight.

They will no longer be alone. A whole new life spreads before them! Words cannot convey the depth of feeling reverberating within them at this supreme moment.

THIS is the power of a long, silent hug.

And in this case, a few extra moments of “delicious silence” is just icing on the cake!

The one film adaptation I really want to see!

It’s going to be a banner year for film adaptations of classic novels! Here’s the rundown of offerings planned for release in 2026:

On Television

A six-part series of Pride and Prejudice is coming to Netflix this autumn.

The Other Bennet Sister, a 10-part BBC television drama focusing on Mary Bennet, is set to air this year.

A new tv adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is under development. Mr. Rochester has not yet been cast.

The Count of Monte Cristo, a TV adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel, begins airing on PBS in March.

At the Movies

Wuthering Heights, the dark tale of obsession by Emily Bronte, is out in theaters now.

Upcoming Pride and Prejudice tv adaption cast. (photo by Ludovic Robert)

I’m curious to see the new Jane Eye and Pride and Prejudice productions. And I definitely want to watch The Count of Monte Cristo. (I keep wanting to type ‘Crisco’ but I’ll keep my baking hobby out of this!)

The score card favors Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. No Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy?

Sadly, there is also no Elizabeth Gaskell adaptation in the works either. It’s been over twenty years since a Gaskell novel was adapted into film.

And it’s been almost ten years since I wrote a blog piece detailing why I would absolutely love to see Gaskell’s first novel, Mary Barton, made into a tv series. There are many similarities to North and South.

The BBC’s Nicholas Higgins from Gaskell’s North and South would also make a great John Barton.

I would be excited to have the BBC hire Sandy Welch to screen write this gritty novel. There is so much potential. And so much drama, including:

• murder

• love triangle

• factory fire

• boat race

• court trial

The image above of Brendon Coyle as Nicholas Higgins could also easily be a photo of John Barton, Mary’s father in the novel.

Mary Barton is the classic novel I most want to see made into film.

What film adaptations would you love to see?

Christmas stories for the 2025 holiday season:

I love promoting the stories of other authors who have a connection to North and South. All the books featured here are written by authors who loved John Thornton and were inspired to write because of Gaskell’s story (and Richard Armitage, let’s be honest!).

A longer list of Christmas titles by North and South fans can be found here.

[This website uses affiliate links, meaning: at no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission if you make a purchase from the links provided. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Your support helps to cover the cost of hosting this website. Thank you!]

Here are newly released stories:

New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn

By Hill, Georgia

Buy on Amazon

When Livvy's boyfriend bails on her just days before they're due to take over a run-down cliffside pub, she's left with a choice: give up or do it all alone. So, with a battered heart and a head full of dreams, she rolls up her sleeves and throws herself into transforming The George into the sophisticated gastropub she always imagined.
But Lullbury Bay has other plans.
From Silent Ernie and his cherry picker to the local quiz nights, festive frolics and a springer spaniel called Angel, Livvy soon finds herself swept into the warm and slightly bonkers embrace of village life. And then there's Mark—the kind, thoughtful, frustratingly handsome local who might just be exactly what Livvy needs... if she can open her heart again.
But when a string of unsettling events threatens everything she's built, Livvy must decide what really matters: style or substance, success or belonging, ambition or love?

A gorgeously festive, feel-good story full of quirky characters, cozy pub nights and Christmas magic.

---

Buy on Amazon

Sophie used to adore everything about Christmas. Hot chocolate and velvet bows, fairy lights and mince pies.
Until the December her fiancé jilted her.
Since then, Sophie opened Sunnyside Hotel, a quaint guesthouse nestled deep in the Cumbrian countryside. And, though it might be winter at Sunnyside, it’s never Christmas.

Marketing her hotel to those who wish to avoid the festivities, Sophie is busy preparing for a season full of joy and laughter, but without the tinsel and mistletoe. Yet, as she finds herself growing closer to her gorgeous neighbor, Brody, her heart begins to melt.

Will this Christmas bring the touch of magic Sophie needs to give love another chance?

---

Buy on Amazon

A year after Elizabeth Bennet’s refusal, Fitzwilliam Darcy lives with the echo of her words and the shadow of her absence. Christmastide brings no comfort—only duty, solitude, and a heart he cannot quiet. Yet when his cousin persuades him into joining a country house party at Kelton Manor, Darcy faces the one encounter he vowed to avoid: Elizabeth herself.

