The Life of Charlotte Brontë – Collecting Resources
As soon as the commission to write the biography of Charlotte Brontë had been accepted, Elizabeth needed to collect information from as many sources as she could.
Graduate Student Essay Prize 2024
Joan Leach Memorial Graduate Student Essay Prize 2024 Deadline for submissions: 1 February 2024 The Gaskell Journal runs a biennial Graduate Student Essay Prize in honour of Joan Leach MBE, founder of the Gaskell Society. The winning essay will be published … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – an Introduction
Our subject of our 2023-24 season of Knutsford discussions is Sylvia’s Lovers. Dr Diane Duffy offers an introduction to Gaskell’s only historical novel. Sylvia’s Lovers (1863) was Elizabeth’s first novel to be published initially by Smith and Elder. George Smith … Continued
The Life of Charlotte Brontë – An Invitation to Write
The Life of Charlotte Brontë – an invitation to write Two months after the death of her friend, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell wrote to George Smith (their publisher) asking for a copy, either an engraving or daguerreotype, of the 1850 … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – quotes V
To mark our new season of Knutsford discussions on Sylvia’s Lovers, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled a series of quotes from Chapters 30-37. These chapters will be covered in her March 2024 session. Follow the Gaskell Society on Twitter and … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – quotes IV
To mark our new season of Knutsford discussions on Sylvia’s Lovers, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled a series of quotes from Chapters 24-29. These chapters will be covered in her February 2024 session. Follow the Gaskell Society on Twitter and … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – quotes III
To mark our new season of Knutsford discussions on Sylvia’s Lovers, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled a series of quotes from Chapters 16-23. These chapters will be covered in her January 2024 session. Follow the Gaskell Society on Twitter and … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – quotes II
To mark our new season of Knutsford discussions on Sylvia’s Lovers, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled a series of quotes from Chapters 8-15. These chapters will be covered in her November 2023 session. Follow the Gaskell Society on Twitter and look … Continued
Sylvia’s Lovers – quotes I
To mark our new season of Knutsford discussions on Sylvia’s Lovers, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled a series of quotes from Chapters 1-7. These chapters will be covered in her October 2023 session. Follow the Gaskell Society on Twitter and … Continued
ALS Autumn Newsletter
If you’re a member of the Gaskell Society, you’re affiliated to the Alliance of Literary Societies. Here’s their 2023 Autumn Newsletter, which we hope you’ll enjoy reading. Contents The 2023 ALS AGM at Winchester, hosted by the Charlotte M Yonge … Continued
Helena Mathewson
Did any of Elizabeth Gaskell’s daughters follow in their mother’s footsteps to become published writers? Dr Diane Duffy has the answer
ALSo Journal 2023
If you’re a member of the Gaskell Society, you’re affiliated to the Alliance of Literary Societies. Here’s their 2023 Newsletter, which we hope you’ll enjoy reading. Contents Editorial – R. M. Healey Casanova’s Flight from the Lead Prison – Simon … Continued
Meet our new Chair
We’re absolutely delighted that Dr Diane Duffy was elected as our new Chair at our Annual General Meeting in April. Read more about her and her plans for the Gaskell Society.
