Margaret Emily Gaskell (1837-1913) – universally known as Meta – was the second of William and Elizabeth Gaskell’s four daughters, and the elder of the two who remained unmarried. She lived at Plymouth Grove until her death, and during her father’s lifetime and beyond she helped to maintain the household’s standing as a noted centre of literary society and intellectual conversation.

In this talk, Professor Stuart Jones of the University of Manchester discusses the evidence he has uncovered of a previously unknown relationship in the 1870s between Meta and James Bryce (1838-1922), the historian and future Liberal cabinet minister, ambassador, and a major public figure of the late Victorian period and after. The story about the relationship and its end, told through two sequences of letters, tells us a great deal about the limits of courtship conventions in upper middle-class Victorian society.

Stuart Jones is a historian specialising in the history of political thought, the history of universities, and the history of the humanities and social sciences. He has been Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Manchester since 2008. He’s the author or (co)editor of five books, including (most recently) Manchester Minds: a university history of ideas and The Simons of Manchester: how one family shaped a city and a nation. He has just completed major biography, A Democratic Intellect: James Bryce and his World, which is due for publication very soon.

Our Manchester meetings take place in Cross Street Chapel on the first Tuesday of the month, October-March (exc January). Everyone is most welcome to come along, members and non-members alike. Doors open at 1pm (feel free to bring a packed lunch) and the talk will begin at 1.30pm.
We’ll let you know as soon as possible whether we’re able to offer a recording for ticket holders.

Tickets are £5 for members, £6 for non-members. Simply pay on the door, or use the link below (no booking fee)