For Elizabeth, too much has changed. Lydia’s elopement has blackened her family’s name, and any hope of happiness is gone. To meet Mr. Darcy again is agony enough; to be trapped under the same roof at Christmas is almost unbearable. Surely he must despise her now.

But snowbound days and firelit nights weave their own magic. Between the strains of carols, the laughter of games, and the hush of a winter’s evening, Darcy and Elizabeth discover that regret is not the end of love. When a cherished keepsake reveals the depth of his devotion, Elizabeth must decide: can she trust her heart to him again, even when the world insists they are forever divided?

---

And last but not least….

the latest John and Margaret Christmas story!

Buy on Amazon

When Mr. Bell dies unexpectedly, Margaret Hale inherits more than his estate—she inherits a legal complication she never anticipated. Summoned to a business meeting just days before Christmas, she is prepared for contracts, signatures, and uncomfortable formalities.
What she is not prepared for is John Thornton.

Once the proud master of Marlborough Mills, Thornton arrives in London carrying a failing business, a lifetime of duty, and a secret keepsake he has treasured for months. He expects nothing but loss—of his mill, his pride, and any final connection to the woman he has never forgotten.

But when a hidden clause in Mr. Bell’s will forces them into a private consultation, old misunderstandings resurface, truths emerge, and Margaret begins to see exactly how much Thornton has sacrificed for others… and for her.

As snow falls over London, Margaret uncovers a discovery that could save the mill, protect the workers of Milton, and bind her future irrevocably with John’s. Yet taking that step requires one thing she has never dared to risk: her heart.

Can love mend what pride once shattered?
And will this Christmas bring healing… or heartbreak?

Hannah Thornton as a Mother

What would it be like to have Hannah Thornton as your mother? I imagine most of us would cringe at the thought.

Hannah is definitely not the warm and fuzzy type, but she did happen to produce one heck of a hero! It was her determination and moral strength that set her son on the course to greatness in character and in his far-reaching business affairs.

On the whole, I greatly admire Hannah and love her for her tough nut determination and faith in her son. But we all know she wouldn’t be great fun to live with. 

My interest in this topic today is not necessary about how Margaret would fare living with the Old Crow, but how Hannah’s nature and mannerisms effected and shaped the lives and characters of her children. 

Hannah Thornton adores her son. (BBC image)

So what do we know about Hannah? Gaskell doesn’t give us any real information about her upbringing. And we’re given very little about her husband. We know her husband was duped or persuaded to make a very poor ‘investment’ which turned him into a debtor and ultimately caused him to take his life. She has worn black, or mourning colors, ever since. 

Hannah didn’t wait to become a charity case, but moved her children a ways out of town where John found work in a draper’s shop. Fanny might have been about 3, John about 16. They lived on very little while still setting aside money to pay back all the debt her husband had owed.

We know that she lost an infant or very small child - probably a baby she had between those gaping years between her living children.

All hats off to her for taking command of a dire situation and determining to live with purpose and dignity despite their toils. This is the biggest influence she could have given her son. Her determination to dismiss the shame that society would place on her family shows great courage, strength, and individual moral conviction and worth. These attributes she passes to John. And they stand out amid the superficial value structures upheld by unthinking class tradition and common social custom. 

Hannah is fiercely proud of her son, especially so when his undeviating commitment to following her payback plan brings him into great opportunities and he raises himself and his family to higher status, wealth, and respect. Her pride is justified. But is it too extreme, adversely affecting her ability to evaluate others more compassionately? Her son is perfection. No one else can hold a candle to him.

What about Fanny? How did she become so dissimilar to her brother? What would it have been like for her to have Hannah for a mother? 

The Thorntons at home. (BBC image)

We can infer from Hannah’s careful and patient treatment of her daughter that Fanny was protected from hardship throughout those difficult years. Fanny shows no signs of understanding the effort and self-sacrifice involved in what her mother and brother did. Was she given preferential treatment and special treats which grew into an attitude of entitlement?

There’s oh so much to consider in thinking about the life John lived before Margaret came on the scene. How do you think John was affected by living with a mother like Hannah? Was he introverted naturally, or was it enhanced by his mother’s less than warm and snuggly manner?

What attributes do you think he carried as a result of the years he lived with Hannah and Fanny? What was his home like and what might have been missing from it? Surely not order, but he longed, not even consciously, for more warmth and lightness in his home. We see that when he admires the Hale’s more lived-in home and sees the playful way Mr. Hale interacts with Margaret when she serves her father tea.