In the Footsteps of Mrs Gaskell – join us in Italy
Exciting news for Gaskell Society members! We are offering a trip to Rome, to visit the city Gaskell loved above all others… Please note that the Rome trip has now been fully booked. Thank you for your interest. The dates … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes VI
We now visit Chapters 40-49 in our continuing our series of quotes from Wives and Daughters, compiled by Dr Diane Duffy. These chapters will be covered in her March 2023 meeting and you can read her discussion Points to Ponder … Continued
Not Only, But ALSo
For many years now, the Gaskell Society has been a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies (ALS). Please find a link to their Autumn 2022 newsletter in which there’s an introduction to Charlotte M. Yonge, news of the Julie … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes V
We now visit Chapters 40-50 in our continuing series of quotes from Wives and Daughters, compiled by Dr Diane Duffy. These chapters will be covered in her March 2023 meeting and you can read her discussion Points to Ponder at … Continued
“No reader should be afraid of Elizabeth Gaskell”
Last week, Society members were surprised and a bit disturbed to read in three national newspapers that Warwick University English Department had decided to put ‘trigger warnings’ on Mary Barton. If anyone doesn’t know what these are, they are warnings … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes IV
We now visit Chapters 31-40 in our continuing our series of quotes from Wives and Daughters, compiled by Dr Diane Duffy. These chapters will be covered in her February 2023 meeting and you can read her discussion Points to Ponder … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes III
We now visit Chapters 21-30 in our continuing our series of quotes from Wives and Daughters, compiled by Dr Diane Duffy. These chapters will be covered in her January 2023 meeting and you can read her discussion Points to Ponder … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes II
Continuing our series of quotes from Wives and Daughters, compiled by Dr Diane Duffy, we now have chapters 11-20, covered in her November meeting. You can read her discussion Points to Ponder at the November meeting page. Follow the Gaskell Society … Continued
Wives and Daughters quotes I
To complement our Knutsford meetings, Dr Diane Duffy has compiled quotes from this season’s featured novel, Wives and Daughters. Her October meeting covers chapters 1-10, so here’s her selection from those chapters. You can read her discussion Points to Ponder at the … Continued
What’s the Craic with… Elizabeth Gaskell?
In October 2022, our Chair, Libby Tempest (pictured), talked to journalist Danny Moran about just why she loves Elizabeth Gaskell so much. This is a longer version of the interview, first published in About Manchester and reproduced here with their … Continued
A Visit to the Parsonage
Dr Diane Duffy heads across the Pennines to visit a very special library. On 15th July 2022 I visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. The visit had been planned back in June after a visit from Anne Spiers, a volunteer … Continued
The Gaskell Conference – Part 2
On Sunday morning, we awoke not only to more blue skies and glorious sunshine, but to more first-rate speakers…. Dr Emma Liggins talked us through the rudiments of the Female Gothic tradition and where Elizabeth Gaskell fits in. Novels like … Continued
The Gaskell Conference – Part 1
Our Chair, Libby Tempest looks back the first part of our 2022 Conference, during which strong women, spectacular scenery and equally spectacularly ice cream are all splendidly celebrated. Would we be able to hold a Conference?Would enough people sign … Continued
Gaskell on Demand!
The BBC is offering a few wonderful Gaskell treats to UK viewers and listeners at the moment, with works featured in TV cultural documentaries, plus readings and dramatisations on the radio. Watch and listen online or search for them on the BBC Iplayer … Continued
The Gaskells in Wales
To celebrate our forthcoming Conference in Caernarfon, North Wales, Dr Diane Duffy has revisited the works and letters of Elizabeth and her family to learn more about their links with Wales.
Dudley Green
A tribute to author, scholar and life member of the Gaskell Society, the late Dudley Green. A Thanksgiving for his life will be held on 16 March 2022, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Croeso I Gymru – Welcome to Wales
This year the Gaskell Society Conference goes to Caernarfon. Dr Diane Duffy explores Elizabeth’s associations with North Wales and finds they’re very mixed.
‘This Land of Song’ – part 3
Gaskell and the Perception of Wales in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-century Writing The last section ended on a note of sexual licence creeping into the interpretation of Nest’s behaviour, which may have been a nod to a political debate in the … Continued
North and South Season
Join Elizabeth Gaskell’s House for its online North and South Season Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is opening 2022 with a North and South season to explore one of Elizabeth Gaskell’s most famous and much loved novels. Bringing the nineteenth century world … Continued
‘This Land of Song’ – part 2
Gaskell and the Perception of Wales in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-century Writing In my last post we examined the landscape of Wales and touched on its legends in the poetry of Felicia Hemans. In part 2, I examine Wales as a … Continued
‘This Land of Song’ – part 1
Gaskell and the Perception of Wales in Eighteenth and Nineteenth -century Writing During our study session in November 2020, a number of ideas were aired and questions asked about the use of Wales in Gaskell’s ‘The Well of Pen Morfa’ … Continued
A Bookshelf Odyssey
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a good book, must be in want of another… So says Art Kilmer, Gaskell Society member and the man behind the Bookshelf Odyssey Podcast series. Art talks books, … Continued
