2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the BBC TV adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic novel. And when better to celebrate than this Valentine’s Day?

The groundbreaking love story of smouldering Richard Armitage as mill owner John Thornton and Daniela Denby-Ashe as complex heroine Margaret Hale broke the BBC switchboard when it first aired. Since then it has captured hearts all over the world.

The original novel and the TV series, adapted by Sandy Welch, tell the story of Thornton and Margaret as they navigate their feelings against a backdrop of industrial strife and class tension.

Mr Thornton and Margaret Hale in the BBC Adaptation
This Valentine’s Day celebrate literary romance and enjoy a closer look at the onscreen and on-the-page passion and changing relationship of our hero and heroine. In this anniversary year, join the ever-popular Libby Tempest, Vice-Chair of the Gaskell Society, for a new talk online. Celebrate North and South and the romance at the heart of the iconic novel and series.

Image by Lucy Morris.