15 h 29 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What makes a man's name when he has no known family, and the city around him never stops changing?
A flood sweeps through Manchester, and a rescued baby finds a home with Ben Clegg's working family. That child is Jabez Clegg: lively, plain-spoken, and quick to anger at unfairness. In The Manchester Man, Isabella Banks follows his path from poor streets toward a place in the world of trade.
An apprenticeship in merchant Simon Ashton's house opens a new world, but Laurence Aspinall stands in Jabez's way, armed with the social advantages he lacks. Around their rivalry, Manchester grows from a crowded market town into a great cotton city. Love, loyalty, hunger, and political unrest give this personal struggle a wider reach.
What you’ll discover
- A child in the flood Enter the story beside the swollen River Irk, where disaster brings Jabez a new home.
- A name worth making Follow a foundling who must define himself through honest work rather than family standing.
- Unequal rivals Watch Jabez face Laurence Aspinall, whose pride rests on advantages Jabez cannot claim.
- Manchester in motion Walk streets shaped by rivers, warehouses, and the pressures of a growing cotton city.
- Loyalties under pressure Explore ambition, love, and belonging in a town strained by war, hunger, and unrest.
Who will love it
For readers who love character-driven Victorian fiction and anyone curious about the making of industrial Manchester, with its rivalries, loyalties, love and questions of belonging.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A flood brings a child to Manchester
- Growing up poor with a strong character
- An apprenticeship in a merchant's house
- A rival who stands in his way
- A town under strain in hard years
- Belonging, class and how the tale is told
Who’s who
- Jabez CleggA foundling saved from a flood as a baby and raised in Manchester, he must make his own name through honest work.
- Simon AshtonA figure of trade and standing in the town.
- Laurence AspinallA young man of better standing than Jabez and his chief rival, proud and sure of what he thinks he deserves.
- Ben CleggJabez Clegg is a foundling raised by a working family who seeks to make a place for himself in Manchester.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
L’Homme de Manchester in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
L’Homme de Manchester
by Mme G. Linnaeus Banks · 1876
Rescued from a flood, Jabez Clegg must make his own name amid rivalry, love and Manchester's changing fortunes.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Manchester Man is a historical novel by Mrs. G.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A flood brings a child to Manchester
The novel opens with a disaster. The River Irk, which runs through the poorer parts of old Manchester, rises in flood in 1799, and the water sweeps through the low streets and houses along its banks. In the chaos, a baby is carried along on the water and is rescued by people who live near the river. This opening gives the book its hero and its central question. Who is this child, and where did he come from?
The baby is taken in by a Manchester family named Clegg and is given the name Jabez. He grows up as one of their own, loved and brought up in plain, hard-working ways. Yet he is always a child with a hidden beginning. Nobody in the town can say whose son he is.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about L’Homme de Manchester
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Manchester Man about?
It follows Jabez Clegg, a foundling rescued from a flood as a baby and raised in Manchester. The novel traces his rise through work, rivalry and love against the background of the town's changing fortunes.
Who wrote The Manchester Man and when?
It was written by Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks, the pen name of Isabella Varley Banks, and published in 1876. She was born in Manchester and set the story in the city of her youth and earlier.
Is The Manchester Man a true story?
Not entirely, though it is a novel rather than a factual account. Some central characters and events are drawn from real life. But it is set against real events and places, including the flood of the River Irk in 1799 and the unrest of the early nineteenth century.
The author
Isabella Banks
1821–1897 · English novelist
Isabella Banks (1821–1897) was an English novelist and poet who published as Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks. She was born in Manchester and later lived in London, where she died. Her novel The Manchester Man appeared in 1876. She married George Linnaeus Banks, a writer, in 1846.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