The Gaskell Memorial Service
Every year, on a Sunday, close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, Gaskell Society members assemble at Brook Street Chapel in Knutsford. We lay flowers on Elizabeth’s grave and on that of our much-missed Secretary and Founder member, … Continued
Tea at Cranford III – Tea in Bright Green Canisters, and Comfits in Tumblers
Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe: Purveyor of the Finest Confectionery, is a rapidly-growing chain of shops selling old-fashioned humbugs, lollipops and other traditional sweets in large, screw-topped bottles. Their popularity tells its own story. A certain nostalgia surrounds them and … Continued
Tea at Cranford II – Our Daily Bread
Following my last ‘Tea at Cranford’ post, I will now consider the dangers which may have been lurking in those dainty sandwiches, ‘cut to the imaginary pattern of excellence that existed in Miss Matty’s mind, as being the way which … Continued
Tea at Cranford I – Charlotte Brontë and the Great Victorian Tea Fraud
Tea plays an integral role in Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Cranford. Grown in India, a British colony, and imported by the East India Company, it became a national beverage found in practically every household. But tea was more than just an … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – the final chapter
Meta and Julia Gaskell purchased 84 Plymouth Grove 16 years after their father’s death [see my previous blog] and remained there until their own deaths Julia in 1908 and Meta in 1913. Marianne, Elizabeth’s eldest daughter was still alive at … Continued
To Buy or Not to Buy?
That is the question! Volunteers at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House are often asked whether Elizabeth ever bought 84 Plymouth Grove. The answer is definitely not, but her daughters, Meta and Julia, did purchase the property in 1900, many years after both … Continued
Cranford for Beginners – a talk by Libby Tempest (video)
https://vimeo.com/522747640 Libby Tempest, Chair of the Gaskell Society, tells us about how she came to know and love the work of Elizabeth Gaskell and the ‘excellent women’ of Cranford in particular. A warm, funny and engaging talk, featuring readings by Gaskell … Continued
Locations in ‘The Sexton’s Hero’
In January 2021, Dr Diane Duffy ran a discussion session on the short story, ‘The Sexton’s Hero’ about a daring rescue on Morecambe Bay. You can read her blog post about it. We’ve since been contacted by Pauline Kiggins, a … Continued
Mental Illness and the Victorians – the Case of Alice Hadfield Petschler
In March 2021, we were delighted to welcome the historian, biographer and retired teacher, Joanna Williams. Alice Hadfield Petschler (1830-1897) was the photographer, poet and “lunatic” whose case helped to lead changes in the law on how the mentally … Continued
Meet the Neighbours
After moving into a new house, it is always useful to know your neighbours. I am sure Elizabeth would have already known many of her new neighbours in Plymouth Grove, as they were mainly Manchester merchants, manufacturers and local dignitaries … Continued
Building Plymouth Grove
‘And We’ve Got a House. Yes! We really have.’ So writes Elizabeth in April 1850 about 42, Plymouth Grove, the house that was to become the Gaskells’ family home for the next sixty-three years. Over the years, visitors to Elizabeth … Continued
The Portico Sadie Massey Awards
We’re thrilled to learn that Elizabeth Gaskell is inspiring a new generation of readers and writers! Now in their sixth year, the prestigious Portico Sadie Massey Awards, organised by The Portico Library in Manchester, continue to nurture young, writing talent … Continued
Brontë’s Mistress – a talk by Finola Austin (video)
In February 2021, we enjoyed a real transatlantic treat! Historical novelist Finola Austin talked to us (from her home in New York) about Brontë’s Mistress. The novel tells the story of the scandalous affair between Branwell Brontë and Lydia Robinson, mistress … Continued
A Christmas Ramble (video)
We had a very jolly, festive get-together on December 1st, as the Society’s Anthony Burton took us on a walk through Victorian Manchester. We recorded his talk and you can join us on catch-up here. The Gaskells must have often … Continued
Christmas with the Gaskells
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With Christmas only weeks away, Dr Diane Duffy looks at how Elizabeth Gaskell prepared for and celebrated Christmas through the years. Despite the fact that Unitarians did not recognise the divinity of Christ, Christmas as a time of peace, love … Continued
Elizabeth & Esther – a talk by Sherry Ashworth (video)
That Elizabeth Gaskell knew her Bible hardly needs stating, but what use did she make of it in her fiction? In particular, what use did she make of The Book of Esther? Sherry’s fascinating and highly engaging talk covers how The … Continued
Marriage and Family Life
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Diane Duffy continues her investigation into the lives and families of William Gaskell’s parents. See also Margaret Gaskell and Wiliam Gaskell Senior. The marriage between William and Margaret took place in 1803, two years before the birth of their first child, … Continued
Researching Unitarian Women – Elizabeth Gaskell’s Unitarian Network
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The Rev Dr Ann Peart gave this talk to the Gaskell Society on 6 October 2020. It is now almost exactly 25 years since I came back to live and Manchester after a gap of over 30 years, and exchanged … Continued
William Gaskell Senior 1777-1819
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Diane Duffy continues her investigation into the lives and families of William Gaskell’s parents. See also Margaret Gaskell. The Gaskell family had originated in Upholland where the records go back to the beginning of the seventeenth century. Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel … Continued
A busy society!
