It definitely is a well done adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, sticking fairly close to the story line, though there were a couple of changes to the narrative which I think were unnecessary. Also, while the novel encompasses something like a five year period as I recall, the miniseries compacts all the events of the book into a considerably shorter period of time which makes it seem like there are a lot of crises occurring one after another, with no time in between. These are mere quibbles, however, and the North & South miniseries was definitely time well-spent.