Final answer:
Option (d), Elizabeth Gaskell is the British writer known for publishing 'Mary Barton' in 1848, highlighting the plight of the working class during the Victorian era.
Step-by-step explanation:
The description you have provided is referring to the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell, who showed sympathy for the working class and is well known for her novel Mary Barton published in 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell was a prominent figure in Victorian literature, amongst others such as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, but it is Gaskell who specifically wrote Mary Barton to depict the difficulties faced by the working class during that era.
Unlike the works of Austen which often portrayed the life and virtues of upper classes, Gaskell's work was groundbreaking in its social commentary and focus on the lower classes.