<p><i>North and South </i>(1854) is a social novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. The novel follows Margaret Hale as she is forced to leave her home in the tranquil, rural south and settle with her parents in the fictional industrial town of Milton in the north of England. She witnesses the consequences of the Industrial Revolution and the first strikes between employers and workers.</p> North and South (1854) is a social novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. The novel follows Margaret Hale as she is forced to leave her home in the tranquil, rural south and settle with her parents in the fictional industrial town of Milton in the north of England. She witnesses the consequences of the Industrial Revolution and the first strikes between employers and workers.