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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Brontë’s Mistress – a talk by Finola Austin (video)
https://vimeo.com/507999520 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 […]
Christmas with the Gaskells
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 […]