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William H Stoddard's avatar

If you want smokestacks in your romance, or at least factories, I recommend the later novel North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell. The daughter of a clergyman from southern England moves with her father to one of the industrial cities of northern England, where she meets a factory owner—a self-made man who has paid off his inherited debts and made his factory prosperous. The two have very different values, which play a big role in their developing relationship. Notably, it's never shown as a clash of Right and Wrong. It's an excellent novel, one that I liked almost as much as Austen or Kipling.

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Roy J. Koczela's avatar

I didn’t realize the historical Regency period was that late. The Pride and Prejudice movie (that had Colin Firth) made me THINK it was set in the 1750’s or so. And I never thought it was completely unfaithful to the book (though didn’t apply the same standards as I would to, say…Lord of the Rings). No smokestacks, no trains, nothing about Napoleon etc even alluded to.

Learn something new every day, I guess. And definitely excited to read about how that works in the World of the Wise.

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