The Gaskells’ relationship with the Portico Library is well-documented. A bust of William Gaskell sits in the Library, honouring his tenure as the Chairman – the longest running Chairman in the Library’s history. A handful of articles have explored William and Elizabeth’s relationship to the library, but in this early stage, we have only just begun to scratch the surface. What can the Gaskell Borrowing Logs tell us about Elizabeth Gaskell’s reading habits and trends? Do the borrowed books go beyond just pleasure reading and into research for her own writing? What connections might we be able to draw between books borrowed and the works that Gaskell was working on at the time? In this talk, Emma Probett will uncover unexplored connections between Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell alongside the wider history of the “novel of manners” genre, which makes a frequent and significant appearance in the records.

Dr Emma Probett is a writer, researcher and podcaster. She has a PhD in Victorian Studies from the University of Leicester on Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell’s 19^th-century Novels of Manners: Narrative Experiments and Developments with the Community Setting and is currently writing a book on this theme.

Price: £6.00, payable in cash on the day

Doors open from 12.45 and you are welcome to join us for lunch (not provided – bring a packed lunch) before the talk.

Tea/coffee and refreshments will be provided after the talk and the event will finish at around 4.00 pm

Booking is not necessary, although it would help our planning if you could let us know that you hope to come.

Contact Jenny Keaveney  07791 309784