Elizabeth Gaskell published 18 short works in Charles Dickens' Household Words between 1850 and 1858. This collection follows the collection of the 1850-1853 works, with recordings of 7 Household Words pieces published between 1854 and 1858. The collection includes two of Gaskell's most important shorter works: Half a Lifetime Ago, set in the English Lake District, and The Poor Clare, in which the bewitched heroine is pursued by a mischievous double. The Sin of a Father and The Manchester Marriage are both tales with a message. The collection begins with three documentary pieces that emerged from Gaskell's travels in France.