The Half-Brothers

Name: The Half-Brothers
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

The Half-Brothers is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1848. It tells the story of two half-brothers, Mark and Philip, who are separated at birth and raised in different social classes. Mark is raised by his wealthy father, while Philip is raised by his poor mother. The two brothers eventually meet and become close friends, despite their differences in upbringing. They are both in love with the same woman, and their relationship is tested when they both compete for her affections. The novel follows the brothers as they struggle to reconcile their differences and find a way to be together. Along the way, they must confront their own prejudices and learn to accept each other for who they are. The novel is a powerful exploration of class, family, and love.

By Elizabeth Gaskell · First published 1896 · Genre: Realistic Fiction, Family Drama, Romance · 5,216 words

First lines

My mother was twice married. She never spoke of her first husband, and it is only from other people that I have learnt what little I know about him. I believe she was scarcely seventeen when she was married to him: and he was barely one-and-twenty. He rented a small farm up in Cumberland, somewhere towards the sea-coast; but he was perhaps too young and inexperienced to have the charge of land and cattle: anyhow, his affairs did not prosper, and he fell into ill health, and died of consumption before they had been three years man and wife, leaving my mother a young widow of twenty, with a little child only just able to walk, and the farm on her hands for four years more by the lease, with half the stock on it dead, or sold off one by one to pay the more pressing debts, and with no money to purchase more, or even to buy the provisions needed for the small consumption of every day. There was another child coming, too; and sad and sorry, I believe, she was to think of it. A dreary winter she must have had in her lonesome dwelling, with never another near it for miles around; her sister came to bear her company, and they two planned and plotted how to make every penny they could raise go as far as possible.

What this Textopian page supports

The Half-Brothers is listed on Textopian as a short story by Elizabeth Gaskell, dated 1896 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Date: 1896 CE
Language: English
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Family Drama, Romance, Historical Fiction
Length: 5,216 words
Structure: 1 section, 53 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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Discussion starters

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Similar titles

Genres

Realistic Fiction — The Half-Brothers is a realistic fiction novel that follows the lives of two half-brothers, their families, and the struggles they face in their relationships with each other and their families.
Family Drama — The Half-Brothers is a family drama that explores the complex relationships between two half-brothers and their families, and the struggles they face in their relationships with each other and their families.
Romance — The Half-Brothers contains elements of romance as the two half-brothers struggle to find love and acceptance in their families and in their relationships with each other.
Historical Fiction — The Half-Brothers is set in the 19th century and contains elements of historical fiction as it explores the social and political issues of the time period.