Top 100 Classic Books Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Moorland Cottage is a story of Maggie Browne, the daughter of a deceased clergyman who is encouraged to give up her own life and passions and devote herself to her brother Edward. Through the example and guidance of her mother, a young woman learns that self-sacrifice is the key to living a fulfilled life.