At the start of Queen Victoria’s reign, Christmas meant little to commercial Manchester but during the 1840s-1860s the city came to share in an upsurge of enthusiasm for the festive […]
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 […]
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 […]
Our friend, Professor Deborah Wynne, is hosting a study day at the University of Chester, focusing on the work of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. There will be a reading […]
Molly is the moral heart of classic novel Wives and Daughters but it is her flawed step-sister Cynthia who may appeal to readers more. The two girls are a study […]
Charlotte Brontë is a giant of Victorian literature and the much-loved author of the classic Jane Eyre, but what of her last novel to be published during her lifetime, Villette, […]
Join Curator Elinor Camille-Wood as she takes you on a riotous journey through the fabulously outrageous fashions of the 1830s, the time Elizabeth Gaskell set her novel, Wives and Daughters. […]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s final novel Wives and Daughters explores the Victorian interest in science and logic through the character of Roger Hamley and the gentleman scientist Lord Hollingford. Roger was heavily […]
Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell are two of the nation’s best-loved authors. Rightly lauded for their classic works, they are often depicted as writing about marriage and the narrow social […]
Edmund Potter is probably most famous for being the grandfather of the author, Beatrix Potter, but he had an illustrious career of his own. Edmund was a Calico Printer who […]
Two giants of Victorian literature, Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot were very different in almost every way. George Eliot was private and intellectual while Elizabeth was outgoing, gossipy and deeply […]
RECORDING: Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell's Worlds This year's Joan Leach Memorial Lecture was given by Dr Ingrid Hanson. You can now watch a recording of the talk for […]
Edmund Potter is probably most famous for being the grandfather of the author, Beatrix Potter, but he had an illustrious career of his own. Edmund was a Calico Printer who […]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s last novel, Wives and Daughters, explored the position of women in 19th century society and the pressure on them to marry. Her book had much to say about […]
A talk to mark the bi-centary year of Lord Byron. Step into the dark side to look at literary vampires, starting with his unfinished novel The Burial: A Fragment. Byron’s […]
Author Sherry Ashworth looks at how Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and Charles Dickens used biblical heroines to develop their own characters. Our Manchester meetings take place in Cross Street Chapel […]
The Gaskells’ relationship with the Portico Library is well-documented. A bust of William Gaskell sits in the Library, honouring his tenure as the Chairman - the longest running Chairman in […]
Manchester is the dramatic backdrop to literary classics, such as Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, and lesser-known works, such as Isabella Banks’s The Manchester Man. The city has been at the forefront of […]
Available until 30 November 2024. Hannah Palmer, a PhD student at Loughborough University, talks about her research into abortion and maternal histories in nineteenth-century literature and culture. Her thesis explores […]
Elizabeth Gaskell, Celebrity: How she coped with fame In ordinary life, Elizabeth Gaskell enjoyed a certain status in Manchester as the wife of a prominent clergyman. But she soon achieved […]
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 […]
Who were the potential models for Signor Brunoni? Could Dickens (who performed as “The Unparalleled Necromancer Rhia Rhama Rhoos”) have been one of them? What kind of text did Miss […]
We're delighted to welcome Duncan Hamilton to our March meeting. We live in a world of friction between the nations of the United Kingdom. Resurgent Scotland, resilient Wales and confident […]
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was one of the most intriguing of Victorian heroines: unconventional, illegitimate, yet at the centre of a luminous circle of influential Victorians, including Elizabeth Gaskell, George […]
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was one of the most intriguing of Victorian heroines: unconventional, illegitimate, yet at the centre of a luminous circle of influential Victorians, including Elizabeth Gaskell, George […]