Falling for Mr. Thornton: Tales of North and South

Amidst the turbulent backdrop of a manufacturing town in the grips of the Industrial Revolution, Elizabeth Gaskell penned the timeless passion of Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale. A mixing of contemporary and Victorian, this short story anthology by twelve beloved authors considers familiar scenes from new points of view or re-imagined entirely. Capturing all the poignancy, heartbreak, and romance of the original tale, Falling for Mr. Thornton is a collection you will treasure again and again.

Stories by: Trudy Brasure * Nicole Clarkston * Julia Daniels * Rose Fairbanks * Don Jacobson * Evy Journey * Nancy Klein * M. Liza Marte * Elaine Owen * Damaris Osborne * Melanie Stanford ** Foreword by Mimi Matthews **

Modern

On the Island

By Melanie Stanford.
Meg Hale doesn’t want to return to John Thornton’s resort. After all, another visit won’t change her bad review.
But the resort has changed—and so has John.
The more time Meg spends on the island, the more she realizes she may have made a mistake. A mistake that could cost John the resort, and Meg her heart.

Time Slips

Passages in Time

By Kate Forrester
Set just before Margaret arrives in Milton. Mr Thornton dies in a devastating fire at Marlborough Mill - or does he?

The First Day of Spring

By M Liza Marte
Spring this year will bring daffodils, singing birds, and the love of a lifetime.

Humorous

Loose Leaves from Milton

By Damaris Osborne
A spoof of North & South with a strong twist of tea, the British favoured beverage, and sprang from John Thornton being known as 'JT' in so many forum threads. J Tea was an obvious progression, and the story follows the television adaptation, loose-leafly, as his love for the haughty Miss Hale with the porcelain tea cup complexion, who looks down upon him upwards, brews until he has to pour out his love, unstrained.

Continuation

Reeducating Mr Thornton

By Evy Journey
When Mr. Thornton and Margaret arrived in Cadiz for a month’s visit with her brother and his new wife, he did not care much about the strange city. Nor did he have great expectations of what Cadiz could offer a visitor like him. But later, what he finds there and who he encounters change his outlook forever.

Variations

Mistakes and Remedies

By Julia Daniels
When John Thornton’s sister goes missing, he seeks help from the one woman he can trust—the one who still holds his heart. Saving Fanny is all he hopes for, until a tender friendship begins to flourish between him and the love he had thought lost to him.

Her Father's Last Wish

By Rose Fairbanks
Two hearts desperately in love divided by her wretched secret, one father's wish to unite them.

The Best Medicine

By Elaine Owen
What if Thornton found a way to change Margaret's mind about him earlier in the story? Could helping Margaret's friend Bessy be the way to winning Margaret's heart? This is a short story with more than one happy ever after for more than one beloved character!

Cinders and Smoke

By Don Jacobson
That space between the end of the riot and the new dawn where Thornton faces his demons as Higgins confronts him with questions about his humanity and where Margaret uses her compassion to bring the two sides together.

Mischances

By Nicole Clarkston
When the wrong person discovers Margaret in a compromising position, she is forced to decide who she really wants and just how much she can trust the one man who can help her.

Alternate Endings

Looking to the Future

By Nancy Klein
Starting from Margaret's return to London from her trip with Mr. Bell to Helstone, this story contemplates events solely from Margaret's point of view. Margaret rues her treatment of Mr. Thornton, and wonders if she will ever have a chance to set things to right.

Once Again

By Trudy Brasure
A deeper look at Thornton’s emotional journey from despair to bliss as he arrives in London to sign the papers to give up the mill.