We held our Annual General Meeting (over Zoom) in late September 2020 and heard a number of reports about the Society’s activities in 2019. We thought it might be nice to share some of the report by Pam Griffiths, our … Continued
The Gaskell Memorial Service, Brook Street Chapel
On Sunday 27 September 2020, the one closest to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, we laid flowers on her grave and on that of the Gaskell Society’s founder, the much-missed Joan Leach. We then had a special service in the … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Children – Part 5, Julia
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Elizabeth Stevenson married Rev. William Gaskell at St John’s Church, Knutsford in 1832 and on 10th July 1833 she gave birth to a stillborn girl. Jenny Uglow writes in her biography “She saw the baby but did not give her … Continued
Margaret Gaskell 1780-1850
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For those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the Elizabeth Gaskell House in Manchester, you may remember a large portrait of a woman hanging in the dining room recess. She is looking out over the table and … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Children – Part 4, William
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Elizabeth Stevenson married Rev. William Gaskell at St John’s Church, Knutsford in 1832 and on 10th July 1833 she gave birth to a stillborn girl. Jenny Uglow writes in her biography “She saw the baby but did not give her … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Children – Part 3, Florence Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Stevenson married Rev. William Gaskell at St John’s Church, Knutsford in 1832 and on 10th July 1833 she gave birth to a stillborn girl. Jenny Uglow writes in her biography “She saw the baby but did not give her … Continued
Mrs Gaskell’s Personal Pantheon (video)
This talk was given to the Gaskell Society by Bob Gamble on 19 August 2020. In it, he presents undiscovered biographical information about Elizabeth Gaskell. His research casts fresh light on Elizabeth’s inner circle, uncovering some of the mysteries of … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Children – Part 2, Margaret Emily
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Elizabeth Stevenson married Rev. William Gaskell at St John’s Church, Knutsford in 1832 and on 10th July 1833 she gave birth to a stillborn girl. Jenny Uglow writes in her biography “She saw the baby but did not give her … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell and the Cultural Life of Manchester
Manchester was Britain’s first industrial city and in 2017 became a UNESCO’s City of Literature. It has, for nearly 200 years, been a place where art and science, culture and industry have become intrinsically linked: at its centre, we find … Continued
‘Libbie Marsh’s Three Eras’
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June was not the most prolific of months in Gaskell’s publishing calendar. Cranford first appeared in book form in June 1853, ‘My Lady Ludlow’ began as a serial in Household Words, June 1858 and ‘French Life’ concluded in Frasers Magazine, … Continued
Lydia Helen Burton (1823-1877)
An introduction to the Curate’s wife The Covid-19 lockdown has meant the Society being unable to go ahead with many of its planned talks and events for 2020. One of these was to have been a Q&A session in which … Continued
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Children – Part 1, Marianne
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Elizabeth Stevenson married Rev. William Gaskell at St John’s Church, Knutsford in 1832 and on 10th July 1833 she gave birth to a stillborn girl. Jenny Uglow writes in her biography “She saw the baby but did not give her … Continued
Lockdown Reads – Part 2
Again, I hope that everyone is keeping safe, well and entertained. Gaskell Society members have been sharing their current and favourite lockdown reads and a few recommendations for great telly (for those of you in the UK). If you’re in search … Continued
Lockdown Reads – Part 1
One of the few silver linings to the Covid cloud that’s currently hanging over us is (for many of us) more time to read, and as we are members of a literary society, we seem to be embracing this with … Continued
Six Weeks at Heppenheim (1862)
Only four pieces of Gaskell’s writing were published in May: the last two episodes of Cranford, an obscure piece entitled ‘Company Manners’ (1854) and the short story, “Six Weeks at Heppenheim”. “Six Weeks at Heppenheim” was published in volume five of … Continued
Travers Madge: A Gaskell Ally
At the Gaskell Society’s 2019 Conference, Dr Diane Duffy and Anthony Burton stood in at short notice to give a talk on “How did Elizabeth Gaskell know what she knew about working-class life?”. This is currently being prepared for publication … Continued
