"Mary Barton" by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is a novel published in 1848. Set in Manchester during the industrial turmoil of 1839-1842, it follows Mary Barton, a working-class girl caught between two suitors: a devoted craftsman and a wealthy mill owner's son. When murder strikes and the wrong man faces trial, Mary must race against time to save her true love without exposing a devastating secret that could destroy her family forever. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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