Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Being a huge fan of Charles Dickens, it follows that I would like anyone he was a fan of. Elizabeth Gaskell was a contemporary and friend of Dickens, and even published her stories in his magazine, Household Words. He called her, "my dear Scheherezade," and what a fitting name! Gaskell draws you in: I have to quote this website because Jenny someone-or-other completely sums it up:

"At 688 pages, it was an investment of time, one of those really long Victorian novels you have to get stuck into before it gets rolling, and at first, the minutiae of Molly Gibson’s 'everyday story' did seem a bit dull.

"But about a quarter of the way into the book, I realized I was hooked. In a way, this novel reminded me of Middlemarch. This was not so much a book about will-he-or-won’t-he-marry-her. This was more a book about he-married-her-and-now-what? Dr. Gibson makes his ill-matched marriage, and both families must live with the choice, emotionally, socially, and financially. It’s the ins and outs of those relationships, subtle and true as they are, that make this novel hum with life. I was interested in the themes of health, of class, and of foreignness . . . but it’s the family ties that make the book."

A small disclaimer: Gaskell died before the book was finished, so it's missing a few chapters. But you pretty much guess what the ending would be, and if you, like myself, can't stand to be left hanging, I highly recommend watching the beautiful BBC version of this lovely Victorian novel.
Gaskell lived a very tame life compared to some of her contemporaries, and I can't help but wonder if that's why her books are sometimes left in the dust of authors like Dickens, Austen, Eliot, Trollope, and Thackery (no offence meant to any of those greats!). She married a pastor, bore several children, lost one, published several books, and died without any great scandal. And in the next life I think we are going to be friends.