« All Events 5 November - 30 November RECORDING ACCESS – “That Wicked Paris”: Fashioning the Good Englishwoman £5 – £6 Professor Amy L. Montz (University of Southern Indiana) gave our November lecture. She is the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the University of Manchester. The crises of authenticity sparked by the expanding British Empire and […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 25 November , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
Anthony Burton, one of our most popular speakers, returns for his annual festive lecture - now a traditional part of every Gaskell Society Christmas celebration. Elizabeth Gaskell liked to spend Christmas quietly by her fireside. But around her, Victorian people showed increasing seasonal mobility. Children came to celebrate with the family: “Home for the Holidays” […]
The Gaskell Society New Year Lunch 2026 We're thrilled to welcome back members and friends for our wonderfully convivial New Year lunch - a firm favourite in our society's calendar. Join us at the Cottons Hotel, Knutsford for a three-course lunch, including coffee and after-lunch entertainment.As a Society, it's a priority for us to deliver […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 27 January , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
The term grand tour conjures up English aristocrats sent to the Continent to complete their cultural education. Less well known is the reverse grand tour. In the first half of the eighteenth century Continental visitors came in increasing numbers to Great Britain (including Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau). None came to Manchester. It was not until […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 24 February , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
« All Events Manchester Meeting – ‘Elizabeth and Ruth’ with Livi Michael 3 March , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 We're thrilled that our speaker for March will be the wonderful author Livi Michael, who will talk about the background research undertaken for her Victorian novel, Elizabeth and Ruth, published by Salt […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 31 March , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
« All Events Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2026 18 April , 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Free Our Annual General Meeting takes place at Cross Street Chapel in Manchester10.00 Tea and Coffee10.30 Annual General Meeting11.45 The Daphne Carrick Memorial Lecture The Rural Idyll and the Changing World: Challenging Conventionality in the Novels of Elizabeth […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 28 April , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
Our 2026 conference takes place in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. Our theme is literary links. We've issued a call for papers and look forward to announcing the full programme when it's ready. We hope to see you in Ilkley!