Elizabeth Gaskell fanatic or new to her novels? Explore the University of Manchester John Rylands Library’s digitised documents in this online event with Curator Jessica Smith, resident researcher Zoe Miller, a specialist in gender and sexuality history and Elizabeth Gaskell’s House Manager Sally Jastrzebski-Lloyd. Witness the archive come to life through dramatic readings from the Historic Reading Room. Let’s get talking about one of Manchester’s most celebrated authors.

The panel will discuss items from the newly created Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens Collection on Manchester Digital Collection (MDC).

The event will include a 40 minute talk followed by 20-minute Q&A. The talk will take place on Zoom, with the link will be sent to you the morning of the event. If you have any queries regarding the event please contact the John Rylands Library team at

This lovely event is free, but places are limited – book yours using the link below.