This essay will look at the first chapter of Mary Barton: a tale of Manchester life and to show how the ideas raised here are relevant to the rest of the novel. Chapter one of Mary Barton is the exposition of the novel, in which Gaskell sets the scene and introduces the reader to the characters. The chapter begins on a happy Sunday afternoon walk between two families, the Bartons and the Wilson's. The setting …showed first 75 words of 1457 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1457 total…them want to know what would happen as the story continues. It is also an effective chapter as it sets the scene and lets the reader know the story is set in Manchester. Bibliography Gaskell E, Mary Barton, Penguin popular classic 1996 Gaskell E, Mary Barton, Introduction 1985 Gaskell E, Mary Barton, Preface to 1985 Hopkins AB, Her Life & Work (London, 1952) Shelston A, The Gaskell Society Journal, Volume 3, 1989 Tillotson K, Novels of the Eighteen-Forties, OUP 1985 edition