Fever in Eccleston! Ruth, Chapter 33
While reading Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Ruth in connection with another project, I came across some passages that seemed uncannily apt to our own situation – the Great Fever of 2020. As the text wends its way towards a conclusion, fever strikes, … Continued
The Shoddy Court Literary & Mutual Improvement Society
Our very good friend, Dr Michael Sanders, Senior Lecturer in C19th Writing at the University of Manchester, is running a virtual reading group via Zoom during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The Piston, Pen & Press team has been working on … Continued
The Women of Cranford – Part 2
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Cranford is presented as an isolated community rooted in the past and inwardly focused on the minutiae of domestic routine and etiquette, yet the town has a railway; a dynamic force which undercuts the inward focus and inertia of this … Continued
The Women of Cranford – Part 1
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For April’s ‘This Month in Writing’ I have chosen to discuss Cranford as two episodes of the story were published in Household Words in April 1852 and April 1853. These were ‘Visiting at Cranford’ and ‘Stopped payment at Cranford’. However, … Continued
A Tale for Our Times: the Cholera Epidemic of 1832
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While we are all locked down, attempting to survive the ever-increasing threat of ‘The Virus’, I thought it might be interesting to share with you an incident in the early career of Dr. Samuel Gaskell. I wonder how many comparisons … Continued
A Dark Night’s Work
Published in 1863, ‘A Dark Night’s Work’ was first serialised in Dickens’ periodical All The Year Round between January and March 1862. Despite its title, it is predominantly a psychological exploration of class, parental expectations, love and duty, a domestic tale! … Continued
What is There to Tell?
‘Mr. Harrison’s Confession’ was serialised in the Ladies Companion and Monthly Magazine between February and April 1851. The title is intriguing because it suggests any number of possible misdemeanours that this gentleman may have committed, our imagination is allowed to … Continued
Oh my Prophetic Soul!
Diane Duffy looks tells the story of a tragic drowning in Silverdale in 1850, which echoed a story written by Elizabeth Gaskell three years before. While it would be good to think Elizabeth Gaskell could add the power of a … Continued
Martin Luther King Day at Cairo Street Chapel
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The middle years of the 19th Century must have been a great time to be a member of Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel, for not only were plans being developed to change the Georgian Chapel of 1745 into the Victorian Chapel … Continued
This Month in Writing – January
‘The Grey Woman’ Published January 1861 in volume IV of Charles Dickens’ All the Year Round January is a dull month after the Christmas festivities, so what could be better than brightening these cold winter days with a good Gothic … Continued
This Month in Writing – December
‘The Secret Life of Edward Higgins: The Squire’s Story Published in the Extra Christmas Number of Dickens’ Household Words, December 1853 After looking at some interesting Welsh locations in ‘The Well of Pen Morfa’, I am returning to England for … Continued
William Robson – Warrington’s Abolitionist
In Warrington’s Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel, close to the steps leading to the Priestley Gates, is an obelisk commemorating the lives of William Robson (1812-1902), his wife Anna, and their two sons, William Holbrook and Edwin. Anna is recorded as … Continued
This Month in Writing – November
‘The Well of Pen – Morfa’, November 1850 In the autumn of 1850, the year that Elizabeth Gaskell and her family took up residence at 42, Plymouth Grove, Charles Dickens published the second of Gaskell’s contributions to Household Words-‘The Well of … Continued
Cousin Phillis
Gaskell’s last novella, Cousin Phillis, was published in The Cornhill Magazine in 1863, only two years before she died. In this story she returns to her beloved Knutsford, now named Eltham, and her grandfather’s farm at Sandlebridge, renamed Heathbridge. Gaskell’s … Continued
This Month in Writing – October
Mary Barton – the book that divided a nation 1848 was the year of revolution. A series of political upheavals took place across Europe. Their aim was ostensibly to remove the old monarchical structures and create independent nation-states. In February, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels … Continued
