Mary Barton is a novel written by Elizabeth Gaskell set in Manchester, England in the 1830's. It follows the story of a working-class family suffering the harsh conditions of factory labour. Gaskell worked in Manchester helping the poor during the height of social problems in the area. This makes the novel a primary source as she describes conditions in a purposely accurate way, her intention being to inform the ignorant middle and upper classes of the grave hardships felt by working class people.
The text goes in to a lot of specific detail on the domiciles of the characters and also t…
