Cranford is the type of small town where everyone knows everything about everyone else. It is also a place with a set social hierarchy presided over by a group of older women whose word about etiquette is law. One of the younger women in the town, Mary Smith, is the narrator of the book and she manages to keep abreast of all of the town happenings even when she is out of town because her friends write to her and give her all of the up to date information.
Miss Deborah Jenkyns is the leader of the ladies. Usually nobody challenges her, but when Captain Brown arrives with his two daughters, he unwittingly flies directly in the face of the traditional mores that she has established. His first and most serious faux pas is to admit that he is poor. This is just not done. However, whilst his poverty is immediately obvious on meeting him, his kindness and generosity of spirit are not; he begins to win over the townspeople with his absolute niceness that really makes him stand out. He and his younger daughter, Miss Jessie, go without so that his older daughter, who is suffering from a debilitating illness and in enormous discomfort, can have some simple things that make her life a little bit easier. He also makes an effort to listen - really listen - to the ladies so that he is able to help them in any way that he can. When he is killed in an accident, the ladies of Cranford are initially worried that they will become responsible for both of his daughters, but his older, sickly daughter passes away very soon after her father, leaving poor Jessie alone; Miss Jenkyns decides that she will take her in, despite the fact that her uncle is a shop-keeper, and Deborah Jenkyns is rather worried what the Lady of the Manor will think when she learns that the niece of a shopkeeper is now a member of the Cranford social circle.
Deborah Jenykns also has a sister, and we meet her as she is becoming increasingly nervous and agitated about the impending visit from their cousin. Part of her agitation stems from the fact that she has always been bossed around by her sister and has never actually made a decision for herself - historically Deborah has always told her what her decisions are to be. She is woefully unprepared to take on the responsibility of receiving visitors herself, and so she takes on a new servant by the name of Martha, whom Mary Smith trains up for her. The visit goes surprisingly well, and there are no hitches or incidents, apart from a slightly awkward moment at the dinner table when a servant nudges the Major to remind him to get started on helping himself to the food instead of waiting for a servant or butler to do this for him.
Miss Matty and Mary are at Johnson's store after the Major's visit, and they notice that Thomas Holbrook, who once proposed to Miss Matty, has arrived. Miss Matty tells Mary about the incident (although of course she knows) and elaborates, telling her that Deborah did not consider Thomas to be a suitable husband for her sister, and so the engagement never happened and the two parted ways, despite the fact that they both felt very strongly about each other, and left to her own decision making, Matty would likely have accepted his proposal of marriage. Holbrook seems unoffended by her refusal and invites both Matty and Mary to spend the day with him at his home.
Miss Matty, Mary Smith and another Cranford lady, Miss Pole, are received politely at the Holbrook home, and Matty is overcome when she starts to see how her life might have been had she accepted her proposal. Holbrook shows Mary around the house and grounds as Miss Matty and Miss Pole chat together. One of the reasons that Deborah had considered Holbrook unsuitable for her sister was that he cares very little for social status, or pleasing others. He cares about books and is content to work hard without trying to climb the social ladder of Cranford. Dinner at the Holbrook house is very pleasant and Holbrook singles out Miss Matty for the honor of filling his pipe for his after dinner smoke. He then selects a book of poetry to read aloud from. Miss Matty falls asleep whilst he is reading, she is so relaxed in his home. As the women leave Holbrook promises each that he will call on them which reignites Miss Matty's belief in her childhood dream of marrying him after all. Mr Holbrook dies not to soon afterwards, which changes Miss Matty's outlook on things. She encourages Martha to date because she does not want to stand in the way of her finding love and happiness which is what she feels that her sister did to her.
Mary Smith decides to fill us in about the parents of the Jenkyns sisters in Chapter Five of the book. John Jenkyns is besotted with Molly, but Molly is besotted with the idea of new clothes and the accoutrements that come with being a newly married woman. Her parents do not share her enthusiasm for this and she becomes increasingly frustrated with John because he seems unable to convince them otherwise. However, because of his constant and effusive expressions of love for her, Molly decides to agree to marry John and when she turns eighteen they become husband and wife. Mary also shares with the reader letters written by John's parents, who tells of his happiness on the birth of his granddaughters - the little girls who grow up to become Deborah and Matty Jenkyns. There is also a grandson, born later, for whom his grandfather is concerned about his falling into debauchery and becoming tempted by all of the things that the modernizing world has to offer.
Peter Jenkyns is Miss Matty and Deborah's younger brother. He is close with Matty but not with Deborah, and he is destined for greatness. He is academically promising and as a result a great deal of expectation is placed upon him. Unfortunately Peter finds making mischief a great deal more attractive than making good grades. He likes to play elaborate pranks that can create shock and gossip; on one occasion he dresses in his sister's clothing and prances around the garden carrying what looks like a baby, intending to imply that one of his sisters has given birth to an illegitimate child. Given that their father is a reverend, this is even more shocking than it might otherwise have been. The reverend beats Peter with his walking stick as a punishment which destroys their relationship for quite some time. Peter leaves without warning, which affects his mother terribly. She is driven almost out of her mind with worry and she begins to believe him to be dead. The community, in an effort to support her, comes out to search for him. A few days later a letter arrives from Peter. He is going to work on board a ship, and his parents want to persuade him to change his mind, but the letter arrives after he has already departed so they are unable to. Peter's mother dies from a broken heart over this. Deborah promises that she will take care of their father; When Peter eventually returns he has some military accomplishments behind him which pleases and impresses his father, restoring their relationship. His father is able to show him off in town, but Peter is assumed killed in action in India when he is participating in military action there.