Gaskell Service 2019
Every year, on a Sunday close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, we head to Brook Street Chapel in Knutsford to lay flowers on the Gaskell family grave and on the grave of Joan Leach, the Gaskell Society … Continued
Samuel Gaskell – Warrington’s forgotten pioneer in the treatment of mental health
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As part of the Heritage Open Days in 2019, the doors will be open at Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel, Warrington’s oldest Dissenting Chapel. Founded on the same site in 1662, when led by the Revd Samuel Yates Rector of St … Continued
The Old Nurse’s Story
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‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ can be found in collections of Gothic stories, ghost stories and tales of the macabre, something which might seem odd for a woman who was the wife of a Unitarian minister and, as a Unitarian, a … Continued
This Month in Writing – September
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How would you then define a hero? ‘The Sexton’s Hero’, was published in William and Mary Howitt’s Journal during September 1847, the year before Gaskell ‘s first, and much-loved, novel Mary Barton appeared in print. Suzanne Lewis in her introduction … Continued
Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel, Warrington
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In 1845 while scarlet fever was rife in Manchester, Elizabeth Gaskell took her young family, comprising then of three girls and a baby boy, William, out to North Wales to avoid the infection. Sadly, Marianne contracted the fever and then … Continued
Women in Science
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The Gaskell Society recently received a question via Twitter concerning connections between Molly Gibson (Wives and Daughters) and Eleanor Omerod, an entomologist. Omerod was born in Gloucestershire in 1828, moving to Torquay, then Isleworth and finally St Albans where she … Continued
Confessions of a Nervous Chair….
It’s hard to imagine a more nerve-wracking scenario than Newish Chairwoman organising and chairing her first conference for such a well-respected literary society as the Gaskell Society. NOT helped by a history of well-organised, enjoyable, academically stimulating previous conferences stretching … Continued
This Month in Writing: ‘An Accursed Race’
We all think of Elizabeth Gaskell as a brilliantly entertaining storyteller, whom Dickens addressed as ‘my dear Scheherazade’. But how many of us know her works of non-fiction? One interesting – and I might even dare to say obscure – … Continued
The Gaskell Revival
Elizabeth Gaskell, the wife of a Unitarian minister of religion in Manchester, shared her husband’s interest in literature: they published some jointly written verses in 1837. Elizabeth became a best-selling novelist almost by chance. Grieved by the death of her baby … Continued
A celebration – and a secret!
On 31st May 2019, the Gaskell Society held a joint celebration at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Manchester. Members of the Gaskell Society committee joined with past and present editors of the Gaskell Journal to launch the long-awaited Index of the first thirty … Continued
Can we devise a Gaskell ‘brand’ which could compete in the literary heritage industry with the Austen, Brontë and Dickens brands?
A Talk by Anthony Burton to the Gaskell Society, 5 February 2019. This talk considered ways – from the scholarly to the commercial – of promoting writers, and their fan-clubs, museums, and houses. With Gaskell at the forefront, it also … Continued
Location of Marianne’s Grave in Worcestershire
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Two of Elizabeth Gaskell’s daughters, Meta and Julia, are buried with Elizabeth and their father William Gaskell, at Brook Street Unitarian Chapel in Knutsford. Their daughter Florence is buried in London but members of the Gaskell Society were unaware of … Continued
Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey
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In 2010, on the bicentenary of her birth, Elizabeth Gaskell was finally given the recognition she deserves, as a window panel in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, was dedicated to her memory. After the service, conducted by The Very Reverend John … Continued
The Elizabeth Gaskell Train
From the Northern Rail website A train, named after Elizabeth Gaskell, was unveiled at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station on 28 February 2014. A ceremony, organised in conjunction with Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnership, saw Northern’s Managing Director, Alex Hynes and George Osborne MP unveil the … Continued