In Gaskell's North and South, Wales is talked about as a place to settle down, pictured as a farm house in the wild that would have been preferrable over Margaret's current situation.

The modern history starts in the 19th century when South Wales became heavily Industrialised with ironworks; this, along with the spread of coal mining to the Cynon and Rhondda valleys from the 1840s, led to an increase in population. The social effects of industrialisation resulted in armed uprisings against the mainly English owners. Socialism developed in South Wales in the latter part of the century, accompanied by the increasing politicisation of religious Nonconformism. Wales was not this lush, green landscape that was described in North and South.

I always viewed South Wales as the upper class. The discussion over it's importance was brief, however it was never described as the filthy, poverty stricken, industrialised area that I've found it to be in my research.

Works cited:

Amon, Rick. “Wales.” Rick Steves' Europe, 2 June 2018, www.ricksteves.com/europe/wales.