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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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”. […]
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 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. […]
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 […]
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 […]