BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//The Gaskell Society - ECPv6.15.17.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:The Gaskell Society X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Gaskell Society REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260303 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260401 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20260303T105017Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T111436Z UID:8736-1772496000-1775001599@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING - Ruth\, from Fact to Fiction with Livi Michael DESCRIPTION:RECORDING – Ruth\, from Fact to Fiction with Livi Michael\n 3 March\n –\n 31 March \n\n£5 – £6 \nOur speaker on 3 March was the author Livi Michael\, who told us about the background research undertaken for her novel\, Elizabeth and Ruth\, published by Salt (February 2026). \nManchester 1849. Elizabeth Gaskell\, newly famous author of Mary Barton\, visits a young Irish prostitute in Manchester’s New Bailey prison. The girl is about to be discharged onto the brutal streets of Manchester\, where her old life of poverty and violence awaits. Elizabeth is determined to help her\, but few people will employ an ex-prostitute from prison. In desperation\, Elizabeth writes to Charles Dickens for advice. \nBased on the real correspondence between Gaskell and Dickens\, Elizabeth and Ruth tells a story of hypocrisy and suppression\, and how Elizabeth navigates the censorship and prejudice of the day to help the young girl and to write the novel about her that will ultimately be banned and burned after publication. \nYour ticket will give you access to an online recording of Livi’s talk\, which will be available to watch at your convenience until 31 March 2026.  \n\n \n \n\n Categories:\n Meeting\, Online\, talk \n\n The Gaskell Society\n\n \n \n \nView Organiser Website \n\n \n gaskellsociety@gmail.com \n \n\n online\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n \n Add to calendar \n \n \n \n\n\n Google Calendar\n\n\n iCalendar\n\n\n Outlook 365\n\n\n Outlook Live\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd \n\n\n \n Manchester Meeting – 'Elizabeth and Ruth' with Livi Michael URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-ruth/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Meeting,Online,talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image.png ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260331T130000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260331T150000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20250606T173749Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T101647Z UID:7709-1774962000-1774969200@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell - Far From the Madding Crowd DESCRIPTION:Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell’s literary legacy. This season\, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. \nAs Diane says\, “After studying the links between George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell last season\, it became plain that many themes in Gaskell’s work were recurring in Eliot’s: marriage\, education\, the position of women and the political situation in England. Another common feature was their serialisation in The Cornhill Magazine. \n“Cornhill readers required a specific kind of literature\, which I will talk more about in the study sessions\, so it is not surprising that Thomas Hardy\, who published his first novel\, Far from the Madding Crowd [1874] in the Cornhill\, became an obvious choice to consider as one who may have carried forward Gaskell’s legacy. \nOn a superficial level\, the rural community in Hardy’s Wessex can be compared with Gaskell’s Cheshire in works such as Cranford\, Cousin Phyllis and Wives and Daughters. Similarly in Far From the Madding Crowd\, Hardy is looking at the role of women and their marriage choices – clearly very Gaskell!” \nIn the novel\, Bathsheba Everdene has three suitors: the constant\, but humble\, shepherd Gabriel Oak; the lonely\, middle-aged landowner William Boldwood and the handsome\, dashing Sergeant\, Francis Troy – three very different men. Which will she choose – and will her choice be the right one? \nInitially we will work through the novel looking at specific chapters and incidents and their importance. These can\, where appropriate\, be compared with Gaskell. In the final session we will look more thematically at the novel as a whole. \n\nSession 5  (31 March 2026) Chapters 47-52\nSession 6 (28 April 2026 – We’ll consider some of the novel’s themes\, including setting\, gender\, religion\, humour\, and  Victorian society. These can be compared with Gaskell and her treatment of similar subjects\n\n \n Read Diane’s Extracts and Points to Ponder\n \nDoors open from 1pm: feel free to bring a packed lunch. The study session and Zoom meeting will begin at 2pm. \nSimply come along and pay on the door\, or use the Book Now button below (no booking fee). Diane will also run the sessions on Zoom\, so if you can’t join us in Knutsford\, join us online. You’ll receive the Zoom link with your ticket. \n\n \n \nBuy  Far From the Madding Crowd from Bookshop.org using the link below and the Gaskell Society will receive a small commission\, helping us to continue our activities.  \nWhere to find us\n\n Brook Street Unitarian Chapel\n\nAdam's Hill\,\n \n Knutsford\,\n WA16 8DY\n United Kingdom\n\n\n + Google Map \n\n \n \n \n\n View Venue Website \n\n\n\n \n Add to calendar \n \n \n \n\n\n Google Calendar\n\n\n iCalendar\n\n\n Outlook 365\n\n\n Outlook Live\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Manchester Meeting – 'Elizabeth and Ruth' with Livi Michael \n\n\n \n Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2026 URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/thomas-hardy-and-elizabeth-gaskell-march/ LOCATION:Brook Street Unitarian Chapel\, Adam's Hill\,\, Knutsford\, WA16 8DY\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Discussion,Knutsford,Zoom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/hardy-and-gaskell.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260418T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260418T130000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20251014T161501Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260114T185750Z UID:8181-1776506400-1776517200@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2026 DESCRIPTION:« All Events\n \n\n Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2026\n 18 April\n \,\n10:00 am\n –\n1:00 pm \n\nFree \nOur Annual General Meeting takes place at Cross Street Chapel in Manchester \n10.00 Tea and Coffee \n10.30 Annual General Meeting \n11.45 The Daphne Carrick Memorial Lecture  \nThe Rural Idyll and the Changing World: Challenging Conventionality in the Novels of Elizabeth Gaskell and Thomas Hardy\nDr Diane Duffy continues her exploration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s literary legacy. \nThis paper developed from an idea that Thomas Hardy could be viewed as a successor to Elizabeth Gaskell; someone who might be considered as part of that legacy. \nHardy was born in 1840\, thirty years after Gaskell\, yet much of his writing considers the same social issues and concerns: a sympathetic presentation of the working classes which he\, like Gaskell\, reflects in the use of dialect; the disruptive effects of the modern world on rural communities; and the contentious ‘Woman Question’. \nThis paper examines how Hardy and Gaskell treat these political issues in some of their major works: Gaskell’s Cousin Phillis and Wives and Daughters serialised in the Cornhill Magazine between 1863 and 1865 and Hardy’s first major novel\, Far from the Madding Crowd serialised in the same magazine approximately ten years later.  Finally\, I examine the ways in which both novelists treat fallenness.  Hardy presents a Ruth – like figure in the character of Tess Durbeyfield and therefore these two novels\, Gaskell’s Ruth and Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles\, published thirty-eight years apart\, allow us to examine and ultimately assess how\, if at all\, social attitudes to fallenness and female sexuality had changed over that period. \nThe AGM itself is free to all members (no need to book) and there is no charge for The Daphne Carrick Memorial Lecture\, so please join us at Cross St or on Zoom. Members on our emailing list will receive an invitation link by email. \nThe lecture is also open to non-members – all welcome from 11.45. \n\n Categories:\n Manchester\, meeting\, talk \n\n The Gaskell Society\n\n \n \n \nView Organiser Website \n\n \n gaskellsociety@gmail.com \n \nUse the links below to buy books and you’ll be supporting the Gaskell Society and independent bookshops. \n\n Cross Street Chapel\n\nCross Street\,\n \n Manchester\,\n M2 1NL\n United Kingdom\n\n\n + Google Map \n\n \n \n \n\n View Venue Website \n\n\n\n \n Add to calendar \n \n \n \n\n\n Google Calendar\n\n\n iCalendar\n\n\n Outlook 365\n\n\n Outlook Live\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd \n\n\n \n The Invention of Charlotte Brontë – Elizabeth Gaskell and her Infamous Brontë Biography URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/agm-2026/ LOCATION:Cross Street Chapel\, Cross Street\,\, Manchester\, M2 1NL\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Manchester,Meeting,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260422T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260422T200000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20260107T171027Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T171251Z UID:8425-1776884400-1776888000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:The Invention of Charlotte Brontë – Elizabeth Gaskell and her Infamous Brontë Biography