Listed events may be subject to change. Please double-check arrangements before leaving home. Do stay safe: we hope to see you again in person at our events before too long.
May 2021
Manchester Digital Collections: Getting to Know Gaskell
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…
Find out more »Why She Wrote
Dive into the fascinating, unexpected, and inspiring stories behind the greatest women writers in the English language as the amazing Bonnets at Dawn launch their new book. The engaging duo talk about their Elizabeth Gaskell chapter and consider her work, along with that of other women writers, including Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Alice Dunbar Nelson and Anne Lister. They ask a simple question: in a time when being a woman writer often meant being undervalued, overlooked, or pigeonholed, why…
Find out more »A Visit to Tabley Old Hall
Join The Friends of Elizabeth Gaskell's House for a journey back in time to around 1910, just sixty years after the Gaskells moved into Plymouth Grove. Tabley is not far from Knutsford and we know, from her letters, that Elizabeth spent many happy hours of her childhood there, with her cousins and friends. Using old photographs, maps, engravings and magic lantern slides, Sarah takes us down from the main Georgian Tabley House over to the island where Tabley Old Hall…
Find out more »Sons and Mothers: Lawrence, Larkin and the Maternal Muse
This compelling talk explores the work of two of the finest English writers of the 20th century; DH Lawrence and Philip Larkin. Join Philip Watts for a fascinating look at how each writer’s relationship with his mother influenced their work. Find out how D H Lawrence, regarded as the ‘greatest imaginative novelist of our generation’, affected Larkin’s poetry so many years later. Enjoy readings of several complete poems and see why Larkin’s work was once described as ‘a poetry from…
Find out more »June 2021
Online Tour of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – June 2021
Using 360-degree photography, the House's expert guides will bring Manchester’s literary heritage to life via an online tour of 84 Plymouth Grove. From the Morning Room and Study, to the Drawing and Dining Rooms, you’ll learn about Elizabeth’s family life; how William, her husband, supported her and how her life in Manchester influenced the books she wrote and made her famous throughout the world. Find out about the people who visited the House, including the notoriously shy Charlotte Bronte, and…
Find out more »Between the Covers – Literary Liaisons
Elizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to announce a new short film by the comedy duo, LipService Theatre. Filmed at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, especially for your viewing pleasure, ‘Britain’s favourite literary lunatics’ bring you Mrs Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, John Ruskin and a host of Victorian glitterati. The film will be followed by Mrs Gaskell’s Book Club sketch and a live interactive Q&A session for a ‘welcome dose of daft’ – all online. What are you waiting for? Book Now!…
Find out more »July 2021
Houses and Homes in Literature: From Shakespeare to the Present Day
This entertaining online talk with readings begins with the Gaskells’ acquisition of their house in Plymouth Grove and its reflection in North and South. Writer and guide Philip Watts explores the significance of writers’ domestic places and spaces by stitching together a patchwork quilt of literary extracts from Shakespeare to the present day.
Find out more »August 2021
Romance and Reality: Elizabeth Gaskell’s Debt to Sir Walter Scott
An online talk by the Gaskell Society's Dr Diane Duffy. It is hard to imagine the hard-hitting industrial novels written by Elizabeth Gaskell having much in common with the romances of the Middle Ages and early modern England popularised by Walter Scott in the early 19th century. Yet Scott began the transformation of fiction by introducing the public world of political conflict into the private world of individuals. His influence did not end there. Scott’s impact ranged from publication styles…
Find out more »Online Tour of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – August 2021
Using 360-degree photography, the House's expert guides will bring Manchester’s literary heritage to life via an online tour of 84 Plymouth Grove. From the Morning Room and Study, to the Drawing and Dining Rooms, you’ll learn about Elizabeth’s family life; how William, her husband, supported her and how her life in Manchester influenced the books she wrote and made her famous throughout the world. Find out about the people who visited the House, including the notoriously shy Charlotte Bronte, and…
Find out more »November 2021
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – Mary Wollstonecraft’s Influence on the Writings of Elizabeth Gaskell
Back by popular demand! This sell-out talk by Dr Diane Duffy explores the life and work of Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneer of feminist thought in the UK, and her influence on Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing. Wollstonecraft is firmly back in public consciousness, due to the head-turning new statue in her honour, by artist Maggi Hambling. Join us for this fascinating online talk, recently reviewed as ‘fascinating, engaging, entertaining and informative’, ‘great talk with really interesting links and parallels’ and ‘very informative,…
Find out more »July 2022
The Gaskell Society Conference 2022
The Gaskell Society committee has taken the difficult decision to postpone Conference until 2022. Although there is a possibility that we could have gone ahead with Conference for 2021, we felt we couldn't run the risk of asking members to commit deposits while there was any chance that it would have to be cancelled. We are all sad about this but I'm sure it's the right decision. So - the new dates are - 8th - 11th JULY 2022 - please do…
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