Celebrating the life and work of Elizabeth Gaskell
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
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
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
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
‘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
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
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
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
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