What would it have been like for both John and Fanny to live with Hannah? How did it shape them and affect the way they expressed themselves?

There’s no doubt that Hannah’s strength, resolution, and adherence to principles shaped her son’s character. Her desire to protect young Fanny from life’s harsh circumstances was natural and motherly, but being sheltered from hardship may have helped mold Fanny into a more careless and self-absorbed character.

One thing is certain. Hannah supported both her children in the best way she knew how. She would be there for you. And that is what every child deserves.

This article is updated from a post that originally appeared on a former North and South blog: West of Milton.

One London Eve - a new N&S story!

It’s been a long time since I last published, so I’m excited to announce that my new North and South variation novel is releasing today!

This story starts with a chance meeting between John and Margaret while Margaret is still living at Edith’s house in London.

I started writing this not long after I had finished publishing In Consequence in 2014. It’s been languishing for over ten years while I dealt with several family issues and a cross-continent move!

I’m so happy to have finished this project so that I can share it with those who love to find themselves in Milton again with their favorite Victorian couple.

I appreciate all your support over the years and look forward to continuing this blog and writing a few more stories!

I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Here’s the link. It’s also on Kindle Unlimited.

Celebrating 20 years of the BBC's "North and South"

For those of us whose lives were changed by the discovery of the BBC’s 2004 adaptation of North and South, it’s not easy to describe just how deep that impact was. What we do know is that all the elements of a masterpiece—the cinematography, the screenwriting, the music, the story, the settings, and the acting by the cast—combined to make some kind of magic spell that still lingers—and still entrances the unwary who happen upon it.

Just before the Best Screen Kiss Ever (from the BBC’s 2004 adaptation of Elizaeth Gaskell’s North and South)

Those fortunate enough to have caught the original airing in November of 2004 may well remember the ensuing clamor to know more about Richard Armitage, whose performance in the mini-series was nothing short of mesmerizing.

If you know little about what happened after that first airing, or want to reminisce about those thrilling days—here’s a link to an accounting of how the mad rush to discuss North and South on the BBC’s message board crashed their site!

Not all of us, by any means, were there to discover it when it first aired. One of the greatest misfortunes in the history of this great mini-series, is that the American public broadcasting system was going through something of a downturn, and did not air this masterpiece on their national program called “Masterpiece.” I will forever lament this calamity. Although North and South was eventually aired in certain regions of the US, it never hit the country by storm in one fell swoop. We’ll never know what could have happened!

The first heart-stopping view of the imposing John Thornton. (from the BBC’s North and South)

Over time, it has been largely up to Netflix, YouTube, and then Amazon Prime to distribute North and South, and win the hearts of Americans and thousands upon thousands of others in every corner of the globe.

I didn’t happen upon it until 2009, on Netflix. My story about that can be found here.

The effect of this perfect storm of a production has been truly astonishing. Richard Armitage’s fandom exploded, Internet forums like C19 and The Armitage Army buzzed with discussion for years afterward, fans started up blogs, and thousands of people discovered the Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell and read her book.

And then there was the fan fiction. Oh. My. Goodness! I had not known about fan fiction before finding North and South, and duly spent several months of my free time gobbling up the continuation stories, variations, and what-ifs on the Internet forums I had desperately joined.

The fact that fan fiction began to flow from those captivated by the mini-series, is a high testament to its artistic power. This cinematic story stays with you long after the closing scene. The underlying passion of the otherwise in-control Mr. Thornton, and the depth of regret and sorrow that Margaret endures, sears into viewers’ hearts.

The longing to stay with this beloved couple longer and see them through various situations in our imaginations has compelled many to create their own version of events and publish them on sites such as An Archive of Our Own and Wattpad.

I’m still surprised at the outpouring of love for this film. I know that the leading reason my novel, A Heart for Milton, has been translated into Portuguese and Italian, is because of the ardent followers of the film who wanted more. And those of us who have published North and South fan fiction know that copies of our stories have been sold as far as Japan and India!

The love for this beautiful film production of North and South is truly worldwide—and ongoing. After 20 years, it still shines as one of the BBC’s best period dramas. It will surely live on as a well-loved classic for decades to come.

You’re invited to join North and South’s screenwriter, Sandy Welch, for an anniversary event sponsored by Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. Register here for the November 6th event. (Replays will be sent if you can’t make the live session.)