For Patricia Lynch, "opening one of Elizabeth Gaskell's works is like 'reading' an icon or, in her case, an exquisite Pre-Raphaelite painting. We step into her world: the lush beauty of the Cheshire countryside and the cramped, dark wretchedness of factory towns." Fans of Gaskell's published and dramatized works will discover ways in which The Message can reveal the depth of faith in Cranford, North and South, Wives and Daughters, and other favorite novels and short stories by this friend and colleague of Charles Dickens.