DESCRIPTION:Since its publication in 1857\, Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë has divided opinion. Some critics suggest it is historically unreliable – perhaps Gaskell’s sources were flawed and maybe she exaggerated or even invented details for profit? Now new research into her writing and methods tells a different story: that of a diligent whistleblower silenced by the very forces she sought to expose. \nNow Graham Watson’s The Invention of Charlotte Brontëtraces the events behind Gaskell’s sensational biography and the cultural legend it inspired – from her six-year friendship with Charlotte Brontë to the media scandal that followed the book’s release\, when Gaskell was pressured into a false confession of error to protect her publisher from a lawsuit. \nGraham Watson argues that long-standing criticisms of The Life of Charlotte Brontë\, still repeated today\, must be challenged\, as they first appeared within weeks of its publication – and all came from the very people Gaskell had criticised. \nDoomed survivor of a family of geniuses\, Charlotte Brontë had a life as dramatic as her famous novel\, Jane Eyre. Now you can join us as Graham Watson challenges the established narrative to reveal the Brontë family as you’ve never seen them before. \n\nGraham Watson is author of The Invention of Charlotte Brontë.\n\nThis is the first of three online events in the Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell mini-season: a partnership between Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and the Brontë Parsonage Museum URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/the-invention-of-charlotte-bronte-elizabeth-gaskell-and-her-infamous-bronte-biography/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260428T130000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260428T150000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20250606T173953Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250612T085916Z UID:7711-1777381200-1777388400@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell - Far From the Madding Crowd DESCRIPTION:« All Events \nThomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd\n28 April\n\,\n1:00 pm\n–\n3:00 pm \n£5 – £6 \nDr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell’s literary legacy. This season\, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. \n \nAs Diane says\, “After studying the links between George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell last season\, it became plain that many themes in Gaskell’s work were recurring in Eliot’s: marriage\, education\, the position of women and the political situation in England. Another common feature was their serialisation in The Cornhill Magazine. \n“Cornhill readers required a specific kind of literature\, which I will talk more about in the study sessions\, so it is not surprising that Thomas Hardy\, who published his first novel\, Far from the Madding Crowd [1874] in the Cornhill\, became an obvious choice to consider as one who may have carried forward Gaskell’s legacy. \nOn a superficial level\, the rural community in Hardy’s Wessex can be compared with Gaskell’s Cheshire in works such as Cranford\, Cousin Phyllis and Wives and Daughters. Similarly in Far From the Madding Crowd\, Hardy is looking at the role of women and their marriage choices – clearly very Gaskell!” \nIn the novel\, Bathsheba Everdene has three suitors: the constant\, but humble\, shepherd Gabriel Oak; the lonely\, middle-aged landowner William Boldwood and the handsome\, dashing Sergeant\, Francis Troy – three very different men. Which will she choose – and will her choice be the right one? \nInitially we will work through the novel looking at specific chapters and incidents and their importance. These can\, where appropriate\, be compared with Gaskell. \nIn this\, the final session we will look more thematically at the novel as a whole. We’ll consider some of the novel’s themes\, including setting\, gender\, religion\, humour\, and  Victorian society. These can be compared with Gaskell and her treatment of similar subjects \n\nDiane’s Extracts and Points to Ponder – coming soon\n \nDoors open from 1pm: feel free to bring a packed lunch. The study session and Zoom meeting will begin at 2pm. \nSimply come along and pay on the door\, or use the Book Now button below (no booking fee). Diane will also run the sessions on Zoom\, so if you can’t join us in Knutsford\, join us online. You’ll receive the Zoom link with your ticket. \n\n\n \nBuy  Far From the Madding Crowd from Bookshop.org using the link below and the Gaskell Society will receive a small commission\, helping us to continue our activities.  \nWhere to find us\nBrook Street Chapel\nAdam’s Hill\, \nKnutsford\,\nWA16 8DY\nUnited Kingdom \n+ Google Map \n  \nView Venue Website \n\n\n\n\nAdd to calendar \n \n\nGoogle Calendar\niCalendar\nOutlook 365\nOutlook Live\n\n\n\n\nThomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/thomas-hardy-and-elizabeth-gaskell-april/ LOCATION:Brook Street Unitarian Chapel\, Adam's Hill\,\, Knutsford\, WA16 8DY\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Discussion,Knutsford,Zoom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/hardy-and-gaskell.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260429T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260429T200000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20260107T170535Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T170535Z UID:8424-1777489200-1777492800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell- A Friendship DESCRIPTION:This introductory talk by the Gaskell Society’s Vice Chair\, Libby Tempest\, explores the relationship between two giants of nineteenth century literature. \nCharlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell were opposites in many ways. Yet they were profoundly interested in each other’s work and lives. Their first meeting in the Lake District in 1850 led to a real friendship. Charlotte had written the instant classic Jane Eyre and then Shirley\, while Elizabeth’s astounding debut novel Mary Barton had been well-received. This talk uses letters\, writing and contemporary accounts to try and discover what held the friendship between these two extraordinary women together. \nThis is the second of three online events in the Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell mini-season: a partnership between Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and the Brontë Parsonage Museum URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/charlotte-bronte-and-elizabeth-gaskell-a-friendship/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260506T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260506T200000 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20260107T170006Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T170006Z UID:8422-1778094000-1778097600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:‘I wish I were a girl again\, half-savage and hardy\, and free’ – Emily and Anne Brontë DESCRIPTION:Elizabeth Gaskell’s famous biography\, The Life of Charlotte Brontë went a considerable way to creating the myth of the famous writer living up on the moors. But what of the image of Charlotte’s two groundbreaking literary sisters\, Emily and Anne Brontë? How has our view of these trailblazing writers changed over the years? \nEmily Brontë’s enduring classic Wuthering Heights makes her the author of one of the finest novels in English language and shows her to be a woman of great passion. What was she like as a person and how was she depicted outside the family? Her sister Anne has been overshadowed by both siblings but her debut novel Agnes Grey and feminist masterpiece The Tennant of Wildfell Hall are now critically acclaimed. Compared with Charlotte\, both sisters’ left little behind beyond their work\, creating a vacuum others have been happy to fill with their own theories; and this has sometimes obscured our understanding further. \nSo\, what did Elizabeth Gaskell discover about Emily and Anne in her research? How have opinions on their trailblazing works changed over the years and how has our image of them changed? Sue Newby\, Education Officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum\, reveals all the answers. \nThis is the last of three online events in the Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell mini-season: a partnership between Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and the Brontë Parsonage Museum URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/i-wish-i-were-a-girl-again-half-savage-and-hardy-and-free-emily-and-anne-bronte/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260710 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260714 DTSTAMP:20260316T211858 CREATED:20250726T091330Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T121317Z UID:7812-1783641600-1783987199@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Gaskell Society Conference 2026 DESCRIPTION:Our 2026 conference takes place in Ilkley\, West Yorkshire\, England. \nOur theme is literary links and we’ll be exploring Elizabeth Gaskell’s links with other writers and editors\, cultures of risk\, economic realities\, communities\, fairy tales and sensation fiction. We’ve assembled an excellent line-up of speakers from all over the world. \nThere’ll also be outings and entertainment over the weekend: a wonderful and thought-provoking literary escape to an excellent hotel in a glorious Yorkshire town. \n\nVisit our main conference page for full details URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/gaskell-society-conference-2026/ LOCATION:The Craiglands Hotel\, Cowpasture Road\, Ilkley\, LS29 8RQ\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Conference ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR