Seven years ago, I sat down, on a dreary November Sunday evening, to watch the latest BBC period drama. A keen fan of Mrs Gaskell since reading Mary Barton at college, I was looking forward to finding out what North and South had to offer.

The first episode left me puzzled. A brusque and socially awkward mill owner and a young girl from the south weren’t characters I wanted to get to know any better. Nevertheless, I watched the second episode the following week and fell. I fell headlong in love with John Thornton – and with his story of struggle. I despaired too, along with him, about the feelings he was developing for Margaret Hale, the displaced southerner uprooted from her idyllic life to a harsh existence in Milton – Manchester.

Stupidly I didn’t record either episode. I knew better on the third week and videoed the third and final instalments. I remember quite clearly being on the edge of my seat, hoping that John and Margaret would get together. I’d already rushed out to buy the book and had read it in a hurry to find out the ending but I wanted to see how the television series would treat it. I wasn’t disappointed.

When it was all over, I was bereft. Never mind that I had my birthday and Christmas to look forward to, I had no John Thornton to console me through the cold dark nights. As when I’d fallen hook line and sinker for another leading man, Colin Firth as Darcy, I began to hunt for information. But times had changed in the ten years or so since the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice – there was the internet! No Broadband, only dial up in those days (it sounds so long ago but technology moves on at an extraordinary pace) I quadrupled the phone bill as I found the BBC’s Drama Message Board. I’d never, ever joined in with anything like this before – had never even lurked. With huge trepidation and naivety (my username was my own name, I didn’t realise it would be published!) I signed up.

And a whole new world opened for me. Whereas before I’d had to rely on rewatching my battered old video of Pride and Prejudice and read and reread the making of book that accompanied it, this time I found myself swept up into a bevy of similarly entranced women – all discussing North and South – and John Thornton! I was in heaven. In those days, there was a cut off point at ten o’clock at night and there would often be a delay in getting your message on board but it was still a heady experience.

We discussed anything from working conditions in nineteenth century mills, to the amount of emotional experience a man like John might have (that was a hot topic!). We shared giggles, fantasies, anecdotes and most of all knowledge. A real bond formed. The BBC even gave us our own N&S Message Board after a while. My reading pile loomed large and lumpy beside the bed, as I bought books recommended by other N&S devotees. But I didn’t have time to read them – I was too busy following the discussions online. With the strict rules enforced, we had to circumnavigate some references – Amazon became the South American river site – and we had to think long and hard about how to discuss certain delicate issues without being moderated, for instance, was John Thornton a virgin? But it all added to the fun and camaraderie. By and large, we were older than most posters on message boards and generally had some sort of tertiary education. A broadsheet newspaper even stereotyped us – as forty something, Earl Grey drinking English graduates! Although many of us met the profile, the reality was we were a much more disparate group. We had one thing in common though – we adored John Thornton!

Then disaster struck. The BBC told us, due to cutbacks, that our message board would be no more! What was I going to do? How was I going to feed my obsession with all things N&S? Luckily, a wonderful person, known as CC set up a proboards message board called C19. We decamped in droves. It wasn’t quite the same but the community flourished – and grew.

C19 still exists. On it, its members chat about anything from costume drama to sport, from modern fiction to gardening tips. And we still talk about John Thornton! The actor who played him, Richard Armitage, has gone on to many other things and his work is discussed on there too. C19 always welcomes new members, embraces its international status and carries on doing what it does best – bringing people together. I’ve made many wonderful friends, some of whom I know I will keep in contact with always.

The most exciting legacy of all this, for me and a few others, is that it gave us a motive to write. But perhaps that topic is for another post.
So, this January, on a dull Sunday evening, I’ll get out my much-watched DVD of North and South and give it another airing. It’s given me so much over the past few years: much pleasure, treasured friendships and the final incentive to do what I’d always wanted to do – write!

Thank you North and South.

Dedicated to CC, who has recently moved on from being Administrator of C19. With love and grateful thanks. 🙂