I think I am so used to Gaskell's longer works that I found Cousin Phyllis to be somehow unfinished - superficial. The writing is of course impeccable, but I didn't care that much about the characters - I found them too trapped by their typology - they don't have time to grow somehow. This is also the first of her writings that I read which is written from a young man's perspective and I found him unconvincing as a narrator. All in all, a bit mediocre, but that's probably because I now expect a bit more drama and excitement from Gaskell's writing.