The Gaskell Society

The Gaskell Society

Celebrating the life and work of Elizabeth Gaskell

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Knutsford Meeting – March 2022

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne joins Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth in the line-up in our March and April meetings, as Dr Diane Duffy begins a discussion exploring the two works side-by-side.  Diane will be looking at the situation and presentations of the two protagonists, Hester Prynne and Ruth, along with the presentation of children.In March, we'll […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – April 2022

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

The second of our discussions looking at The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth, in which Dr Diane Duffy compares the two works. In April, Diane will lead a discussion on Pearl (the child) and her father, with a focus on chapters 6, 8, 15, 18, 19 and the last two. Our monthly […]

£5 – £6

Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens: A Relationship in Print

Francis Holland School 39 Graham Terrace, London, United Kingdom

We are delighted to be able to let you know that - at long last - our London & South East branch meetings will start again on Saturday 7th May, when Marie Moxon will be speaking on how Gaskell’s relationship with Dickens changed the course of her writing The meeting will take place at Francis […]

Manchester Meeting – Mr Darwin & Mrs Gaskell

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Mr Darwin and Mrs Gaskell: a tale of two storytellersIn October, we welcome Gordon Chancellor, who will examine the many connections between Charles Darwin and Elizabeth Gaskell, both in their family lives and in their work as great Victorian storytellers. They were distantly related via the Wedgwoods and Hollands and they both had daughters whose […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – October 2022

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

It's a new season and a new novel! Our discussion series for 2022-23 will look at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – “I do like Mr Lushington very much”

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're delighted to welcome David Taylor FSA to our November meeting. The Home Quartet (Mrs Lushington and her Daughters) by Arthur HughesVernon Lushington was a close friend of Elizabeth Gaskell and visited her often in Manchester, being a welcome guest at her house in Plymouth Grove.  He was a lawyer, civil servant, philanthropist and Christian […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – November 2022

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – The Restoration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're especially delighted to welcome our dear friend, Frank Galvin, for our December illustrated talk. Frank is a retired museum curator who worked for Stockport’s Heritage Service for 32 years: he was responsible for Stockport’s eight heritage sites and managed a team of curators, designers and technicians. His projects included the Hat Works, The Stockport […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – January 2023

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Rooms with a View

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Rooms with a View: Soft Furnishings in North and South   This talk will explore what the furniture in North and South tells us about the social world Gaskell inhabits. Dr Clara Dawson reflects on whether furniture provides us with an alternative narrative to the romance plot and the depiction of north and south, and […]

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Knutsford Meeting – February 2023

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Elizabeth Gaskell’s Visit to Chatsworth

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

‘I feel more like Cinderella, than anyone else you can imagine’: Elizabeth Gaskell’s visit to Chatsworth On Saturday 12 September 1857, Elizabeth Gaskell and her daughter Meta were amongst many tourists arriving at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire with their printed admission tickets. Their tour of the house was interrupted by an invitation to stay for […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – March 2023

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – April 2023

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Autumn Meeting: A Cranford Reader: Margaret Leicester Warren of Tabley House

Knutsford Methodist Church Princess Street, Knutsford, United Kingdom

The Joan Leach Memorial LectureA Cranford Reader: Margaret Leicester Warren (1847–1921) of Tabley House Pic: Wikimedia Commons We're delighted to welcome Sarah Webb, a trustee of the Tabley House Collection.In 1861 Margaret Leicester Warren (1847-1921) read Cranford.  She was not impressed.  This novel of devoted sisters, female friendship and the precariousness of female lives did not appeal to […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Domestic Mental Cruelty in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Works

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Kathleen Gentle's talk for our October meeting will focus on familial/spousal abuse in Gaskell's works. She'll  discuss Gaskell's depiction of physical and mental cruelty and how she criticises her contemporary culture for their complicity in the abuse of women in spousal relationships. Kathleen completed her undergraduate and MA degrees in English Literature at the University […]

£5 – £6

Online “Knutsford” Meeting – October 2023

online

*** Please note that this event is now online only, via Zoom.*** Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers  for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Elizabeth Gaskell in the Train and on the Omnibus

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're delighted to welcome back committee member and one of our favourite speakers, Anthony Burton. He'll be offering a tempting taster for our 2024 Conference, which explores the theme of travel. Anthony was intrigued by paintings featuring railway stations and omnibuses in the Dining Room at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House.  He has explored the background of […]

£5 – £6

Online ‘Knutsford’ Meeting – November 2023

online

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Gaskell and the Fairy Tale

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Elizabeth Gaskell’s interest in the fairy tale and her use of fairy-tale motifs throughout her writing have been curiously neglected by scholars.  The fairy tale, like the Gothic and the ghostly, operates in a world of magic realism, its conventions straddling two worlds in which the supernatural is accepted as normal in an apparently realistic […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – January 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season.Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. After their […]

£5 – £6

The Victorian House: Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Context

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Is Elizabeth Gaskell's House a 'typical' Victorian house?  Surely houses changed a lot over Victoria's 63-year-long reign? Anthony Burton examines various aspects of Victorian domestic architecture, in order to show how Elizabeth Gaskell's House fits in. Doors open at 1pm and the talk begins at 1.30pm. We'll make a recording available for online viewing after the […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – February 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Elizabeth Gaskell in the Digital World

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're thrilled to welcome Jessica Smith, Creative Arts Archivist at the John Ryland Research Institute and Library. As you may know, the John Rylands Library holds a collection of Elizabeth Gaskell's printed works and letters. They hold the original manuscripts for 'The Grey Woman', Wives and Daughters, The Life of Charlotte Brontë and 'The Crooked […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – March 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6