Miss Betty Barker visits Miss Matty before the time considered socially acceptable to call on someone at home. This is socially shocking and consequently Matty is flustered and panicked again. She accidentally puts on two caps to receive her visitor which amuses Miss Betty greatly. She comes from common stock; her father was a clerk and she herself was once employed as a maid. She saved enough money from her meagre maid's salary to open her own millinery shop. She has the good fortune to become acquainted with a well connected aristocrat called Lady Arley, and together they develop their own clothing patterns, which they sell to Lady Arley's aristocratic friends. This raises Miss Betty's social standing and she invites all the Cranford women to tea, even her old employer from her days as a maid, Mrs Jamieson. This seems to trigger a new round of class consciousness, The tea tray is too full and the pastries too extravagant, which is seen as vulgar, but as they eat their way through the pastries and enjoy rather too much brandy, social strictures begin to seem - temporarily at least - far less important.
Lady Glenmire arrives in Cranford and stays with Mrs Jamieson. This is a very prestigious guest and the town is abuzz with excitement. Miss Matty is predictably less excited, more worried, particularly about how one should address such a lofty visitor. Miss Jamieson offends everyone by implying that they are not important enough to meet her Ladyship when she asks them to refrain from paying the usual "welcome to Cranford" visits to her house. The ladies of Cranford respond by ignoring both women, but they are slightly placated after receiving invitations to a small party at the house. The party is awkward as nobody knows what to talk to someone so almost-royal about, but the ice is broken when Miss Pole asks Lady Glenmire if she has been to the royal court, which she allows she has not; this shows that she is not as high and mighty after all and they become friends.
Signor Brunoni is a conjurer, and Miss Matty becomes intrigued by his impending visit to Cranford. Miss Pole has also met a new man, but he turns out to be an "off duty" Signor Brunoni, which dissipates the conjurer's air of mystery somewhat, but the ladies greatly enjoy his show and the spectacle of it all. Peculiarly, though, after the conjuring show there is a spike in robberies around town. Rumors about and the conjurer, whom the women now believe to have been a French spy, is suspected. Odd visitors seem to appear, and the women discuss this openly at a party celebrating Mrs Forrester's wedding anniversary. Mrs Forrester hires a boy to keep a watch on her house as a result of the discussion and instructs him to defend himself and her property with the Major's sword.
As in all towns there are eccentric characters and Cranford is no different. One lady is famous for knitting socks and when Miss Matty and Miss Pole decide to pay her a visit they get horribly lost, asking for directions from a group of two men and a woman, whom Miss Pole wonders if they are the same "gang" of burglars that the women were discussing some weeks before. This offends the owner of the inn where they have come into contact with the group who seems to think that they are accusing her of being involved. One of the men is Signor Brunoni - or at least, the man previously known as Signor Brunoni. In actuality he turns out to be an English man called Samuel Brown. Mary Smith talks to Mrs Brown about shared experiences in India. Signor was previously in the thirty first regiment. She had a daughter named Phoebe whilst in India and having lost so many children previously wants to return to England to make sure this does not happen again. Phoebe becomes ill as they are preparing to leave India, They meet a man named Aga Jenkyns who nurses Phoebe back to health. Now there are people wondering if this mysterious man was Peter Jenkyns, as he had vanished in India, never to be seen again.
Two letters are delivered to Miss Matty, one for herself and one for Mary Smith. Mary's letter is from Town and Country Bank, which she holds stock in, and coincidentally Mary's letter is from her father, who is informing her about his good health, but also mentions Town and Country. When the women are clothes shopping at Johnson's shop they discover that the proprietor, too, has received a letter from the bank. The bank has lost all of its money, and consequently Miss Matty's checks both bounce, and she is left penniless. Martha sticks by her and refuses to leave even though she knows she will not be paid for her service. Miss Matty considers moving to a single room and working as a teacher but Mary thinks this is not a profession she has any aptitude for. Martha decides to marry her sweetheart and they invite Miss Matty to be their lodger. Miss Pole calls the Cranford ladies together to talk about Matty's predicament. They all resolve to help her. However, Matty has a plan of her own, selling her home and getting to keep some of her belongings. Mary starts a business selling tea out of her parlor room. Lady Glenmire rejects her aristocratic status and embraces the simpler life.
When a man walks into the shop in Mary's presence she realizes quickly that it is the long lost Peter Jenkyns. He has sold his land in India and has come home to Cranford to help his sister. She is overwhelmed with joy and they live comfortably ever after. Mary gives up her pop-up tea shop because he is able to support all three of them. Peter hires Signor Brunoni to perform at a brunch, and gradually the feuds that exist between different people of the town are mended, which pleases the constant peacemaker Matty. Peter is mystified as to why Matty and Holbrook never married, which upsets her, since she would be a widow now anyway. Although Peter is a favorite amongst Cranford ladies, he has no real intention of marrying any of them; his goal is to make his sister, whom he loves greatly, happy.
