Margaret Hale Timeline and Summary

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• Margaret hangs out at her cousin Edith's house before Edithgets married. It's pretty clear that she thinks Edith is too much of a little princess.
• After the wedding, Margaret rides home with her father and realizes that something is bugging him.
• Shortly after, Margaret finds out that her father plans on quitting his job as a clergyman and moving his family to the northern English town of Milton to become a private tutor.
• When the family moves, Margaret meets a factory owner named John Thornton. The two instantly clash over their differing views of social responsibility and how to treat workers.
• When Margaret's mother becomes terminally ill, she writes to her exiled brother Frederick and begs him to sneak back to England to be present at his mother's death. He agrees and comes.
• After her mother dies, Margaret accompanies Frederick to the train station. They run into a guy who recognizes Frederick and tries to turn him in for a reward. Frederick escapes after a scuffle and the other guy (named Leonards) dies later that night from liver failure.
• A police inspector shows up at Margaret's door and tells her that a witness has placed her at the train station on the night Leonards died. Scared of implicating her fugitive brother, Margaret says she never went anywhere near the station that night.
• It turns out that Margaret's admirer, John Thornton, saw her at the train station on the night in question. As a powerful man, he makes the investigation go away so that Margaret's lie will never be found out.
• Margaret's father, Mr. Hale, dies during a trip to Oxford. Mr. Hale's best friend, Mr. Bell, tells Margaret that he will always take care of her financially.
• Margaret goes back to London to live with her cousin's family. While living there, she finds out that Mr. Bell has died and that she has inherited his large fortune.
• Margaret learns that Mr. Thornton is visiting London because his business has gone belly up. She has also heard that Mr. Thornton has turned into a kind and compassionate boss since meeting her.
• Margaret volunteers to lend Mr. Thornton the money he needs to keep his factory afloat. Overcome with gratitude, he proposes to her (again). This time, Margaret accepts.